The ports that the IdeaPad has on tap are sufficient but not impressive, with a pair of USB 2.0 ports, VGA and HDMI connectors, and a combo headphone/microphone jack. It does without the Asus' USB 3.0 port and the more convenient separate headphone and microphone connections. Unlike the others (and unlike virtually every other notebook made today), the IdeaPad lacks an SD slot for flash memory cards.

On top of 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi networking, the IdeaPad has an Ethernet connection and Bluetooth. Lenovo does not offer an integrated wireless data card for connecting to a cell network.

The IdeaPad was a midrange performer on just about all measures. On PassMark's PerformanceTest 7.0 benchmark, it scored a 664.5, slightly ahead of both the Vostro and the Asus in Battery Saving mode, but well behind the score of 1,095 that the Asus achieved in High Performance mode. In real-world use, the IdeaPad's performance and response times seemed on par with the Vostro's -- that is, adequate but not as fast as the Asus in High Performance mode, and it showed fewer background details in the Trainz simulations.