Toshiba Portege M400

More on this product: review; user reviews; specifications; compare; shop

Share
- Digg
- Del.icio.us
- Reddit
- Facebook
E-mail
Print

CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
Detailed editors' rating

Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 17 reviews
See all user reviews

Product summary

The good: Inexpensive; integrated hot-swappable bay; built-in microphone; solid security features; generous software bundle.

The bad The bad: Middling mobile performance and battery life; cheap stylus.

The bottom line: Though inexpensive, the Portege M400 convertible tablet's middle-of-the-road performance and battery life may not be enough for the demanding business user. For basic tasks, however, it's a decent bargain.

Specifications: Processor: Intel Core Solo (1.66 GHz); RAM installed: 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM; Weight: 4.4 lbs; See full specs

Price range: $1,224.99

See all products in the Toshiba Portege M400 series

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: Stephanie Bruzzese
Edited by: Michelle Thatcher
Reviewed on: 05/12/2006
Released on: 02/07/2006

The follow-up to Toshiba's prior-generation Portege M200, the new Portege M400 is the first convertible tablet PC to offer Intel's Core Duo processor as an option. The system combines its new CPU with some nice convertible-tablet standards, such as a swiveling 12.1-inch display and a swappable optical drive. Still, though the Portege M400 costs less than several competing tablets, it also delivers slower performance and shorter battery life than many of its rivals. If you need a tablet form factor at a low price, the $1,699 Portege M400 may fit the bill. Otherwise, we recommend you check out the bigger Fujitsu LifeBook T4020 for superior performance (the configuration we tested cost $2,149, though lower-end models cost $1,499) or the Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet (prices start at $1,599) for extralong battery life.

The 4.8-pound Portege M400 measures 11.6 inches wide, 9.8 inches deep, and 1.6 inches thick--making it a bit bulkier than other convertible tables with 12.1-inch displays, such as the 4.8-pound Fujitsu LifeBook T4020 and the 3.6-pound Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet. Though the Portege M400's AC adapter tacks on another pound, the total package is still light enough for semifrequent travel and short stints of clipboard-style note-taking.

Like most convertible tablets, the Portege M400's screen swivels between landscape and portrait modes, automatically switching its orientation in midswivel. The display appears bright and clear both indoors and outside. Its standard 1,024x768 native resolution doesn't provide minute graphics detail or tons of screen real estate but makes for big, readable text. Two preset buttons alongside the screen serve to manually change the display's orientation and call up Windows Task Manager, while two other buttons can be programmed to launch the applications of your choice. Finally, a biometric fingerprint sensor sits in the screen's corner, providing an easy and secure way to log on to Windows and access other password-protected content.

The Portege M400's keyboard is on the smaller side, but we were able to type for an hour or two without cramping our hands. The touch pad and mouse buttons are also small, even for a tablet, yet tolerable. We experienced no problems with the included stylus, though its plastic construction seems a bit cheap; we did appreciate the handy "eraser" on its end, which works just like a pencil eraser on your digital notes. As with most tablets, the M400 has a built-in microphone for on-the-fly dictation and recording. Two integrated speakers reside in the far upper corners above the keyboard, where their mediocre sound is partially obscured by the lid, whether it's in laptop or tablet mode. A convenient wheel on the front edge helps you adjust the volume.

You'll discover a pretty typical mix of ports, jacks, and slots on the Portege M400. The list includes FireWire, VGA, and three USB 2.0 ports; headphone and microphone jacks; and one Type II PC Card slot, as well as a 5-in-1 flash media card slot. The M400 can connect to networks via 56K modem, Ethernet, or 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi. The tablet also offers a hot-swappable bay for an optical drive; our unit included a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive. Windows XP Tablet Edition 2005 comes preloaded on the Toshiba Portege M400, along with a nice assortment of additional software, such as Microsoft Office OneNote 2003, for stylus note-taking; the Microsoft Works mini-productivity suite; Toshiba's EasyGuard security and utilities suite, which includes a Trusted Platform Module and hard-drive protection capabilities; and various applications for disc playing and burning.

We tested the $1,699 Toshiba Portege M400-S933, which sells for hundreds less than competing tablets with lesser specs. The unit includes a 1.66GHz Intel Core Solo processor; a standard 512MB of memory running at a fast 667MHz; a respectably sized 80GB hard drive spinning at an average 5,400rpm; and integrated Intel 950 graphics. Both the $1,949 Fujitsu LifeBook T4020 and $1,899 Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet offer older Pentium M processors and smaller hard drives.

See more CNET content tagged:: Toshiba Portege,; tablet,; Toshiba,; Fujitsu LifeBook,; optical drive

User reviews

Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 17 reviews
My rating: 0 stars Write review

Showing 3 of 17 user reviewsSee all 17 user reviews
5.0 stars

5 out of 6 people found this review helpful

"Very Impressed with so far and fingerprint scanner is awesome!!!!"

by dentalrep on March 9, 2006

read more
1.5 stars

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful

"GREAT EXPECTATIONS - UP IN SMOKE"

by spaskal on February 28, 2006

read more
4.5 stars

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

"Good Laptop + Good Tablet + Size = Amazing!!!"

by Destroyer250 on September 1, 2006

read more
See all 17 user reviews Write review

Submit your review

Toshiba Portege M400

1. Rate this product:: (Mouse over the stars to rate this product and click to set your rating.)
2. One-line summary:(Summarize your review in one line. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 55 characters
3. Pros:(Tell us what you like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
4. Cons:(Tell us what you don't like about this product. 10 characters minimum; required.): 0 of 250 characters
Bottom-line summary:(Explain to us in detail why you like or dislike the product, focusing your comments on the product's features and functionality, and your experience using the product. This field is optional.): 0 of 5000 characters; Submit

Where to buy

Toshiba Portege M400: $1,224.99

store	price	in stock?	rating
	$1,224.99	No

see prices from 1 store

Reviews from around the Web

mobiletechreview.com

Editors' rating: 80

Summary: The Toshiba M400 is a bargain among Windows XP Tablet Edition convertibles. The Core Duo (now standard), SATA hard drive, optical drive and plenty of ports make this a very capable portable, yet the notebook is light and very compact. We love having the i

Read full review
whatlaptop.co.uk

Editors' rating: 80

Summary: An accomplished Tablet PC that's versatile and well put together

Read full review
pocket-lint.co.uk

Editors' rating: 70

Summary: It may bring nothing new to the Tablet PC format but the inclusion of 3G makes it a great choice when out and about

Read full review
laptopmag.com

Editors' rating: 80

Read full review
pcmag.com

Editors' rating: 80

Summary: If prestige is what you're after, the M400-S4032 is the only convertible tablet currently available that's blessed with both integrated EV-DO wireless and a dual-core processor.

Read full review