InFocus Buddy (V+) Laptop review: budget chic

The Quick Take

InFocus, the privately owned American company, offers smartphones, tablets, and LED televisions in partnership with FIH Mobile Ltd. and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (also known as Foxconn), and arrived in the Indian market only an year ago in middle of their Asian market tryst. The company is now expanding in key Middle Eastern and African markets, and is adding to their product line with the addition of laptops like the Buddy (V+).

The Good

• Impressive design
• Good keyboard & trackpad
• Decent battery life

The Bad

• Basic hardware specifications
• Iffy build quality

InFocus Buddy (V+) Laptop design

At first glance, the InFocus Buddy Laptop looks beautiful, and more premium than what you would expect for a device priced at just ₹14,999 ($225). It's relatively sleek – 18mm thick - and the brushed metal finish gives it a chic look. Also, big props to InFocus for managing to pack in all the variety of ports considering its slim profile. It weighs only 1.6kgs and is relatively compact despite the 13.3-inch screen, the Buddy Laptop makes for a great laptop for portability.

There's the full-size chiclet-style keyboard which is very comfortable, with a fine travel while typing. The keyboard's not backlit, but at this price, I wasn't expecting it to be. The trackpad and its two buttons work just fine and the overall experience is quite smooth. There's a little creaking with the plastic around the keyboard though — the build quality doesn't live up to the attractive design.

InFocus Buddy (V+) Laptop hardware

The InFocus Buddy sports a 13.3-inch display with 1366 x 768 resolution. The display looks great and the details are clear and bright. It's not the world's best display, but this isn't a high-end laptop. The display supports eDP or embedded display port which maximizes power efficiency.

Powered by the 2.6 GHz Intel Braswell Celeron processor with 2GB DDR3 RAM, the InFocus Buddy works pretty well for everyday computing. Internet surfing, basic productivity apps, and multimedia experience are a breeze, but it's no powerhouse, understandably for a budget laptop. Multitasking is tough, and I would experience random sluggishness running two or three apps with only a hint of background processing. While it can do 1080p HD video, you shouldn't be expecting 4K video playback.

One of the reasons for the average performance is the 32GB internal storage via embedded multimedia card (eMMC). eMMC flash storage is slower than an SSD, but it is markedly faster and more durable than a traditional hard drive. Thankfully, the InFocus Buddy includes space for an additional SSD and can accept a microSD card up to 256GB.

For a budget laptop, the InFocus Buddy packs in a broad suite of connectivity options including Wi-Fi standard 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, a microSD slot, two USB 3.0 ports, as well as an HDMI port. There's also a built-in webcam and microphone — not always a given at a laptop of this price.

The InFocus Buddy laptop is a decent performer, but you shouldn't expect any heroics. It boasts of only entry-level hardware and manages to perform well within its limitations. With normal usage, I managed to squeeze in over six hours of battery life, which will be pretty good for most users.

InFocus Buddy (V+) Laptop The bottom line

Available in two color options – gold and silver – the InFocus Buddy (V+) Laptop is available exclusively on Snapdeal for a price of ₹14,999 ($225) with a one-year swap warranty.

With 64-bit Windows 10, the InFocus Buddy (V+) Laptop is a great option for students and field professionals looking for a basic laptop for everyday computing and general entertainment. It offers a large screen and yet is compact and portable to lug around. This, of course, is not a device if you're looking for an above-average gaming experience or if you're a multitasking power user, but for a cheap general use laptop, it's not a bad option.

See at Snapdeal