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Lenovo ideapad Miix310 10.1 Inch 64 GB eMMC Tablet review
Lenovo ideapad Miix310 10.1 Inch 64 GB eMMC Tablet review
After researching and reading a bunch of reviews that I half understood, I settled on this Lenovo ideapad Miix310 . It's not a powerhouse, and if you need something more like a full laptop this might not fit the bill. However, for what I need it's perfect. I added on a 64GB card to expand the memory, and was able to figure out how to get it to work fairly easily. The keyboard is small, but I've gotten used to typing on it and appreciate the small size (might be helpful to turn off the tap=click for the mousepad, that's my biggest problem). It's heavier than the SP keyboard, but at the same time that makes it easier to use on my lap which is nice. So far it's booted up pretty quickly, and if you're careful with memory usage then it's fine (I'm mostly storing files on USB flash drives or cloud drives, reserving the computer's memory for actual apps). The screen is a bit shiny, but I don't really mind it. The sound also isn't great, but I don't plan on using this without headphones so again it doesn't really bother me. I'm not sure if this model is LTE-enabled. It has a slot for a SIM card, but I don't know if that means there's also an antenna installed or if they use the same slot for every model. Since I don't have an extra SIM card I can't really try it out.
There is so much I like about it, Lenovo ideapad Miix310 might be helpful to list what I don't like first.
What I don't like:
Lenovo ideapad Miix310 Charging. Seems like a design flaw but the charge cord does not want to stay connected. I have to really fiddle with it to charge, and even then if I move it wrong it will stop charging. The red light indicates it's charging, so make sure you see it. Also, why couldn't they just have this charge with a standard micro USB like my Android tablets and my phone? There's a special chunky cord for this one. I am not a fan.
Not much internal memory. I ran out of room QUICKLY. Had to use the SD card. This can be up to 64gb according to Lenovo. I only had a 32 on hand. But in my experience, sometimes you can use a higher card than recommended and get away with it. For instance my phone is a max 64gb card too, but I have a 128gb installed and it works fine. If you have a bigger card, try it. I certainly would. It won't hurt anything, at worst the machine just won't read it.
The SD Card slot is a big pain to get out. I had to pry it open with a toothpick. I really thought I was going to break it. There is no way to get at it without some sort of tool to help.
Small keyboard is a bit hard to get used to. Not necessarily bad because the keyboard has to be small... but I should note that I do not like typing on it too much due to the size. I would not use this to blog for instance. I constantly mistype words because my fingers are not used to being that close together. But on the flip side of that, having the integrated keyboard is amazing and makes this more useful than it would have been as just a tablet... my preferred use is for short emails and web searches and things like that.
Camera is nothing to brag about. 5 mp / 2mp respectively.
What I really like:
Battery life is INCREDIBLE. Watched Netflix for hours and still had a lot of battery left. So awesome!
Laptop and tablet in one provides more opportunity for use. Took this with me last weekend to the lake. Was able to check in at work and do some minor tasks that I couldn't have with just my phone. This thing is so much more portable than a bigger laptop. But you also get the tablet feature which is great. Touchscreen for both uses, of course.
Windows 10 is just like my laptop. It works and acts just like my laptop. There was no learning curve at all. Loved that.
USB Ports. This is so great. I can use a mouse!!! Or if I wanted to hook to my printer directly and print... I can. Or if I want to hook up my external CD drive.... I can do that too. And you get two ports.