Source: Tom's Guide | Keywords: sony, toshiba, 12-inch | Themes: Business Notebooks, Laptops and Notebooks, Business
- 1. 12" Power Notebooks
- 2. HP Compaq 2510p: Design, Weight, Quality
- 3. HP Compaq 2510p: Hardware, Software, Usability
- 4. HP Compaq 2510p: Features, Heat, Noise
- 5. Samsung P200-Pro: Design, Weight, Quality
- 6. Samsung P200-Pro: Hardware, Software, Usability
- 7. Samsung P200-Pro: Features, Heat, Noise
- 8. Sony VAIO VGN-G21XP: Design, Weight, Quality
- 9. Sony VAIO VGN-G21XP: Hardware, Software, Usability
- 10. Sony VAIO VGN-G21XP: Features, Heat, Noise
- 11. Toshiba Portégé R500: Design, Weight, Quality
- 12. Toshiba Portégé R500: Hardware, Software, Usability
- 13. Toshiba Portégé R500: Features, Noise, Heat
- 14. Benchmark Testing
- 15. Application Testing, Battery Testing, Noise Level
- 16. Conclusion: Underdog, Sprinter, Endurance Racer and Flyweight
- 17. Spec Sheet
- 18. More on this topic
12. Toshiba Portégé R500: Hardware, Software, Usability
Hardware
Keeping size and weight in mind, the equipment is remarkable: an Intel Core 2 Duo (1.33 GHz, Merom) processor has been put on a board with Intel’s 945 chipset, integrated graphics and 2 GB of RAM. A large 64 GB solid state drive (SSD) is used as a permanent storage drive. There is no optical drive available for this version, only for the next larger one with hard disk drive. Considering its price this seems to be somewhat questionable — you must choose either the SSD or the optical drive.
The Portégé is impressive in its interfaces. Although it is missing a modem and a digital monitor interface, it provides 3 USB ports and Firewire, which is more than its competitors offer. As far as the card reader is concerned, the R500 is limited to SD cards. A Cardbus slot supports extension cards.
The networking capabilities of the Portégé do not disappoint. It carries WLAN 802.11 a/b/g/draft-n, Bluetooth and even a HSDPA UMTS modem onboard. There is also a fast Intel Gigabit Ethernet controller for wired communication.
Software
Toshiba has decided to use the Business version of Windows Vista; SP1 hasn’t been integrated yet. The company ships it with an installation medium, but of course this isn’t going to get you very far without an optical drive, and there is no other recovery function implemented.
Toshiba offers a small tool that notifies you about important updates. Furthermore, InterVideo WinDVD 8.0, Novatel Wireless MobiLink (for the UMTS modem), Toshiba Disc Creator (with other Toshiba tools) and TrueSuite Access Manager are pre-installed. Norton Internet Security and MS Office 2007 come as trial versions.
Subjective Performance
The Portégé has the fastest ULV processor in our test field, and comes with 2 GB of RAM; the SSD guarantees a comfortably fast operating speed. The Toshiba finishes 2nd in this category, right behind the Samsung system with its fast processor.
Warranty
Toshiba provides a three-year international carry-in manufacturer’s warranty.
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Why only these four?
The Acer Travelmate 6293 (or older 6292 model) competes well with these models. The review would have been much more useful if you had included the Acer.
What about x300, x61, d430 etc.... the review is grate, just pour choice of Notebook's if you ask me.
Nice article, especialy useful in times when mini-notebooks, or netbooks come to be more and more popular. I am owner of HP 2510p almost 6 months and I love this notebook. It was extremly cheap for me - just 450USD from ebay. Small, well featured, ultra-light /1.6kg/ and 6-7h on 6-cell battery. Btw I think that overlaping battery is quite useful - just try it - as IT admin I use it every day - one can hold this notebook easily in one hand while doing many common service work, and type with other hand. I got my HP with Windows XP Pro, so its much faster than with Vista. I installed tripple boot on it, XP Pro, Ubuntu and Mac OSX 10.5.4 - just used external USB WiFi for Mac OSX, all other HW is working in all OSs.
I never understand while to bother with popular trends like Asus Eee - no DVD, limited HDD options, extremly LOW battery time /I expected much better performances with Atom and SSDs/, small size-display like from Gullivers fairy-tale. Thers only one good point - price. And its fun that if you want all these features on new EEE-like notebooks, you have to pay 500-700USD. So why not to pay more and have all fetures together like in HP 2510p or Toshiba R500. Or try ebay like me, and its even cheaper than new EEEs with Atom.
But maybe I am wrong and EEE targets different audience.
I cant believe you have done a review user "power" and "12.1" in the same sentence and failed to include uber powerful Asus U6V. My god this thing would blow your choices out of the water for under $1700 anywhere in north america!
HP recently introduced the 2530p with substantially faster ULV processors (up to the SL9400, 1.86GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB) and with 2 DIMM slots for up to 8GB of 800MHz DDR SDRAM. It weighs a little more with a starting weight of 3.16lbs, but with some additonal durability features built-in, it meets the Mil-Std-810F standards for vibration, dust, humidity, altitude and high temperature. The spec's can be found at this URL:
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products [...] 01_na.HTML
The 2510p will be going away shortly so the 2530p is the one to look at if one is considering HP.
HP also introduced the 2230s with a 12.1" screeen, and although it weighs a little more than the 2530p, it boasts a regular mobile processor such as an Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P8400 (2.26 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB, 3 MB L2 cache). This is a new form factor for HP as this model did not replace any existing models, but rather it is a new addition to HP's notebook lineup.
Marcus
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