The machine can be equipped with up to 16 gigabytes of memory, which is a means of future-proofing the laptop, but hardly necessary for most users. Its included 4GB is sufficient in most circumstances, but some users that work with memory-hogging applications like Photoshop might want to upgrade to 8GB. There is no dedicated GPU in the R835-P56X–the graphics are handled by Intel’s integrated graphics processor HD 3000. This one does a satisfactory job when it comes to common applications and video playback, but is not suitable for games. Based on experience with this chip, it is capable of older and less demanding games like World of Warcraft or Half Life 2 with the detail settings turned down. Otherwise the processor is very powerful for a laptop in this size category.

Design and Features

The laptop is equipped with an optical drive–something that most 13.3-inch laptops in this size and weight range do not have. At the same time, most users can get by without the optical drive today, so arguably Toshiba could have saved some weight and shipped the laptop with an external drive, or none at all. In terms of overall design, the R835-P56X is an elegant and sophisticated machine, even if it’s not as slim as the Samsung series 9 or the MacBook Air–none of which have made room for an optical drive.

Compared to a few other 13.3-inch laptops on the market now, such as the aforementioned, the R830 is not among the thinnest, but it is still a compact and convenient PC. If you take into that it comes with an optical drive and a standard-voltage processor, the weight and measurements – 12.44 inches x 8.94 inches x 1.05 inches and just 3.2 pounds – are more than OK. The chassis is a combination of a magnesium alloy and plastic to keep the weight to a minimum.

The display is a glossy “TruBrite” LCD with LEDs used for back-lighting and the overall brightness is good, as is color reproduction. It has a resolution of 1366×768 pixels, which is well suited for subnotebooks–this has become a standard resolution and is often used in laptops all the way up to 16″, but it is much better for 11 to 13-inch laptops.

You can connect to an external monitor (or HDTV) via VGA or HDMI and both display ports are located on the same side of the laptop, along with a USB 3.0 “Super Speed” port. On the other side of the laptop is a USB 2.0 / eSATA combo port. It also has a regular Gigabit LAN port and a memory card reader, as well as headphone/mic jacks.

The R835′s keyboard and trackpad combination is very likable. The keyboard is spill-resistant and quite firm, although it makes some noise while typing. There is some basic multi-touch functionality in the trackpad, and it is not too large or too small.

In terms of preinstalled software, the Toshiba R835 comes with some of the usual bloatware, but also some pretty good software for system monitoring diagnostics.

Performance and Battery Life

The lion’s share of notebooks in the thin-and-light market use LV or ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processors that have a lower power consumption but also significantly lower performance. In the R835-P56X, however, Toshiba has opted for a standard voltage CPU, which does a great deal for performance while the impact on the laptop’s battery life is quite small.

During what you could call “regular use”–opening standard applications and editing documents etc, we managed to get a running time of over eight hours, which needless to say is very good. This was with the screen brightness set to a medium setting. Using it with full brightness will cut off at least half an hour from that number. A full day’s work on a standard voltage processor is nevertheless excellent and more in line with what you’d expect from a throttled low-voltage CPU. During video playback it lasted for about five hours, which is also a good figure.

Thanks to the aforementioned processor, the laptop is very responsive in most applications. There is some noise from the fan under slightly heavier load, but during normal office application use it’s not at all disturbing.

Summary and Conclusion

Toshiba’s Portege series has previously been marketed as a premium laptop with a significant price markup to match. It is arguably still a premium laptop, but thanks to the fierce competition in this segment, Toshiba has had to lower the price even on their ultraportable range. It currently sells for about $799, which has to be considered excellent value for money. Considering this laptop’s low weight and small measurements it also packs a punch in the performance department.

Toshiba has made a splash with a pocket-friendly concept laptop called the Libretto W100, which has two 7-inch touch screens that can be used in tandem. Of course, since it has no keyboard, the second display can also be used for writing or drawing.

As for the details, we are told that it weighs around 800 grams, and each display has a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. The processor is an Intel Pentium U5400 running at 1.2 GHz. There’s 2 GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD, webcam, Bluetooth, 802.11n wireless network and it runs Windows Home Premium 7. Toshiba says the battery life is about 5 hours.

Libretto W100 is really more a concept than a model ready for mass production, but in conjunction with Toshiba’s 25th anniversary, a small number will be sold on the consumer market – probably sometime in August. The pricing will allegedly be about $ 1,100.

Source: Toshiba

Other than some new hardware, the specifications for the new mini laptop look look similar to most modern netbooks, i.e., with a 10.1-inch screen that displays 1024×600 pixels. On the inside it has been upgraded to Intel’s latest platform, including an Atom N455 running at 1.66 GHz, 1GB of DDR3 memory, a 250 GB hard drive, and GMA 3150 integrated graphics.

It will be available soon with either a 3-cell or 6-cell battery and weighs around 2.5 pounds depending on which battery you choose.

The wait was worth it and Toshiba has launched a product that promises to eliminate all the drawbacks that are there in the existing mini notebook brands that have been rolled out by its competition. Thus, this model promises to be an ice breaker for Toshiba in a big way. While considerable work has gone into increasing the size of the keyboard and in including larger batteries to power this mini-powerhouse, the most visible feature of this mini notebook is the design aesthetic with which the overall finish has been carried out.

Weighing in at just less than 3 pounds, the Toshiba Mini NB205 is slightly bulkier in terms of the first look when compared to other mini notebooks in the market (especially the Asus and HP models), but the flat, edgy and husky looking design is what sets this note book apart. And, for a larger keyboard and 6 cell batteries, the slightly increased size is a very meager tradeoff, in our opinion.

The texture and the overall finish of the Toshiba NB205 sets it apart from the rest of the crowd, in our eyes. While the others are focusing on glossy metal finish, which eventually ends up getting marred with finger prints and scratch marks, the Toshiba NB205 depends heavily on a dull, matte finish. The matte finish not only lends a great texture to the overall looks of the netbook, it is also a great departure from the mundane glossy finish, which actually made all the mini laptops look alike to the general user. Toshiba, thus, has created a new benchmark in style by pioneering matte finish. A lot of manufacturers seem to put effort in the design of their mini laptops at the moment, another example is Asus new Seashell design used in the 1005HA.

Besides, the notebooks are available in 6 colors, giving a whole range of options to choose from, for the end user. The 10 inch screen, however is begging for an upgrade, but the 93% keyboard is an asset par excellence!

The Atom N270 processor being used in the notebook is a standard and delivers a pretty good performance. The Toshiba NB205, however, goes a step ahead by embedding a N280 processor, which gives a small boost to the performance with its slightly higher clock rate – 1.66GHz vs. 1.60GHz. Couple this processor with a 1 GB RAM (extendable to 2 GB) and a battery that outlasts almost every other competitor, by giving a run time of more than 8 and a half hours, you get an all out winner in the mini notebook market- the Toshiba NB205!