The Lenovo IdeaPad C340 has gone back to Yoga, and I don’t mean the physical and spiritual practice, but back to its convertibility. The C340 is both a laptop and a tablet in one meaning that the display can bend all the way back – hence yoga. With a great design and a fantastic display, the C340 is an exciting product with a lot of potential, but also one that very much remains a work in progress.
Lenovo’s IdeaPad C340: Design, Performance and Productivity
I found that C340 was great for multitasking when switching across desktops. Switching from page to page, from app to app, was a relatively seamless and smooth action with occasional lag when using the pointer. When it comes to Netflix-watching and playing small games like Candy Crush, lag and framerate won’t be an issue – it is only when larger games are played that you will experience lag where you may drop below 30 frames per second.
The battery life has up to eight hours which is quite low for a modern laptop, and the battery really only lasts that long if you continue to conserve power. When watching movies or playing games, and using higher brightness, you’re more likely to lose a significant chunk of battery life. The positive is that you can easily regain that battery life in just an hour which is what it takes to charge up to 80%.
With that in mind, the C340 is maybe not the best for those long international flights – especially given its heaviness! For a convertible product, you’d expect something much lighter, instead, it weighs in at 1.65kg; not ideal for travelling.
Where it does very well, though, is with its display. At 14 inches with full HD resolution, you’re getting easy-to-read text, smooth browsing and warm colours. The brightness is a bit ineffective since you need to have it maxed out to really get the full benefits of a brighter screen. Be wary, though, the brightness turned all the way up won’t help with the already short-lasting battery life.
It is a convertible product, though, making all types of work possible. Whether you need to write a report, annotate an article or design something, you can choose between laptop or tablet mode to see what’s best-suited for the task at hand. Playing with the stylus in tablet mode was an enjoyable experience. The surface is smooth enough so that the pen glides without any issues, although sometimes it struggled to respond to some commands.
The shape of the keys is outward-facing instead of the more common inward-facing, but I had no trouble writing for extensive periods. I wrote my blog, did my web searches, went to work with it and had no issues whatsoever. I feel that the keys will be down to a matter of preference.
The design is very professional-looking with a smooth exterior that follows from the outside to the keyboards and touchpad. It has the useful ports that we need the most including:
- 2 x USB 3.1 x Gen 1 (1 x AlwaysOn)
- 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1
- 1 x HDMI 1.4b
- 1 x 4-in-1 card reader
- 1 x DC-in
- 1 x combo audio/mic jack
The sound does go very loud when at its max, but the quality isn’t very clear. When you’re watching videos or movies, the sound is more than acceptable, but it may not be the best for music.
Extra Features
The C340 is equipped with two features that are by no means crucial to its functioning, but still cool to have. The first one is the shutter that lets you cover the camera for when you want complete privacy and peace of mind. The second is the small finger scanner that facilitates the process of unlocking your laptop. Not game-changing, but definitely neat features to have.
Final word
The Lenovo C340 is a good laptop/tablet, there’s no doubt about that. It’s great for working on projects, answering emails, leisure use, etc, but not so great to travel with. Frankly, you’d have to bring your laptop and the charger if you want a full day’s worth of use, and that could prove to be heavier than you think. The display is a noteworthy positive when enjoying TV shows or movies, but again it is the battery life that lets it down. All in all, the C340 is definitely worth trying if you aren’t an avid gamer, and for $1199 you’re getting a fun, simple and stylish product.
