Toshiba Portege R100
Pricing not available
CNET Editors' Review
The good: Very thin and light; long battery life with high-capacity battery; integrated 802.11b wireless; full-size VGA port; three-year warranty.
The bad: Short battery life with primary battery; limited secondary storage options through Toshiba.
The bottom line: The Toshiba Portege R100 is a very light, well-designed laptop, but like many ultraportables, it suffers from abbreviated battery life when running off its primary cell.
There's not much an ultralight maker can do with a case that measures only 11.3 by 9 by 0.7 inches (W, D, H) and weighs just 2.4 pounds. The AC adapter adds 0.64 pounds to the travel weight, while the second battery adds 0.7 pounds, bringing the system to a total of 3.7 pounds. The notebook rises slightly at the rear to accommodate an ultralight rarity--a full-size VGA port--on the back edge, so you won't need a port replicator or an adapter to connect to an external monitor. The same edge also offers one port each for a 56Kbps modem and Ethernet and two ports for USB 2.0. One Type II PC Card slot, headphone and microphone ports, and a wireless On/Off switch sit on the right edge, while a Secure Digital (SD) slot that handles small SD media cards is on the left edge.
In keeping with the spartan theme, the Portege R100 comes with one operating system--Windows XP Professional. Your two office suite choices are the standard Microsoft Office XP Small Business and Professional editions. Remaining software includes a couple of Toshiba utilities and Adobe Acrobat Reader. We tested the Portege R100 in two ways: first with just its primary battery, then by adding the bigger battery (included in the price). The latter setup greatly increased the battery life, but the difference in mobile performance was negligible. Even with two batteries running, the Portege R100 barely beat the Sharp PC-MV14 with just one battery. The Sony VAIO PCG-TR1A, also on one battery, smoked the competition--most likely because it had twice the memory of the other notebooks. For a system with its specs, the Portege R100 performs well running office and content-creation applications.
To measure mobile application performance and battery life, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's MobileMark 2002. MobileMark measures both application 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 5.0). Find out more about how we test notebooks. System configurations:Sharp PC-MV14 Sony VAIO PCG-TR1A Toshiba Portege R100 We'll give you the bad news first: running on just its 10.8V, 1,600mAh (17WHr) primary battery, the Portege R100 conks out in a little more than two hours. Now for the good news: add the 10.8V, 3,600mAh (39WHr) secondary battery, and the Portege R100 leaps ahead of the competition, lasting more than six hours. Its closest competitor, the Sony VAIO PCG-TR1A, with its 11.1V, 4,300mAh (48WHr) cell, lasted more than four hours. That's impressive, but it can't compare to the Portege R100 with both batteries running.
To measure mobile application performance and battery life, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's MobileMark 2002. MobileMark measures both application 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 5.0). Find out more about how we test notebooks. System configurations:Sharp PC-MV14 Sony VAIO PCG-TR1A Toshiba Portege R100 Toshiba throws in a long, three-year warranty with the Portege R100, which helps explain why the notebook is on the expensive side. The excellent warranty includes three years of free parts and labor via carry-in or return-to-depot service; Toshiba will conveniently send you packing materials and a preaddressed shipping sticker should you choose the latter. The company also provides expanded warranty options, such as onsite repairs and next-business-day service, for prices up to $318. Toshiba's support Web site is among the better sites we've seen; it includes FAQs, downloads, an Ask Jeeves-style knowledge base, and a link to CompuServe's free laptop forum. To find out more about how this product's warranty really stacks up and what you should look for in terms of service and support, take a look at CNET's hardware warranty explainer. Hide ReviewUser ReviewsSee all user reviewsMost recent user reviewsShowing 3 of 17 reviews stars "Student's dream" ByPros: If you’re looking for a light full-featured laptop this is it. I researched ultra portables for months and decided there was little trade off going with one over a 5-8lb notebook. I narrowed the field to the Fujitsu P7010, Sony T series and Sharp Actius Cons: The screen is not transflective like the Sony and Fujitsu. This is a small trade off. Why? The R100's screen is probably the best non-transflective I’ve seen. Great viewing angles, bright and bigger then the 10.5 inchers. Also, don’t forget it doesn’ stars "SleekySlickyFast" ByPros: Optional battery, speed and added features. Graphics a major goody. Cons: A bit pricy but fairly priced for the features Where to BuyPricing not available Compare to Editors' Top sSee All Best s Where to BuyPricing not available 
Which laptop is right for me?
While a laptop has become a ubiquitous accessory for modern life, the actual process of choosing the right model can take some serious time and research. In this guide, we'll outline the different categories of laptops and which types are best for different users. We'll also take a look at CPU, hard-drive, and networking options. We've compiled a handful of typical user experiences that should help outline what type of laptop is right for you. Chances are, you'll fall somewhere in between two or more of these archetypes, so carefully consider what you'll be using your new laptop for.  
|
