Toshiba Portege R400-S4931

We're usually quick to ding Toshiba's Portege line as being a little too buttoned-down in the styling department. So taking the wraps off the all-new Portege R400-S4931 convertible Tablet was a bit of a shock: Its angular chassis has a gleaming white lid and keyboard deck-a stark contrast to its black underside and screen bezel. Its bright LED display is a first for notebooks. Throw in a helpful external screen for looking at calendar entries and other info on the fly, and you have one of the most innovative-and most expensive-Tablet PCs yet.

 

Some might say Toshiba has gone too far in the bling direction, but our only substantive complaint about the R400-S4931's appearance is the three-quarter-inch chrome letters on the lid that shout "TOSHIBA." This may be great for product placement, perhaps, but not carrying around (unless your name happens to be Toshiba).

 

One especially convenient feature is the R400-S4931's ability to receive real-time alerts, e-mail, and calendar updates using Microsoft's Active Notifications with Push Technology. The alerts are displayed on a digital display located on the front edge of the system, which Toshiba calls a Personal Information Assistant. The Portege R400-S4931 automatically checks for new e-mail and calendar items as long as you have a wireless connection, whether it's via Wi-Fi or the integrated EV-DO modem.

 

In addition to the design, there's a lot new on the inside, too, most notably Windows Vista Ultimate as the OS and embedded EV-DO Rev A. wireless broadband (with service through Verizon).

 

The 3.7-pound R400-S4931 is bulkier than its weight would imply, measuring 12.0 x 9.4 x 1.2 inches. That's roughly the same size as a 5.2-pound Apple MacBook (a natural comparison, given its color scheme), so we were surprised to see an external, as opposed to a built-in, optical drive. We found the R400-S4931 too heavy to use comfortably in the crook of your arm for very long anyway, so integrating the DVD multidrive would have been nice.

 

The R400-S4931 uses a patent-pending elevated rotational hinge. The 80GB hard drive has active shock protection (a good idea for a Tablet), and the biometric fingerprint reader is mounted on the screen bezel, so it's accessible even when the screen is covering the keyboard deck. We found the digitizer in Tablet mode to be accurate and responsive, even when navigating smaller dialogue-box squares and menu choices.

 

In notebook mode, we found the full-sized keyboard comfortable (though perhaps a bit springy), and we like the very readable black-on-white key tops. The touchpad is a bit small but plenty responsive. There are no dedicated multimedia keys, save for a handy volume toggle on the machine's right edge. Sadly, sound quality from the R400-S4931's single speaker is thin and tinny, and there's hardly any volume to speak of.

 

That LED screen, on the other hand, is bright and vibrant. DVD playback looked great, as did text and photographic images. Although we're fans of glossy screens in general, the R400-S4931's seems a bit too glossy; glare and reflections can be a problem, especially in Tablet mode.

 

The R400-S4931 employs Windows Vista Ultimate, which includes all the features formerly found in Windows Media Center Edition, as well as those of Tablet PC Edition. It's worth noting that we experienced a few freezes and crashes, such as when trying to play a DVD movie in Media Center or when working in the included Toshiba Assist Connectivity Doctor utility.

 

In general, some actions responded sluggishly, making us wonder if the 1.2-GHz Intel Core Duo processor and integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics are overmatched by the OS. Don't expect a lot of endurance, either. Without an optical drive and with Vista, we had no good way to test battery life, but based on our testing with mobile broadband on, we suspect you might get about three hours of life with the standard battery.

 

The R400-S4931 employs a built-in EV-DO Rev. A radio for go-anywhere (or at least a lot of places) connectivity via Verizon's network. Verizon Rev. A was not yet fully deployed at the time of our testing, but when we hit it right, throughput was impressive: We saw an average download speed of 806.5 Kbps, the best in all our testing. On the other hand, the 60.9-Kbps average upload speed was the worst of the lot, which speaks less to any deficiencies with the notebook and more to Verizon's still-growing Rev. A footprint.

 

We like, not love, the Toshiba Portege R400-S4931. The design is a bit polarizing, and we think an optical drive should have been integrated. But we appreciate the system's light weight, and on-the-go users will really appreciate the external display for alerts and the fast EV-DO Rev. A connectivity.

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