**This review is not sponsored by Evolve III or Micro Center. I purchased the device out of my own funds and these are my experiences based on using the laptop.**
On the advice of Josh (KI6NAZ) from Ham Radio Crash Course I went out and picked up one of the Evolve III Maestro 11.6″ laptops from Micro Center a few weeks ago. And (as of this writing) it is still only $60 at Micro Center. The ones that are available now are the version that does not have the LTE card and also then does not have the M.2 connector on the board, but it is still a great little laptop for going out in the field
Now to preface this, this is a $60 laptop and it is the quality of a $60 laptop. you get what you pay for. For me this the laptop that I take out in the field. I am not worried if a storm comes up on me really quick and I get drenched. I am not worried if it takes a spill. Once again it is a $60 laptop. I don’t feel like I hav to bee super worried about taking out my expensive M1 MacBook Air.
Before going any further lets take a look at the specs on this little guy.
Evolve III Maestro E-Book Specifications
| Make | Evolve III |
| Model | Maestro E-Book |
| Part Number | MEB1164G64GWWIF |
CPU
| CPU Make | Intel |
| CPU Model | Celeron N3450 |
| CPU Speed | 1.10GHz |
| Turbo Boost Speed | 2.2GHz |
| Level 2 Cache | 2MB |
| Instruction Set | x86_64 |
Memory
| Size | 4GB |
| Type | LPDDR4 |
| Speed | DDR4L-2133 |
Storage
| Size | 64GB |
| Type | eMMC |
Display
| Screen Size | 11.6″ |
| Display Type | HD |
| Resolution | 1366×768 |
| Refresh Rate | 60Hz |
Video
| GPU | Integrated Intel HD Graphics 500 |
| Video Memory | Shared |
Networking
| WLAN | WiFi 4 802.11a/b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0 |
Ports & Connections
| USB | 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1 |
| Video Out | 1 x Mini HDMI |
| Audio | 1 x 3.5mm Headphone Jack |
| Card Reader | 1 x microSD |
The Review
It is a nice small laptop with just enough power to get the job done out in the field. The great thing about this laptop is that it runs off of 12V DC which means you can run it off of solar, batteries, the power brick it came with, whatever. I was able to run HAMRS and WSJT-X at the same time with absolutely no issues. Battery life is surprisingly good for such a small device, probably because it has a Celeron processor, RAM, an eMMC SSD and almost nothing else.
The build quality is a little on the cheap side, not so much that I am worried its going to fall apart just looking at it, but the plastic scratches easily and it has some flex in the deck. There are two versions being sold at the same price, one with an LTE card and one without. If you can get the one with the LTE card that will be the better choice as you can replace it with a SATA M.2 SSD card and get a huge performance boost. The screen also has poor viewing angles. I have also been unable to get Linux to install to the SD card.
The big issue is if you run Windows on it and it needs to do an update you really can’t do anything else, so make sure you run Windows update before you leave.
With all this in mind I would still suggest this for anyone who wants a laptop to go out in the field with. It is cheap, if it gets destroyed in the great outdoors you are only out $60 and a trip to an eWaste recycling facility. If I can ever find one with the LTE card I will definitely buy a second and donate this one to a local organization that provides tech to kids in need.