An avalanche of portables from the notebooks' king

Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta, zatni@cbn.net.id

One of my senior colleagues called me recently, asking me which notebook computer he should buy. To be honest, there is no easy answer. If money was not a problem, the recommendation might have been one of those ThinkPads. But ThinkPads are not exactly for everyone. They have some of the best technological advances, a sleek design and some of them are the most abuse-resistant notebooks in the industry, but they usually are outside most budgets.

"Shall I buy a Toshiba?" he asked me. Well, almost everyone would think of Toshiba as the notebook computer to buy. It is not surprising at all, as Toshiba's Satellites, Tecras and Porteges have been collectively the best selling notebooks in the world. IDC reported that this company "achieved the number one position for Total Worldwide Portables Shipment in Q1, 2002". Toshiba notebooks are not cheap, but they are generally worth the money.

I still remember the day one of my friends bought a Toshiba T1100 laptop back in 1986. It was one of the first generation laptops in the industry. Laptops were far larger and heavier than today's notebooks, and no one was using the term "notebook computer" back then. Zenith was one of the other popular laptop makers at that time. Between 1985 -- the year the Toshiba T1100 first appeared -- and September 2002, Toshiba reportedly sold 25 million portable computers. If you visit a second-hand notebook store in Jakarta, you are more likely to find a Toshiba notebook than notebooks from the other makers.

There are certainly many other notebook brands on the market including Acer, ASUS, Compaq, Dell, Fujitsu, Sony and local brand Zyrex. Most of these notebooks are excellent portable machines with great features and mostly decent prices. We regularly take a look at some of them, and it is clear that their quality and capability have always been improving.

However, it has been quite some time since the last time I sat down with a Toshiba notebook and explored its various features. So, when I heard Toshiba was going to launch several new notebooks, I canceled my other appointments and went to their launching event which showcased the new products.

* Different sizes to meet different needs

I guess the most familiar of Toshiba's lines of notebooks is the Satellite Series, especially since it consists of the most affordable models. This time around Toshiba introduced the Satellite 2430. Although it is the low-end, Toshiba does not skimp on features. This model comes with nVidia GeForce4 420 Go with 32 MB of DDR video memory, a Harman Kardon sound system with 3-D sound capability, three USB 2.0 ports, a Fast Infrared (FIR) port, a TV-out port and many other useful tidbits. We can even fit this Satellite with DVD-R/RW, if we choose to.

Another interesting addition, which I have not come across in the other notebooks (I have not looked at many of them lately) is the Secure Digital memory card reader. The SD card is one of the storage media used in digital cameras. So, if your camera uses an SD card, transferring image files to the notebook will be very easy. There will be no need to use the USB cable.

A little bit further up the budget is the Satellite 5200 Series. Toshiba calls it their first notebook with an integrated rewritable DVD-R/RW/RAM Multi-Function drive. Catering to the more power-hungry users, it comes with 512 MB of RAM, a 15-inch Super Fine Screen and a 60 MB hard disk. It uses nVidia GeForce 460 Go instead of the 420. The drive bay can also accept an optional card reader device called "bridge media adapter". This device can read various types of memory medias besides the SD card, including Sony's MemoryStick, CompactFlash and SmartMedia. The notebook even comes with a remote control that can help us control our PowerPoint presentation or playback DVD movies.

Meanwhile, the latest Tecra model is the TE2100. Like the Satellites, it also has the latest Intel Pentium 4 M processors with speeds up to 2.0 GHz. I cannot imagine what one would need this much power for, but it is there, nonetheless.

Those who prefer the slim and sleek notebooks must have a close look at the new Portege 2010. It is really a gorgeous ultraportable notebook, with a weight of just over one kg (about 2.3 pounds). It is one of the first notebooks to use a 1.8 inch hard disk (most notebooks use the 2-inch hard disks). It uses Intel Pentium III M Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) processor with a maximum speed of 866 MHz. I am sure this level of power is enough for the tasks the notebook is intended to tackle -- such as presentations, word processing and Web-browsing. If you prefer, you can buy a "battery slice" that can be attached to the bottom of the notebook and it will give you up to nine hours of power. Highly noteworthy is the integration of the 802.11b Wireless LAN in Portege 2010.

* Jumping on the Tablet PC bandwagon, too

At the launch, Toshiba also showcased the upgrades to their very popular Pocket PC e310 Personal Data Assistant (PDA). In addition to the e330, they also introduced the Pocket PC e740. This high-end, 400 MHz XScale-based PDA can take a Bluetooth card, or an additional 512 MB SD as well as 1 GB CF card. The integrated Wi-Fi connection capability will allow us to access Internet wirelessly where there is a hot spot.

The highlight of the launch was actually Toshiba Portege 3500 Tablet PC. Like most other tablet PCs, it has a display screen that can dance on its hinge. PT Aneka Infokom Tekindo, Toshiba's distributor for Indonesia, has agreed to let me test-drive this tablet PC, and I certainly look forward to the opportunity.

During the launch, I was very impressed with the technology that Toshiba uses to manage the heat produced by the processor and the other components. While most notebook makers have done a great job in keeping their ultra-thin computers cool, I found Toshiba's latest notebooks, especially the tablet PC, were the most successful in terms of heat dissipation. Heat is a problem particularly with tablet PCs, although vendors are still overlooking this problem. How long can you write on the screen if the glass is hot? We will try to find out what Toshiba has done to keep the surface of the screen so comfortable for our fingers.