One Of The Thinnest Laptops - The New Toshiba Portege

The Toshiba Portege R835-P56X has a 2nd generation Core i5 Intel i5-2410M processor with a choice of 2.3 gigahertz or 2.9 gigahertz. Being one of the slimmest new laptops out there, it competes with the rest in this respect. It comes with 4 or 8 gigabytes of memory and has a 640 gigabyte - serial AtA-300 - 5400 rpm hard drive. At a weight of 3.3 lbs this laptop is not particularly heavy but feels heavy enough to be a sturdy product. The screen’s max resolution is 1366 x 768 which is a bit low for a new laptop, but the quality of the screen and the display are quite good and its normal for that size.

Gamers might be a bit disappointed with the video card, which is a moderately fast Intel HD Graphics Dynamic Video Memory Tech 5.0, essentially the same quality as the integrated chips that one wanted to avoid to play the latest and fastest games well. The Nvidia series is a good place to start in the video card department if one is seeking something new.

The laptop comes with a one year warranty and carries about a three and a half star rating from user reviews. It is found to be sufficient for everyday tasks and good for travel because it is light. The noise of the laptop is moderate and the temperature stays at an acceptable level. Battery time usually lasts seven to eight hours depending on the way the laptop is being used. The screen is sometimes hard to view at different angles. It also has a glossy finish and a lot of reflection which can make it hard to view in sunlight. The laptop comes preloaded with quite a bit of software which tends to drag on the system a bit. Nonetheless, it performs regular tasks quite quickly. You may find yourself getting rid of all the extra utilities and applications. On the spec sheet the longest list is the preloaded software.

This laptop is more customizable than an Apple, with a Bios that gives a good amount of control. This is for the techies who like to get involved in the nuts and bolts of their machines, customizing and tweaking every feature to their liking. The key board is light to type on and makes a little clicking noise that some have found to be a scant annoyance. But this is a minor issue. The speakers are moderately good although if you like to play music regularly it will be better to invest in a set of stand alone speakers.

This is also an option for those who are looking for a small laptop, only 13”. It doesn't make sense to always be lugging around a massive laptop. They are typically too heavy and you don’t need the screen space. So It’s better to save the big toys for the home office and take the little laptop when you’re traveling. Another new feature is an Eco Mode button which powers down the computer significantly while still allows it to function. This is part of the reason the battery lasts a good 8 hours.

The Portege is a good deal at $800 with a well implemented touch pad, a reasonably fast processor, decent screen quality, portability, a sturdy design and no maintenance issues to speak of. So don’t necessarily run out and buy a computer with a fancy brand name. We are at the point where laptops are easy enough to manufacture that anyone can compete, as long as they’re keen enough to use the right hardware and make it software compatible.