Several years ago, netbooks presented a new era for low-cost computing that ultimately ended up being a huge disaster, as they were underpowered and overpromised. In fact, I had an HP mini 311 that could not run a 720p YouTube video full-screen and battery life was a measly 3 hours.

This time around, with a more powerful processor, better battery life, and a new OS, HP is hoping the Stream 11, which costs $200, will entice consumers into taking a second look at entry-level options.

With Chromebooks slowly gaining popularity for their ease of use and low price, Microsoft and HP both need entry-level Windows machines to take Google head-on, and to make sure that their premium products and services are not overrun by free options from Google. The HP Stream is one of the most interesting such devices to be launched recently - but is it any good? And how does Windows run on these low-end specs?

Hardware

The Stream 11 is a small machine with an 11-inch screen and is nearly identical to the netbooks of yesteryear. With an Intel Celeron processor running at 2.16Ghz, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, the specs are entry level. The 1366x768 display caps off the low end specs and asserts that this is a casual use machine - and for $200, you should not expect anything more.

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