Toshiba Portégé 2000 series
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CNET Editors' Review
The good: Very thin and light; built-in Wi-Fi; second battery included in price.
The bad: Middling performance; primary battery conks out early; extremely limited configuration options.
The bottom line: It's still one of the thinnest and lightest systems around, but the Portégé 2000 is in need of an update.
Review: When we first saw the Portégé 2000, we were amazed at its size and weight. At just 0.7 inches thick and 2.6 pounds, the Portégé 2000 is a technological marvel. Today, the Portégé 2000 is still one of the smallest and lightest ultralights this side of Tokyo's Akihabara electronics district, and its cool-looking design is sure to turn heads everywhere. Yet the competition is starting to pull away. The Portégé 2000 offers just enough to satisfy corporate customers, including integrated Wi-Fi and excellent service and ... Expand full review
When we first saw the Portégé 2000, we were amazed at its size and weight. At just 0.7 inches thick and 2.6 pounds, the Portégé 2000 is a technological marvel. Today, the Portégé 2000 is still one of the smallest and lightest ultralights this side of Tokyo's Akihabara electronics district, and its cool-looking design is sure to turn heads everywhere. Yet the competition is starting to pull away. The Portégé 2000 offers just enough to satisfy corporate customers, including integrated Wi-Fi and excellent service and support. But most consumers and small-business users will prefer an ultralight that offers better performance, longer battery life without relying on an external battery, and a broader range of configuration options.If the reaction around CNET Labs was any indication, the first thing you'll notice about the Toshiba Portégé 2000 is that it's thin--very thin. The front edge is a mere 0.6 inches high, expanding slightly to 0.73 inches at the back. Toshiba claims that the Portégé 2000 is the world's thinnest notebook, which is perhaps a slight exaggeration--the Sharp PC-UM20 and Dell Latitude X200 come close to this mark--but it is undoubtedly among the thinnest.
Given its overall compact dimensions (11.4 by 9 inches), the Portégé 2000 is about the same size as a spiral-bound notebook. And its 2.6-pound weight is equally impressive (add 0.5 pounds for the small AC power supply). The case is also a stunner; the magnesium-alloy chassis with silver and black accents will turn heads when you pop the Portégé 2000 out of your laptop bag.
The full-width keyboard has 84 keys, some of which are located in unusual positions. For example, in comparison to traditional keyboards, the Delete button is lower and to the right. The Tab and Backspace keys are too small, and the Insert key is located precariously next to the spacebar. But these keyboard flaws are minor, and you get used to them quickly.
To mouse around, use the Portégé 2000's silver touchpad and its two corresponding buttons. This is a smooth, if small, touchpad, and it's a welcome change from the somewhat uncomfortable pointing stick found on other Toshiba notebooks, including the Portégé 4010 and the Tecra 9100.
A convenient panel above the keyboard monitors the status of the battery, the hard drive, the wireless network, and other system components. The lid folds on two hinges, with room between the bottom of the lid and the top of the keyboard, so you can still see this panel when you close the display.
Toshiba keeps things simple with the Portégé 2000; it's available in only one configuration. This includes a 750MHz Pentium III-M, 256MB of memory, and a 20GB hard drive. The only graphics choice is a 16MB Trident Video Accelerator CyberBlade XP Ai1 that drives a crisp, 12.1-inch display with a default resolution of 1,024x768. The unit also includes integrated Wi-Fi wireless networking.
A notebook this thin can't accommodate a built-in drive bay. For storage options, you're limited to either a PC Card CD-ROM drive ($149) or an external floppy drive. There are no provisions for a CD-RW, DVD, or combination drive--even as options. And though there's an optional port replicator ($299) that adds four more USB ports, Ethernet, and monitor ports, Toshiba doesn't offer a media slice for the Portégé 2000, so there's no way to expand the system to accommodate a drive bay, as you can with some competing models.
Most of the ports are on the back edge. A hard, plastic flap hides 10/100 Ethernet, a modem, video out, and two USB ports. On the right is one Type II PC Card slot; infrared, headphone, and microphone jacks; and a handy wireless on/off switch. On the left is a Secure Digital (SD) media slot, which makes it simple to transfer files from SD-equipped digital cameras, MP3 players, and other gadgets. You also attach the second, included battery to the bottom and toward the back so that it tilts the keyboard into a comfortable typing position. Finally, on the bottom is the one tiny speaker. The size and placement of the speaker result in poor audio quality, but it's a fair trade-off, given the Portégé 2000's design.
There are very few ways to upgrade the Portégé 2000. You can increase the memory to 512MB, purchase accessories such as the port replicator or external drive bays, or upgrade the warranty. But that's about it. For corporate customers, this is no big deal, but consumers and small-business users will probably want a little more flexibility.
The Portégé 2000 includes Windows XP Professional (you can opt for Windows 2000 Professional instead), but aside from that, it's a blank slate in terms of software. Toshiba says its corporate customers prefer to install their own applications, such as productivity suites. Toshiba includes its own suite of utilities for tasks such as programming quick keys for opening programs, folders, and documents; adjusting settings for the port replicator; and tweaking the system's power, network, and security settings.
Mobile application performance
With its relatively modest specs (a 750MHz Pentium III processor, 256MB of memory, and a 4,200rpm hard drive), the Portégé 2000 didn't exactly set the world on fire with its mobile performance. In fact, it scored 57 points lower than the Sony VAIO PCG-VX88 and 61 points behind the Gateway 200. In addition to the relatively slow processor and hard drive, there are other factors that could explain its poor performance. First, the Portégé 2000 uses Toshiba's custom Power Saver utility to manage the performance of the CPU. This utility may throttle back the processor further than Windows XP's power management would to boost battery life. Second, the Portégé 2000's Trident CyberBlade X card with shared memory hasn't delivered optimal performance in previous CNET Labs tests.
System configurations:
Gateway 200
Windows XP Professional; 933MHz Intel Pentium III-M; 248MB SDRAM 133MHz; Intel 82830M graphics controller 32MB (8MB shared); Toshiba MK2018GAP 20GB 4200rpm
Sony VAIO PCG-VX88
Windows XP Home; 850MHz Intel Pentium III-M; 256MB SDRAM 133MHz; Intel 82815 graphics controller 4MB; IBM Travelstar 30GN 30GB 4,200rpm
Toshiba Portégé 2000
Windows XP Professional; 750MHz Intel Pentium III-M; 240MB SDRAM 100MHz; Trident Video Accelerator CyberBlade X 16MB (shared); Toshiba MK2003GAH 20GB 4,200rpm
With only its primary (10.8-volt, 3,600mAh) battery, the Portégé 2000's battery life was equally disappointing. It lasted a weak 1 hour, 32 minutes in CNET Labs' tests. When we snapped on the included second battery (10.8 volts, 1,600mAh), the Portégé 2000 improved significantly, lasting almost 6 hours, the highest MobileMark2002 battery-life score we've seen to date. In effect, you must use both cells to get acceptable battery life. The obvious drawback to this is that the second battery adds 0.5 inches and 2.2 pounds to the overall system dimensions, which completely eliminates the Portégé 2000's size and weight advantage over other ulttraportables.
To measure mobile-application performance and battery life, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's MobileMark 2002, which measures both applications performance and battery life concurrently using a number of popular applications (Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Excel 2002, Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, Microsoft Outlook 2002, Netscape Communicator 6.0, WinZip Computing WinZip 8.0, McAfee VirusScan 5.13, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1, and Macromedia Flash 5).
Find out more about how we test notebooks.
System configurations:
Gateway 200
Windows XP Professional; 933MHz Intel Pentium III-M; 248MB SDRAM 133MHz; Intel 82830M graphics controller 32MB (8MB shared); Toshiba MK2018GAP 20GB 4200rpm
Sony VAIO PCG-VX88
Windows XP Home; 850MHz Intel Pentium III-M; 256MB SDRAM 133MHz; Intel 82815 graphics controller 4MB; IBM Travelstar 30GN 30GB 4,200rpm
Toshiba Portégé 2000
Windows XP Professional; 750MHz Intel Pentium III-M; 240MB SDRAM 100MHz; Trident Video Accelerator CyberBlade X 16MB (shared); Toshiba MK2003GAH 20GB 4,200rpm
Service and support policies are Toshiba's typically strong fare. The Portégé 2000 comes with a limited three-year warranty for parts and labor, though the battery is covered for only one year. Toshiba's Notebook Depot program promises repair within 48 hours of receipt of the unit. You can upgrade that warranty in several ways.
Toshiba's Web site also offers extensive technical support. You can verify the status of your warranty coverage, download utilities and user guides, read support bulletins and discussion forums, and locate the closest service centers. The Ask Iris system lets you pose a technical support question in plain English or Spanish and get answers from Toshiba's knowledge base. Online support includes downloads, support bulletins, user guides, and online support forums. If all else fails, you can contact Toshiba's toll-free, 24/7 technical support.
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Left side. | |
The full-width keyboard has 84 keys, some of which are located in unusual positions. For example, in comparison to traditional keyboards, the Delete button is lower and to the right. The Tab and Backspace keys are too small, and the Insert key is located precariously next to the spacebar. But these keyboard flaws are minor, and you get used to them quickly.
The touchpad and the mouse buttons. |
The second battery. |
To mouse around, use the Portégé 2000's silver touchpad and its two corresponding buttons. This is a smooth, if small, touchpad, and it's a welcome change from the somewhat uncomfortable pointing stick found on other Toshiba notebooks, including the Portégé 4010 and the Tecra 9100.
A convenient panel above the keyboard monitors the status of the battery, the hard drive, the wireless network, and other system components. The lid folds on two hinges, with room between the bottom of the lid and the top of the keyboard, so you can still see this panel when you close the display.
Toshiba keeps things simple with the Portégé 2000; it's available in only one configuration. This includes a 750MHz Pentium III-M, 256MB of memory, and a 20GB hard drive. The only graphics choice is a 16MB Trident Video Accelerator CyberBlade XP Ai1 that drives a crisp, 12.1-inch display with a default resolution of 1,024x768. The unit also includes integrated Wi-Fi wireless networking.
A notebook this thin can't accommodate a built-in drive bay. For storage options, you're limited to either a PC Card CD-ROM drive ($149) or an external floppy drive. There are no provisions for a CD-RW, DVD, or combination drive--even as options. And though there's an optional port replicator ($299) that adds four more USB ports, Ethernet, and monitor ports, Toshiba doesn't offer a media slice for the Portégé 2000, so there's no way to expand the system to accommodate a drive bay, as you can with some competing models.
The ports under the flap on the back. | |
There are very few ways to upgrade the Portégé 2000. You can increase the memory to 512MB, purchase accessories such as the port replicator or external drive bays, or upgrade the warranty. But that's about it. For corporate customers, this is no big deal, but consumers and small-business users will probably want a little more flexibility.
The Portégé 2000 includes Windows XP Professional (you can opt for Windows 2000 Professional instead), but aside from that, it's a blank slate in terms of software. Toshiba says its corporate customers prefer to install their own applications, such as productivity suites. Toshiba includes its own suite of utilities for tasks such as programming quick keys for opening programs, folders, and documents; adjusting settings for the port replicator; and tweaking the system's power, network, and security settings.
Mobile application performance
With its relatively modest specs (a 750MHz Pentium III processor, 256MB of memory, and a 4,200rpm hard drive), the Portégé 2000 didn't exactly set the world on fire with its mobile performance. In fact, it scored 57 points lower than the Sony VAIO PCG-VX88 and 61 points behind the Gateway 200. In addition to the relatively slow processor and hard drive, there are other factors that could explain its poor performance. First, the Portégé 2000 uses Toshiba's custom Power Saver utility to manage the performance of the CPU. This utility may throttle back the processor further than Windows XP's power management would to boost battery life. Second, the Portégé 2000's Trident CyberBlade X card with shared memory hasn't delivered optimal performance in previous CNET Labs tests.
Mobile application performance (Longer bars indicate faster performance)
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System configurations:
Gateway 200
Windows XP Professional; 933MHz Intel Pentium III-M; 248MB SDRAM 133MHz; Intel 82830M graphics controller 32MB (8MB shared); Toshiba MK2018GAP 20GB 4200rpm
Sony VAIO PCG-VX88
Windows XP Home; 850MHz Intel Pentium III-M; 256MB SDRAM 133MHz; Intel 82815 graphics controller 4MB; IBM Travelstar 30GN 30GB 4,200rpm
Toshiba Portégé 2000
Windows XP Professional; 750MHz Intel Pentium III-M; 240MB SDRAM 100MHz; Trident Video Accelerator CyberBlade X 16MB (shared); Toshiba MK2003GAH 20GB 4,200rpm
With only its primary (10.8-volt, 3,600mAh) battery, the Portégé 2000's battery life was equally disappointing. It lasted a weak 1 hour, 32 minutes in CNET Labs' tests. When we snapped on the included second battery (10.8 volts, 1,600mAh), the Portégé 2000 improved significantly, lasting almost 6 hours, the highest MobileMark2002 battery-life score we've seen to date. In effect, you must use both cells to get acceptable battery life. The obvious drawback to this is that the second battery adds 0.5 inches and 2.2 pounds to the overall system dimensions, which completely eliminates the Portégé 2000's size and weight advantage over other ulttraportables.
Battery life (Longer bars indicate longer battery life)
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To measure mobile-application performance and battery life, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's MobileMark 2002, which measures both applications performance and battery life concurrently using a number of popular applications (Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Excel 2002, Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, Microsoft Outlook 2002, Netscape Communicator 6.0, WinZip Computing WinZip 8.0, McAfee VirusScan 5.13, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1, and Macromedia Flash 5).
Find out more about how we test notebooks.
System configurations:
Gateway 200
Windows XP Professional; 933MHz Intel Pentium III-M; 248MB SDRAM 133MHz; Intel 82830M graphics controller 32MB (8MB shared); Toshiba MK2018GAP 20GB 4200rpm
Sony VAIO PCG-VX88
Windows XP Home; 850MHz Intel Pentium III-M; 256MB SDRAM 133MHz; Intel 82815 graphics controller 4MB; IBM Travelstar 30GN 30GB 4,200rpm
Toshiba Portégé 2000
Windows XP Professional; 750MHz Intel Pentium III-M; 240MB SDRAM 100MHz; Trident Video Accelerator CyberBlade X 16MB (shared); Toshiba MK2003GAH 20GB 4,200rpm
Service and support policies are Toshiba's typically strong fare. The Portégé 2000 comes with a limited three-year warranty for parts and labor, though the battery is covered for only one year. Toshiba's Notebook Depot program promises repair within 48 hours of receipt of the unit. You can upgrade that warranty in several ways.
Toshiba's Web site also offers extensive technical support. You can verify the status of your warranty coverage, download utilities and user guides, read support bulletins and discussion forums, and locate the closest service centers. The Ask Iris system lets you pose a technical support question in plain English or Spanish and get answers from Toshiba's knowledge base. Online support includes downloads, support bulletins, user guides, and online support forums. If all else fails, you can contact Toshiba's toll-free, 24/7 technical support.
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User Reviews
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Showing 3 of 4 reviews
stars
"great machine" By roro101
Pros: ultra-portable, super durable, great keyboard, integrated wi-fi, wow factor
Cons: can be a bit slow on the draw
Summary: I LOVE my Portege 2000. I call it my little charmer; I have met more people because of this machine just becuase they are curious about the smallest, thinnest, lightest, sexiest laptop they've ever seen. My configuration is exactly what was reviewed, plus the SystemGuard Warranty. I've had ... Expand full review
stars
"Unexpectedly reliable" By
Pros: Used it for a year in school. First thing, great key board. It does not flex, and the keys are crips. I used to use IBM laptops which have good keyboards. But this one is better. The strokes are shorter, but so firm and crisps that it's a pleasure to
Cons: You need 512 MB ram for it to work well. wifi range is pretty poor.
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