Toshiba Portege R500

Toshiba Portege R500 Review

Ultra portables have carved a niche in the laptop world as the sexy and stylish of all laptops out in the market. They're small and lightweight, making them the perfect travel companion if you're a power user who is constantly on-the-go. However, as a result of their compact form factor the ultra portable is sometimes limited in its performance and feature sets, making them a product geared more for the travelling businessman. These machines usually have slower performing processors, lack of any video graphics capabilities, and no optical drive built-in in an effort to save battery power and space.

Overview

Ultra portables have carved a niche in the laptop world as the sexy and stylish of all laptops out in the market. They're small and lightweight, making them the perfect travel companion if you're a power user who is constantly on-the-go. However, as a result of their compact form factor the ultra portable is sometimes limited in its performance and feature sets, making them a product geared more for the travelling businessman. These machines usually have slower performing processors, lack of any video graphics capabilities, and no optical drive built-in in an effort to save battery power and space.

To make up for these shortcomings, manufacturers usually dress them up in a lightweight and thin casing, and market them as a higher luxury product that costs hundreds more than their bigger, higher performing stablemates. Each manufacturer in the ultra portable market tries to outdo one another by offering a model that is significantly thinner and lighter than the competition.

Well, Toshiba is out to set records best their competition by introducing the highly anticipated Portege R500. Dubbed as the world's thinnest and lightest laptop, the R500 can claim a number of other accolades including the longest battery life of a 12' widescreen laptop, the world's first LED backlit transreflective indoor/outdoor display and other lofty claims. While this machine is inarguably the lightest machine with an integrated optical drive, it is not the first two-spindle ultra portable. The Sony TX series featured a lightweight ultra portable design and an integrated optical drive as well. Regardless, 2.4 lbs. is ridiculously light!

Quick, somebody give Toshiba some medals already!

Design

Portability
The highlight of the R500 is of course its diminutive size - just look at it! At 0.77' thin and under 2.5 lbs. (Toshiba claims 1.7 lbs. with the optical drive removed and solid state disk option) It's pretty impressive how they crammed so much into so little space. Oh it's plenty portable alright, yet still practical enough for everyday use and comfort. Already, I have had people come up to me asking me if that really is a laptop I'm carrying and to see the look in amazement when I confirm. Yet, I still have a hard time convincing myself I'm holding the world's thinnest and lightest laptop. You really have to hold it and see for yourself just what a marvelous piece of engineering Toshiba has produced.

Case and Design
Toshiba has designed a truly remarkable machine with the R500. It is the first ultra portable with a standard optical drive built-in into the unit and comes in at less than an inch thick. Pretty much all ultra portables on the market have optional external optical drives that require the need to plug in via USB and a separate power adapter. Keeping with the times, the Portege comes in a nice silver finish on the outside and a contrasting black finish on the inner bezel.

Design-wise, the R500 is stylish and sexy without being over-the-top. Everything is nicely laid out and it is clearly evident that Toshiba wasted no space in keeping things lean and tight. The unit is cleanly designed with a mix of angular lines and soft curves - Functional and comfortable.

The R500 is incredibly thin at just a hair over .75' thick, and roughly 2.4 lbs. in weight. Toshiba goes on to state that the R500 can be ordered with a 64GB solid state disk drive in lieu of the standard mechanical SATA drive, bringing the weight down to an incredible 1.72 lbs! With soft round edges and a sturdy feel, Toshiba has made something wonderful to hold and use.

Build quality is top notch with excellent fit and finish as typical Toshiba laptops usually go. The unit is mostly made of plastic and while sturdy, there is some noticeable flexing around the palm rest area, due to the fact that thinner materials were used in an effort to save weight. The top lid is made of aluminum and is cool to the touch. I don't expect this machine to handle much abuse though so be careful.

Keyboard
For such a small laptop, Toshiba did an incredible job of cramming an 85-key keyboard into a limited area without changing much of the key layout. There also dedicated buttons to launch Toshiba Assist, an onscreen utility program that comes built into the operating system. Most ultra portables use a similar keyboard design, although Lenovo's ThinkPad X Series use a more ergonomic 7-row design that technically qualifies as full-size. Keep in mind those machines start in the upper-2lbs range and get heavier from there; everything is truly a tradeoff.

My only gripe (and also welcome surprise) are the oddly placed Page Up and Page Down keys to the right of the right Shift key, which I have a tendency to hit on accident. Otherwise, typing felt really good and natural. Those familiar with Toshiba machines will note that the keyboard now features the Windows Start key in the industry-standard location; previously Toshiba placed this key in the upper-right corner. Thanks for fixing that Toshiba! Flexing is minimal and it's also spill-proof. Overall, the R500 has a very solidly built and comfortable keyboard.

Design Continued

Touchpad
The design of the touchpad is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and works as well as it looks. Feedback is good if a bit spotty at times, but that may be due to the sensitivity settings in Vista. Otherwise, there's plenty of real estate to move around.

Below the track pad is the mouse buttons laid out in a nice metallic-mirror finish. It looks good but also at the same time, feels rather cheap. And unfortunately, it's a magnet for fingerprints and smudges. LED status lights emit through the mirror-like coating when lit. Left and right-click buttons are where they should be, separated by a finger print scanner for secure locking of the R500. The buttons have good tactile feedback and are well made, but I find the buttons too small. On many occasions, I wasn't registering the click and had to glance down away from the screen to see if my thumb is where it should be.

Connectivity Options
Most ultra-portables skimp on the port options as a result of their limited space and added heft. The Toshiba R500 manages to include the ports needed to get you through the most demanding of today's computer tasks. And yes, the built-in optical drive is an added bonus and a first in its class. Let's take a look at what this full-featured notebook comes with:

• 3 USB 2.0 ports
• 4-Pin FireWire (IEEE 1394) port
• VGA-Out Monitor port
• Headphone / line-out port
• Mic-in port
• PC Card slot
• Ethernet port
• SD media card reader

Up front, Toshiba kept things clean by having a non-latching mechanism for the top lid.

The rear is equally as clean with just the hinge and detachable battery showing.

The ports - there they are! On the right side, you'll find one USB 2.0 port and an Ethernet jack. A standard PC Card slot is located on the bottom. Unfortunately, Toshiba didn't make use of the new ExpressCard standard. Also of note is the WiFI on-off switch, SD media card reader, and the optical drive - at only 7mm thin!!

On the left side, you'll find a VGA output port for connecting to an external monitor or projector, a 4-pin 'mini-plug' Firewire port, and 2 more USB ports. Volume control, audio in/out and power port are also located on this side.

Heat and Noise
The R500 is a relatively quiet machine. The fan is audible but its whisper quiet in operation, even if it is constant blowing hot air out the left vents.

Speaking of hot, however, the R500 can run really hot. This is due to just how thin in nature the unit is and the light materials used. That means the palm rests and keyboard will get warm quick, and you'll really feel it on the bottom left side where the RAM slot is located. I almost burned myself holding the laptop on the side near the vents. If you plan on using this machine on your lap, don't type too long in this setting as you will find it uncomfortable after awhile. It's best to place it on a desk for use.

Upgrading and Expansion
It is no surprise ultra-portables sacrifice expandability for size. That said, the R500 really only has 2 options for expansion: upgrade to a higher capacity battery and upgrading the RAM. For the RAM, there's only one slot available to add more. That's pretty much it.

There's only room for one additional stick of RAM for upgrades.

Features

Technical Specifications
The Toshiba Portege R500 we received comes pretty much in one configuration. It features Intel's dual-core processor, the Core 2 Duo U7600. The U7600 is an ultra low-voltage processor that is designed for maximum power savings and runs at a reasonable 1.20GHz and features 2MB of L2 cache. 1GB of dual-channel PC2-533 DDR2 SDRAM comes standard and is expandable to 2GB max. A 64MB Intel GMA950 graphics chip is included, but don't expect it to power any games.

Our R500 came equipped with a standard 2.5' 120GB 5400RPM SATA hard drive. Hard drive performance seemed to be good, and it operated with little to no noise. We are glad to see Toshiba utilize industry-standard 2.5' hard drives, compared to the smaller, slower, and lower capacity 1.8' drives that some companies use to save space and weight. Toshiba utilizes a shock absorbing design to reduce impact, as well as an accelerometer to detect sudden falls and help protect the hard drive. To really lighten the load, the R500 can be ordered with a solid state drive with a meager 64GB of space. SSD hard drives are still relatively expensive, but are lighter, consume less power, generate no noise, and can be faster than their mechanical counterparts. When the industry matures, we'll see higher capacity SSD drives for less.

Rounding out the package, our review unit includes a fingerprint ID scanner, built-in microphone, and basic sound card. Pathetically, there's only one speaker and with it, you won't be hearing much with it. The LCD panel and chassis both have shock protection to protect from light drops, but don't expect anything rugged with something so small.

Disappointingly, Toshiba decided not to include a built-in modem to cut costs and save space. If you're traveling a lot and you're staying at a place that offers only landlines, you'll have to invest in an aftermarket USB modem, or pray there's a wireless signal around.

Display
The 12.1' WXGA widescreen display of the R500 is amazing to look at. It's so incredibly thinhow Toshiba managed to cram a screen into such a thin lid enclosure is beyond imagination. Yet, the display is sturdy with minimal flex and rippling when pressure is applied. The screen can reach resolutions up to 1280 x 800.

The R500 utilized LED backlighting instead of traditional LCD display setup. An LED backlit display is able to produce a more even light across the whole screen so that colors and images are consistently bright. LED backlights can also be equal or brighter than traditional LCD displays, yet use much less energy which helps improve battery life.

In real world tests, I found the widescreen display very crisp and vibrant. I didn't notice any huge difference having a LED backlit setup, but the color brightness stayed even throughout the screen, provided you're facing directly at the screen and not from an angle. Watching a video yielded no problems with no blurring evident. Text showed up fine and clearly legible.

Toshiba claims this is the world's first 12.1' indoor/outdoor transreflective LED backlit display. In outdoor situations, you can turn off the LED backlighting with the push of a button, and let the transreflective screen utilizes natural light to produce the image on screen. This feature not only saves battery power, but allows you to work outside in the sunlight if you find it convenient. It is however limited in range, as the sunlight must be pointed directly at the screen to produce an image and usually, the results give off a dimmed/tinted appearance. Nonetheless, this technology certainly makes things legible in outdoor situations. The question is whether you actually want to sit outside in the heat with your back facing the sun.

Optical Drive
The R500 comes with a standard built-in optical drive. This might not be a surprise to many, but this is big news in the ultra-portable market as it marks a first for a system of this class. The 8X single-layer DVD +/-R optical drive measures only a scant 7-mm in thickness making this the thinnest enclosure ever!

Even better is how remarkably silent the drive operates. Never more than a slight hum this drive gives off. The optical drive as its dubbed, supports 9 formats listed here:
Maximum speed and supported formats:

• CD-ROM (24x)
• CD-R (24x)
• CD-RW (10x)
• DVD-ROM (8x)
• DVD-R (8x)
• DVD (8x)
• DVD+R (8x)
• DVD+RW (4x)
• DVD-RAM (3x)

Features Continued

Wi-Fi
The R500 uses Intel's Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN, supporting the industry standard 802.11a/b/g/n wireless signals. Wireless connectivity worked very well with no hiccups and connectivity was fast. A convenient on/off switch allows you to shut off the wireless signal when not in use, saving battery power.
Users expecting to utilize the Internet via landlines beware - Toshiba omitted the inclusion of a modem in an effort to save space. So unless you're connected wireless while on the go, you'll have to shell out some money on a portable USB unit.

Bluetooth
Bluetooth 2.0 is included in the laptop and also features EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) for support of stereo headphones and other devices.

Battery
The standard battery is 5800mAh (6-Cell) Lithium Ion battery and Toshiba claims it's the world's longest performing battery for a widescreen 12.1' laptop. The battery is inserted into the rear. The design is free of any protruding edges and is flush with the rest of the rear surface. Performance wise, I managed a good 4 hours using the laptop for web browsing and other basic tasks. Overall, I would expect the R500 to have very good battery life. You can see our full benchmark results later in the review.

AC Adapter
The Toshiba R500 comes with a compact power brick that is no bigger than your average sized mobile phone. It's rated at 15V x 3A.

Setup Method

The laptop was set to run at full performance by setting the power scheme set to 'Balanced' with the AC plugged in, meaning that the CPU will not underclock while running the tests. For the battery performance test, the power scheme was set to 'Power Saver'. Each battery performance test was repeated 3 times to ensure accuracy. Before each test was run, the laptop was rebooted and its hard drive defragmented.

System Performance Testing

PCMark 05 Advanced Build 1.2.0* is the latest update to Futuremark's popular overall system benchmarking program. The 2005 version adds multithreading, DirectX 9, Windows Media Player 10, virus scanning, High Definition video playback (WMVHD), and a vast number of other tests to its suite. Testing your computer's CPU, RAM, hard drive and graphics card, PCMark05 drives your computer to the max to determine its strengths and weaknesses.

*Test results are only available for systems running Windows XP. PCMark will not run properly on Windows Vista.

PC World WorldBench 6 is the sixth revision of PC World's well regarded full-system benchmarking suite. Worldbench runs a slew of benchmarking tests designed to simulate many common programs used by today's typical user. Programs benchmarked are Adobe Photoshop CS2, Autodesk 3ds max 8.0, Firefox 2, Microsoft Office 2003 SP1, Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9.0, Nero 7 Ultra Edition, Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator 1.5, and WinZip 10.0.

WorldBench 6 scores are baselined against a test system consisting of a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, 2GB DDR2 RAM, nVIDIA GeForce 7900GS graphics card, and 2 x 320GB Western Digital hard drives in RAID-0, with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium installed as the OS. After each test has been run, the system clears temp files and reboots.

• Adobe Photoshop CS2: A small, non-complex image opens and the software applies and undoes each set of artistic filter enhancements (11 sets in all). After this has completed, a much larger and complex image is loaded and the same filters are applied, at a much slower rate as the image takes longer to manipulate due to its size. After these tasks have been completed, the benchmark ends.
• 3ds max 8.0: A file is opened showing a wireframe of an underwater scene, which is rendered by the software, with a cartoon-looking lizard appearing in a second window in the background towards the very end. As soon as this rendering is complete, a three-dimensional mouse bearing more than a close resemblance to Stuart Little is quickly rendered, and as this completes, a dragon in its environment is rendered. Once these are all finished, the benchmark concludes.
• Microsoft Office 2003 SP1: A new word document is opened, and an existing Access database is converted to Access '97 format. After the conversion occurs, the tables are examined. An Excel spreadsheet showing multiple pages of financial information is opened and the data is manipulated by changing formulas and functions. The new Word document opened at the onset is then accessed, and converts an RTF document into Word format. Once the conversion has finished, a spell check is initiated on the 180-page document, and the benchmark ends after that has concluded.
• Firefox / Windows Media Encoder 9.0 Multitasking: Windows Media Encoder is opened and a new project is started. As the project encodes, the PC World website opens and the benchmark begins navigating to numerous articles/links on the site. Once the encoding process completes, the benchmark concludes.
• Roxio VideoWave Movie Creator 1.5: A new storyline is opened to make a video of a user's vacation he recently filmed. Several clips are imported into the program and each one is rendered individually. After the fourth clip renders successfully, the benchmark ends.
• Nero 7 Ultra Edition: This benchmark simulates writing a DVD data disc and saving as an NRG image file. The test is repeated three times before the benchmark is finished.
• WinZip 10.0: The system takes a group of files and compresses them within WinZip. Once this has been performed, the benchmark concludes.

3D Performance Testing

3DMark06 build 1.1.0 uses advanced real-time 3D game workloads to measure PC performance using a suite of DirectX 9 3D graphics tests, CPU tests, and 3D feature tests, including HDR/SM3.0 graphics tests, advanced SM2.0 graphics tests, AI and physics-driven single and multiple core CPU tests.

Gaming Performance Testing

Each game benchmarked at Laptop Logic will be tested twice: first, at 800x600 resolution with default settings, and then at 1024x768 resolution with default settings.

Games will be played for 15 minutes at each resolution in predetermined in-game locales to best simulate a gaming experience, while running Fraps ( http://www.fraps.com ) in the background to measure the frames-per-second performance. At the end of the 15 minute period, minimum, maximum, and average frames-per-second (FPS) will be noted and displayed in a line graph.

F.E.A.R. is one of the most popular First Person Shooters in recent memory. A paramilitary force infiltrates a multibillion dollar aerospace compound taking hostages, but issuing no demands. With U.S. Special Forces in over their heads, the Commander in Chief turns to his final option: you. You've been trained to handle the inexplicable, armed with experimental high tech weaponry, and given full executive authority to end the crisis by any means necessary.

An advanced Special FX system showers you in sparks, smoke, and debris, making combat as intense and exhilarating as an action movie. The latest in DirectX 9.0 rendering technology uses real-time per pixel lighting, shadow volumes, normal mapping, and advanced shaders to create a world so convincing you'll forget you're playing a game. Employing Havok 2 Game Dynamics, unleashing hell on your enemies is visceral and satisfying. Bodies recoil and collapse accurately and objects react to being shot, pushed, or blown up.

Battlefield 2142 is the latest iteration of EA Games' award-winning 'Battlefield' series. The year is 2142 and the dawn of a new Ice Age has thrown the world into a panic. Players choose to fight for one of two military superpowers, the European Union or the newly formed Pan Asian Coalition, in an epic battle for survival. Highlights include three different game modes, loads of futuristic weaponry and technology, as well as online gameplay for up to 64 players.

Large maps with tons of opponents ensure that players are always treated to a fast paced gaming experience that is never short on action.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is the sequel to the best-selling, award-winning Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Oblivion is a single player game that takes place in Tamriel's capital province, Cyrodiil. You are given the task of finding the hidden heir to a throne that sits empty, the previous emperor having been killed by an unknown assassin. With no true Emperor, the gates to Oblivion (the equivalent of hell in the world of Tamriel) open, and demons begin to invade Cyrodiil and attack its people and towns. It's up to you to find the lost heir to the throne and unravel the sinister plot that threatens to destroy all of Tamriel.

Oblivion is a leap forward in role-playing with its combination of freeform gameplay and cutting-edge graphics, and features a groundbreaking new AI system, called Radiant AI, which gives non-player characters (NPCs) the ability to make their own choices based on the world around them. Oblivion is known to tax even the upper echelon of high end systems, due to the rendering required to fully immerse players in its massive environments.

Battery Performance Testing

Laptop Logic has chosen to take a 'real-world' approach to battery testing, eschewing a more formal software-based benchmark. There are four components of Laptop Logic's new battery performance testing: DVD playback, general use, and recharge time.

DVD Playback is just as the name suggests. A copy of Peter Jackson's King Kong will be played on the system (in either Windows Media Player or PowerDVD or whatever DVD playback software ships with the laptop). The movie will be played on loop in case the laptop's battery exceeds the film's 187 minute (3 hours 7 minutes) runtime. At the beginning of the test, the editor will record the start time with a PC-based stop watch program and note when the test concludes.

General Use will simulate a normal user experience, with tasks similar to those commonly performed by an average person. General Use will have several different tasks running simultaneously. The system will stream ESPN Radio Primetime's podcast ( http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/index ), display a live video feed from the Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii ( http://www.turtlebayresort.com/About_Us/webcam.asp ), have the Laptop Logic forums open in the background, and perform random web browsing and text editing. At the beginning of the test, the editor will record the start time with a PC-based stop watch program and note when the test concludes.

Recharge Time will measure how long it takes for the system to recharge itself from 0% to 100%.

Performance

PCMark 2005

The R500 falls behind here mainly due to its lower clocked CPU. While the Ultra Low Volt dual core has plenty of horsepower for daily usage, it can't stack up against higher clocked CPU's in pure number crunching.

3DMark 2005

3DMark 2006

These benchmarks tell the tale we already knew. The Acer's ATI integrated graphics have a slight edge against the Intel GMA 950, while the Sony's hybrid discrete/integrated graphics utilizing an NVIDIA GPU blow them both out of the water.

DVD Drain

While we are still gathering test results for this new benchmark, our testing showed the R500 lasted a reasonable 3.5 hours (210 minutes). During our General usage test, it lasted 265 minutes. Recharging from 0-100% took 225 minutes.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Incredibly thin & lightweight
• Built-in optical drive
• Sleek and stylish design
• Good battery life
• Full-size keyboard

Cons:

• Expensive
• No modem
• Monoraul speaker
• Limited expandability
• Sluggish performance

Toshiba has really brought out many of the world's firsts in this ultra-portable machine. It's currently the thinnest and lightest full-featured ultra-portable you can buy on the market. And with it, you'll really stand out and impress passersby.

I want to make it a point that this is strictly a general usage or business machine. If you're a gamer or media enthusiast, this is clearly not for you. With a Vista performance rating of 2.0, the performance is good enough for daily internet, e-mail, word processing, etc. It certainly won't win any awards for raw performance.
In the end, I'm left with the feeling of wanting more. Afterall, at $2000, there are plenty of options out there with way more power and only just a bit more heft. This one is geared solely for style-concious user wanting to impress in the boardroom or on the plane ride home.

Very impressive effort from Toshiba nonetheless.

Availability/Warranty
The Toshiba Portege R500 is available now retailing at $1999. Toshiba offers a 3 year standard limited warranty on parts and labor.