Review: Toshiba Satellite U840W

Take a walk on the wide side with Toshiba's Ultrabook.

Toshiba has always been one to push the envelope when it comes to notebooks - the company was one of the first to release ultra-thin notebooks (Portege R100) years before Ultrabooks (or Apple's MacBook Air) ever saw the light of day.

The Satellite U840W is another one of these - instead of thin, however, this Ultrabook goes wide.

While most notebooks go for a 16:9 aspect ratio, the U840W goes even wider, going for a 21:9 aspect ratio that's wider than anything out there.

Why 21:9, you ask? Well, the reason is that the U840W is made to be a media player, with a screen that will fit the anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio of some movies.

In fact, many of of the U840W's features are skewed towards making it a mean movie-watching machine - for example, the speakers are high-quality Harman Kardon - with one notable exception that I will get into later in the review.

Wide and proud of it

THIN IS IN: Being an Ultrabook, the Toshiba Satellite U840W is relatively thin and light.

Anyone looking over my shoulder when I turn on the Satellite U840W will immediately notice the unusually wide screen. Indeed, the screen is the most prominent feature of this Ultrabook.

The width of the screen means that the resolution is a little odd - at 1792 x 768-pixels, the aspect ratio definitely takes some getting used to when you're not watching movies.

For example, when viewed fullscreen, webpages look like they have too much space at the side and not enough vertically.

However, it's actually not too bad if you open two windows side by side, although the amount of text that can be viewed vertically is still quite limited.

Toshiba actually has a small utility called the Split Screen that integrates into the toolbar to quickly resize your Windows into a 2/3 and 1/3 split, similar to how Windows 8 displays two screens at once in the Windows 8 Modern UI.

This differs from the normal Windows 7 behaviour where dragging a window to the far left or right of the screen will resize the window to fill half the screen.

The keyboard is well-spaced and chiclet style, although the key travel could be better.

There are three USB 3.0 ports on the device, and like most Toshiba notebooks, one of the USB ports is a Sleep & Charge port, which allows you to charge your smartphone or other USB devices even when the notebook is off.

The touchpad is large, clickable and supports some multi-touch features like two-finger scrolling.

The whole thing is done up in an understated, dark brown and dark brushed metallic finish which looks quite good.

Movie maestro

The U840W's primary function is as a media player and as such, it fulfils this function quite well.

I tested the notebook by playing back a variety of HD content and it handled them all without a hiccup.

The audio from the Harmon Kardon speakers are particularly notable. The audio is loud and bass is good, and because the speakers are spaced on either side of the keyboard, the stereo soundstaging is pretty good as well.

My one complaint is that the screen is a TN (Twisted Nematic) panel, which means that viewing angles are not that great vertically - tilt the screen even a little further backwards and the screen becomes almost unviewable.

USEFUL: The keys on the Toshiba Satellite U840W are backlit.

Since the U840W is meant to be a media player, it would have made more logical sense for Toshiba to go for an IPS LCD panel which has much better colour fidelity and viewing angles.

Battery life is very good though and I managed to play movies back to back for about four hours (with backlight set to reasonable levels) before the low battery warning flashed.

For surfing webpages and watching a bit of video, you can probably stretch it to about five or six hours.

Fin

You have to hand it Toshiba for trying something different with this Ultrabook - the ultra widescreen aspect ratio is actually quite good when you use it for watching anamorphic widescreen movies.

As a productivity tool, it's about the same as any Ultrabook in its class. It has pretty decent battery life and is powerful enough for most productivity applications out there.

SLEEK: The Toshiba Satellite U840W's brushed metal finish looks very elegant.

However, no talk of productivity apps would be complete without mentioning that the 21:9 aspect ratio of the U840W does affect how much information you can see vertically, which means most documents, etc. won't feel as comfortable to look at on the screen.

Pros: The 21:9 aspect ratio is great for watching movies; Harman Kardon speakers are great; good battery life.

Cons: Aspect ratio is not great for Internet browsing and word processing; TN panel has very limited viewing angles.

Satellite U840W
(Toshiba)
Ultrabook
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i5-3317U (1.7GHz)
MEMORY: 6GB RAM
DISPLAY: 14.4in (1,792 x 768-pixels) LED back-lit
GRAPHICS: Intel HD Graphics 4000
STORAGE: 500GB
CONNECTIVITY: WiFi 802.11b/g/n, 10/100/1000 Ethernet port, Bluetooth 4.0
OPTICAL DRIVE: None
PORTS/SLOTS: Three USB 3.0 ports, SD card, HDMI, headphone/microphone combo jack
BATTERY: 54-watt 4-cell
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
OTHER FEATURES: Built-in webcam, backlit keyboard
DIMENSIONS (W X D X H): 9.4 x 4.31 x 2.8cm
WEIGHT: 1.59kg
WEBSITE: pc.toshiba-asia.com
PRICE: RM3,999
RATING: 3.5

- The Star

Review: Latitude E6230

Travel light with this feature-packed Dell notebook.

ONE thing that users of ­laptops at the workplace can agree on is that ­carrying those heavy devices around can be a real pain, be it for ­meetings and presentations or from office to home.

The introduction of Dell's sleek E6230, the latest in its Latitude E series, reduces the weight of the problem, literally.

Despite being the smallest offering in E series, the compact E6230 delivers a decent punch in terms of build quality and ­performance.

Durable design

The E6230 looks and feels tough, thanks to its tri-metal casing made up of anodised ­aluminium back, magnesium alloy corners, and steel hinges along with a powder-coated base. It isn't going to win the prettiest laptop of the year award but it sure feels solid.

Upon opening the laptop, you will notice its 12.5in screen, which has a 1,366 x 768-pixel resolution. Although it is not the best screen in the market, the display is clear and crisp with its anti-glare coating.

The notebook measures 30.9 x 22.6 x 2.5cm - it felt ­comfortable to use while placed on the lap. Radiation and health-risk ­matters aside, it also didn't get unbearably hot. This is good news for those who need to use the laptop in tight spaces or while commuting.

ACCESSIBLE: The Latitude comes with a number of ports.

It has plenty for ports, ­including a HDMI out, two USB (2.0 and 3.0) ports, a VGA port, a USB/eSATA combo port and audio jack.

Connectivity options for this model include WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, a Gigabit Ethernet port and Bluetooth 4.0.

Our review unit came with an extended battery that protruded from the back, giving it a ­peculiar look.

One thing that users will notice missing is an optical disc drive - those who still want one will have to purchase an external drive.

Under the hood

Our review unit came with an Intel i53320M processor that runs a 32-bit Windows 7 Professional operating system. It also has 4GB of memory and a 500GB hard disk drive.

The device has enough ­horsepower to feel speedy and it takes around 25 seconds to boot up from the time it is switched on. It doesn't just start up fast, it also launches applications smoothly with minimal lag.

Despite using HDD as a means of storage, the device is almost silent in operation even when loading data.

On the software front, the E6230 comes equipped with the usual set of utilities, including a Trend Micro security agent and Dell's Mobile Broadband Manager.

There are a number of ­enterprise management and security features, ­including ­support for Intel's vPro ­technology and fringerprint ­sensor for authentication. There is also Dell's ControlVault, which stores security keys and credentials.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and the E6230 is definitely not just about work. With the integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000, this laptop is able to somewhat handle ­multimedia tasks such as basic photo and video editing. However, the ­system starts to lag when ­performing such tasks heavily.

We didn't get to test any full-fledged graphics intensive games on the device, but the laptop managed to handle online Flash games without any hitches.

It also played games on Google Chrome, such as Need for Speed World without any problems. As this model is going to be targeted for office use, it is ­commendable that it can handle such games smoothly.

There weren't any problems watching high-definition (HD) movies. The frame rate was respectable and the colours were also vivid. There was hardly any noticeable lag when watching 1080p HD movies.

For a laptop that is mainly primed for getting work done, we found the speakers to be acceptable. It was loud enough and the bass was satisfactory.

One area where the E6230 really made us happy is with its keyboard, which is a joy to use.

Typing is a real pleasure - the keys have nice tactile feedback and are well spaced out, which is good news for a model that is built for office use.

The function buttons on the laptop are easy to get a hang of and it also comes with three dedicated buttons for sound control.

A PLEASURE TO USE: The keys have nice tactile feedback and are well spaced out, which is good news for a model that is built for office use.

The keyboard also has a backlit mode with four levels of brightness that helps typing in poorly lit environments.

In terms of battery life, our review unit came with a six-cell extended battery which ­managed to last around four hours of Internet surfing on a single charge.

However, it dropped ­significantly to slightly below two hours when engaging in battery-hungry activities such as watching movies or playing games.

Final analysis

The Latitude E6230 is a ­laptop designed for the mobile workforce and it performs the way you would expect it to.

We have no major gripes with this sleek device, aside from the less than ­spectacular battery life even with a protruding extended battery.

With all that said and done, the Latitude will appeal to those who are always on the go. It's a laptop that gets the job done without trying too hard to be fancy.

Pros: Durable; runs smoothly; ­backlit ­keyboard is comfortable to use.

Cons: Battery life not ­stunning.

Latitude E6230
(Dell)
Laptop
PROCESSOR: Intel Core i53320M processor (2.60Hz)
MEMORY: 4GB RAM
DISPLAY: 12.5in HD (1,366 x 768-pixels) LED-backlit
GRAPHICS: Intel HD Graphics 4000
STORAGE: 500GB HDD
CONNECTIVITY: WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Gigabit Ethernet port, Bluetooth 4.0
PORTS: One USB 2.0 port, one USB/eSATA combo port, one USB 3.0 port, 4-in-1 card reader (MMC, SD, SDHC, SDXC), Smart Card reader, HDMI out, VGA out, docking connector
BATTERY OPTIONS: Lithium-ion cell
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
OTHER FEATURES: Backlit keyboard, noise reducing array microphones, HD webcam
DIMENSIONS (W x D x H): 30.9 x 22.6 x 2.5cm
WEIGHT: 1.38kg
WEBSITE: www.dell.com/my
PRICE: RM4,550
RATING: 4
Review unit courtesy of Dell Sales Malaysia Sdn Bhd, 1-800-88-0301

QUICK SPECS

Editor's Rating
Users' Rating
Manufacturer	(Dell)
Class	Laptop
Other Features	Backlit keyboard, noise reducing array microphones, HD webcam
Dimensions (WxDxH)	30.9 x 22.6 x 2.5cm
Weight	1.38kg
Price	RM4,550
Processor	Intel Core i53320M processor (2.60Hz)
Memory	4GB RAM
Display	12.5in HD (1,366 x 768-pixels) LED-backlit
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 4000
Storage	500GB HDD
Connectivity	WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Gigabit Ethernet port, Bluetooth 4.0
I/O Ports	One USB 2.0 port, one USB/eSATA combo port, one USB 3.0 port, 4-in-1 card reader (MMC, SD, SDHC, SDXC), Smart Card reader, HDMI out, VGA out, docking connector
Battery	Lithium-ion cell
Operating System	Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
Contact	Review unit courtesy of Dell Sales Malaysia Sdn Bhd, 1-800-88-0301

- Donovan Quek (The Star)