IDF2011: Toshiba Z830 Ultrabook Hands On Preview Discussion

Toshiba's Portege Z830 ultrabook is among the first crop of notebooks coming to market built upon Intel's Ultrabook platform. Intel sees the ultrabook as the ideal computer that can be built using today's technologies. Click through for our hands on one of the first ultrabooks.

Read the full content of this Article: IDF2011: Toshiba Z830 Ultrabook Hands On Preview

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So no flex at all? only the screen given a little twist?

 

Hey sorry, I'm not sure what you mean. The screen flexes when pick up a corner - as in the whole bezel, which is common with these ultralight notebooks. Pressing it in on the back, however, it was hard to make the display ripple.

 

Sorry I meant flex across the entire chassis, specially in the keyboard area

 

Nice article J.R. ... I'm going to be tempted to get one of these. Just for the portability factor. My 17" EliteBook weighs almost 10 lbs and is not practical for taking places.

 

I know is very thin and lite but the bezel around the bottom part of the screen is huge and makes it look strange.I'm still on the fence about the whole "ultrabook" category, specs look good but prices I'm sure are going to be at a premium.

 

Hey Charles, just curious, why didn't you go the route of desktop + light notebook? I know some prefer the desktop replacement notebook + light notebook

 

I did that setup for a few years; custom gaming desktop + 13.3" thin-and-light. After a while I simply wanted a smaller setup with a minimal amount of wires. So I got a 17" desktop replacement, been very pleased ever since.

 

Yeah unless things dramatically change, I don't seem myself going that way for a long, long time. Using a sub-3lb notebook has completely changed my attitude toward having a laptop. I'll either get one of the new Airs or an Ultrabook, and maintain my gaming setup.

Mr MM, there was very little flex anywhere. It felt quite secure.

I am working on hands ons of the Lenovo, ASUS and Samsung ultrabooks as well, but it's going to take some time. The ASUS' all metal construction just looks outstanding.

 

Those ultrabooks are going to make wonderful options next year with ivy bridge with its variable tdp, and specially when haswell enters the game with its even lower tdps

J R thanks!

 

Those hinges and bezel look god awful.

Honestly I want to see what Sony has to say for the ultrabook category. If they made one, it would be the sickest thing ever. An even SKINNIER, less powerful Sony Vaio Z without the external GPU for ~$1500 price would fetch A LOT of sales.

Unless these ultrabooks are much cheaper than the MacBook Air, they are all going to fail. The MacBook Air has an edge when it comes to looks, quality, and screen resolution.

 

Why do people not mention Toshiba's Portege 2000/R100 when talking about this? Its as if the Macbook Air invented thin and light, Toshiba was doing this almost 10 years ago!
This may well be my next laptop, over the Dell V131.

 

The Sony Vaio X505 was also a MacBook air from 2004.

 

The others don't get mentioned because they didn't inspire the market to respond in the same fashion. That Toshiba had horrid battery life, and the Vaio was super expensive. The MBA is thin and light, offers 6+ hours of battery life and costs under a grand. Don't get me wrong, the others were on the right track sooner, but Apple was the one to really make it work.

 

Yep. Totally agree.

Apple never really invents anything or has original ideas. What they do is take previous ideas, improve them, and come out with them when the technology and market are ready for those ideas.

I'm still not sure I like the Ultrabook concept. The 15" MacBook Pro I have now isn't too bad to carry around campus with a backpack, and really, I think the Windows 8 tablets, IF done properly, will be my choice of a "carry around, throw around" device. By done properly, I mean, all day battery life (8 hours at least of realistic usage) and holding all the features of a PC bar the physical keyboard and the power of a full-sized laptop... but still powerful enough to watch flash video, use Microsoft Word, etc.

 

I think that does Apple a pretty big disservice. Let's be honest, they completely revolutionized digital music, music players, the smartphone, the laptop - that wasn't simply through moderate iterative improvements.

I am SO STOKED for Windows 8, though. I think it looks absolutely outstanding.

 

They really didn't revolutionize it in the sense of coming up with the idea though. That's what I am trying to get at.

 

Whatever. If that's the case, then few companies have invented anything. Creating a market-changing product is worthy of just as much acclaim as coming up with the primary idea.

 

"Creating a market-changing product is worthy of just as much acclaim as coming up with the primary idea."

Did I ever say it's not? No need to get super defensive... I have nothing against Apple, I own stock and my current portable is a MacBook Pro.

 

I'm not being super defensive. As anyone at NBR can tell you, I'm not some big Apple fan. I am an equal-opportunity technophile.

Come on, that's basically flamebait. Never has any original idea? Heh.

 

Cool Looking forward to the reviews of this!

 

Can't wait for your hands on review of the samsung.

So all these ultrabooks come preloaded with windows 8?

 

I wish manufacturers would produce a 17 or 18 inch ultra book. I wouldn't mind the screen real estate in a nice light package.

 

I like this keyboard over all the other "ubooks" (TM, Patent Pending, Registered Trademark etc).

It has the dropped cursor keys and dedicated Hm/End/Pg keys. I think it's also the only one that has an ethernet port and VGA port.

 

I was damn thrilled to see that... I hope more PC Ultrabooks keep this up.

 

Lol, keep dreaming...

a 17" notebook, of any kind, would not be light unless it is in the $2k+ range (which means special components like magnesium alloys and such).

At which point, it's not really an ultrabook, is it?

Mr. Mysterious

 

The problem at that size would be chassis flex due to the thinness. It would almost require a unibody metal contruction a la MacBook Pro. I'm interested to see how Razer's upcoming 17.3" gaming notebook fares in this arena.

 

I think it is actually thinner than the Air, by 0.05 inches, contrary to what is written on the article.

 

I don't see it as flamebait in the context of the rest of the post. Taken out of context it does seem that way.

 

I see a lot of potential with the ultrabook concept, but I've yet to hear of one that really gets the display thing right. If it isn't at least 900p with wide color gamut, 300+ nit brightness and 600:1 or greater contrast ratio, it will never hold a candle to the Sony Z - even the Z1. Why all the premium laptops fail to make kick-butt screens, at least as an option (like you-know-who does on their 15") just escapes my comprehension. Fast is good. Light and thin are good. Sleek metallic is good. But boffo screen is my prerequisite for a truly droolworthy ultrabook.

EDIT: I just read and saw videos about the new Samsung Series 7 and it seems like they are going to be the one to beat. Has all the virtues of an ultrabook, plus an apparently great screen. Watch out Apple; Samsung is gunning for your entire product line. I guess that's why Apple is trying to sue them out of existence; it's a whole lot easier than competing on features and price.

see these:

Series 7 14" Notebook | Samsung NP700Z3AH

Get to know the Samsung SERIES 7 CHRONOS (13 inch) - YouTube

here is the thread on this : Samsung Series 7 Laptops

 

I don't think the Series 7 has "all the virtues of an ultrabook." Isn't the point of ultrabooks to be extremely thin and light? The series 7 is more mainstream in terms of size and weight. I agree they are awesome notebooks though

 

the Series 7 is more comparable to the Macbook Pro line, not the Macbook Air line, to which these Ultrabooks are often cited as a competitor to.
Samsung already has a rival to the Macbook Air line in the form of the Series 9

 

Any news on the dimmension of the product?

I want to know if it will be able to fit in my 5.11 Rush Moab 10.