Review: Lenovo's Miix 700 Ideapad - pretty, portable and pricey

Bruce Gorton, the resident gamer of TimesLIVE joined forces with Bianca Nkomo to play with Lenovo's Miix 700 Ideapad, and see if it was worth the price tag.

Will the ultra-portable device appeal to the tech geek or win the approval of the dreadlocked workaholic seeking to be able to log on from anywhere?

He said:

I like the overall design. It feels solid, and the hinges on the back for the adjustable kickstand have an almost industrial feel to them.

I found the keyboard comfortable; it felt quite natural typing on it and made good use of the space available.

The screen itself is nice and responsive - always a plus. It has a glossy finish, which comes with a risk of glare in high sunlight, but I’m not too sure how a touch screen could get around that issue.

Thanks to the 4GB Ram, decent processor and 128GB SSD, the overall experience is smooth and quick.

However there are negatives. It only has one USB 3.0 port, which is a definite negative as it means you can’t use a USB mouse and a flashdrive at the same time.

The charger cable can plug into a USB drive, which I found a nice touch especially as the charger itself is a two-pin plug. This means if you are using this as a secondary computer, you don’t have to go looking for somewhere to plug it in.

The touch screen is supposed to allow you to use a stylus, which came with the demo model received for review, but we couldn’t get it to work.

If you’re looking for a gaming laptop, this probably isn’t for you, though a few modern titles such as Tomb Raider (2013) work on low graphics settings. The real problem is the lack of USB ports.

It does a decent job when it comes to video playback, but don’t expect to be blown away.

Speaking of earphones, placing the earphone jack on top of the screen is not ideal. It should be on the right hand side, so that your headphone cables don’t end up getting between you and the screen.

It is a small issue, easily solved by brushing the wire aside, but given the price point for this tablet, nits will be picked.

It is has kept bloatware - those annoying programmes pre-installed on your new computer - to a minimum, which was a nice discovery.

The battery life lasts about eight and a half hours, which is pretty standard for a tablet in this range.

Price: The recommended retail price is R19.999. I’m a gamer, so for my purposes that is a bit on the pricey side.

If I was in the market at that price point I would rather consider the Dell Inspiron 7559 PANDORA 15.6", which retails at R20,999.

For R1,000 more, you’re getting more Ram, a larger screen, an Nvidea 960M graphics card and three USB 3.0 ports. It does not have an SSD but it is still a larger hard drive.

Where it really loses to the Miix 700 is in weight – the Dell weighs 2.7kg, while the Miix 700 only weighs 1.08kg with its folio case.

If weight is important to you the Miix 700 is a solid and stylish choice, but if you’re looking for power, you will get more bang for your buck if you're willing to take the extra weight and get a full laptop.

She said:

As a user who is not particularly tech-savy, what I look for in a laptop is beautiful design, a high-quality screen, clear powerful sound and a fast processor.

I appreciated how small and light this Ideapad was - it could easily fit in my handbag without straining my shoulder.

The design is simple. The faux leather cover gives it a smart, business-like feel. It's cushioned exterior makes the device look more like a large book than a laptop.

Actually using the laptop was fast and responsive. When livestreaming I didn't experience lag, even when I had multiple tabs open. It just worked - no fuss.

The lever at the back was useful when the laptop was standing on its own on a hard surface, but when trying to perch it on my lap I found it uncomfortable.

The headphone jack is at the top of the screen so the cord interfered with my viewing, but I did appreciate the 5 megapixel cameras for chatting online.

The trackpad sufficed and I did not feel the need to use the stylus pen.

Much like my colleague, the big reservation I have with this is the price. While the Ideapad is mostly user-friendly, for the basic needs I have, I could get a lower range device - cheaper too - that does exactly the same thing.

You can check out its full specs at Lenovo.

- All images courtesy of Lenovo.