As part of the Curry's Collective, we're all testing out different laptops and tablets. I'm seeing whether the Lenovo Yoga 500 is student friendly.

If you visited the blog the other week (thank you if so), you may of read that I’m now part of what Curry’s PC World are calling the ‘Curry’s Collective’. Now we’re not some super team as the name might suggest, but a collective that help Curry’s by suggesting what tech works well for students. We all received different laptops to test out, and I was sent the Lenovo Yoga 500 to put through its paces.

I won’t hide the fact that I’m a MacBook user; so I approach this review being a Mac to Windows convert. First thing that seemed to take an age was the initial setup, but maybe that’s just my lack of patience. Now everything is all sorted, the laptop’s load time for programmes is quite quick and responsive.

The big selling point for this Lenovo device is the fact you can have it in three different positions: as a laptop, a screen with a stand, or a tablet. The laptop works as you’d expect and the option of using the touchscreen whilst in laptop mode is quite handy. And without going through the spec of the Lenovo with a fine toothcomb and comparing it to other laptops the Lenovo does the job. It’s small and compact with enough functions to make it an easy laptop to take into university. And as a side note, MacBook users will be familiar with the two-finger scroll when on a browser.

Every laptop, however, should be able to do the basics, so what I’m focusing on is its ability to be a tablet.

When using it, the buttons and gestures are quite natural. So swiping left and right, browsing and zooming all work well. Using the on-screen keyboard is easy to call-up and dismiss and I manage to type up everything I need without getting frustrated by accidentally pressing the wrong letters.

Unlike most tablet laptops, where the screen can become detached from the keyboard, the Lenovo Yoga 500 folds over itself, with the keyboard acting as the back. Now although this means you won’t be misplacing the keyboard or screen, it does mean that the tablet is quite heavy. It seems to me, a little too bulky and doesn’t outweigh the practical uses of having a super sized tablet.

The tablet for me is used best when at home and when I’m kicking back in bed. Putting it into the stand position and watching catch-up TV and Netflix after a day of lectures is effortless. Other than that I’ve been hooked on Crossy Road, which on the big screen looks great. Be warned though, it’s addictive and a massive battery drainer.

The Lenovo Yoga 500 is a laptop that on paper sounds great with three different functions. However, I’d say only two of them really do it for me. I think the tablet mode, when forgetting it’s a laptop as well, isn’t practical or light enough. But if you use it as a screen with a stand in the house and use the Lenovo as a laptop in lectures, you might be onto a winner, especially considering it’s size and price-point.