Portege R700 - the thin and light 13.3"

Au contraire. Intel Linux Graphics
There might not be official Intel drivers, but the ones out there work, and apparently pretty well (some hardware acceleration). From what I read, people have been able to run the integrated Intel HD graphics just fine. You might have to run a newer Kernel than the one that Ubuntu is shipping with, but that's not a big deal.

You are right about the i3, but I am looking at the i5 version. If you are a Linux user, it wuold surprise me that the features of the i5 that the i3 does not have (AES instructions, virtualization instructions) were not ones that you really want?

You are right that mobo drivers would be important for battery life, heat, etc. and I am not sure of their status on Linux. I know that threads like this: [ubuntu] Ubuntu 10.04 Intel HD graphics - Ubuntu Forums , though, don't make me worry too much...

 

talk to gamermatt

 

For me it's cost driven, the i3 model with no optical drive is selling for £270 less than i5. I rarely encrypt using AES (though I am considering an encrypted partition) and according to Intel i3 does have virtualisation instructions. Not that it matters as I rarely run a VM either.

 

I got a HP Probook 6450b. So far I'm not totally satisfied, although it has some cool features. It's relatively heavy and doesn't have as much of a cool factor as the portege.

I've some questions left, I'm considering to switch to portege r700:
1) The keyboard on HP is somewhere in between chiclet and old school keyboard. It's kind of "loud" and not really "soft". My old satellite a100 keyboard is what I consider perfect. Is there a chance that the portege keyboard is even a little better?
2) Did anyone try to install a second hdd? Any success stories? To get a second HD working is a must for me.
3) With a SSD installed and CPU being only in office/web use, the HP is really quite to the point of being inaudible. Does anyone think the Toshiba could let me down in this respect?

 

I have the ssd and the i7. I do quite a bit of cpu intensive work, and on battery on eco-mode (where the cpu is underclocked) there's a very faint hum of the fan. This was in a very quiet classroom (my students were giving a test) and I initially thought nothing of it... its like the sound of a distant ac... only when i got close to the fan and listened that I realized it was coming from there... so yeah, its not zero but its very quiet...

 

Thanks. Did you ever try it at home in a quite room when you were alone? (with battery off) I'm especially interested on how much it's audible on low-mid cpu load.

 

I'm not thrilled with the r700 keyboard. Sounds kind of like your HP keyboard: it's chiclet, but the keys are hard and totally smooth. You don't get any tactile feel or "give" or softness, and it's not quiet-- makes some clacking noises. I wish I could swap it out for something else.

I think that I'm gonna get some luminous letters & numbers for the keyboard since I can't get a backlight.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/not...-custom-builds/350104-glow-dark-keyboard.html

 

I just got my S1320 today and I'm pretty disappointed with the fan noise, but that's about it.

Even when just playing itunes it really seems to kick into gear (about 50%) within a few minutes. The increase in fan speed also seems to really kill the battery life.

When the music is initially playing I still get anywhere from 3 1/2 to 4 hours, but once the fan kicks in it drops down to about 2 hours. Even installing windows updates + typing this message has dropped the battery life down to 2 1/2 hours because of the increase in fan speed. This thing sounds almost like a desktop. Other than that I'm pretty happy with it.

 

What power setting is this? On the "high performance" I have similar experience when it comes to fan noise, but if I switch to eco mode (which suffices for almost everything) it makes a huge difference. Then it is just about audible.

 

I think you're right, actually. I was on balanced and then switched to eco. Now I can barely hear the fan (except when playing a video or something) and battery life is back up. Hopefully, it stays that way.

 

Something that may be helpful is to clean up your startup programs using msconfig or some other application. When I got my R705, I was amazed at how many programs were running at startup and in the background that weren't necessary.

More than likely, there are few updates from Toshiba that need to be loaded as well. If you aren't sure, type in Service Station in the start menu and hit the button that says "Check for Updates".

Optimizing your laptop can really help with fan noise. Most of the time, I hear a very slight hum from the Airflow fan that draws in air to cool the components. I'll load Itunes on my computer later today and report on my experience with my fan.

 

Unfortunately there were no updates for me from the Service Station, but I did turn off some programs from the startup menu. Ill test that out once my first battery drain finishes.
Any chance you could let me know which services you turned off though? There were a ton of Toshiba ones and I wasn't really sure which ones were necessary and which weren't

 

I would appreciate that, too. I uninstalled some Toshiba programs that I took to be bloatware, but it'd be great to have a comprehensive list.

 

Can anyone else offer an opinion on the R700/5 keyboard ?

I was hoping its chiclet keys would feel as smooth and comfortable as the MacBook? I don't mind a modest *clack*, but any major noise like an 80s IBM would be very uncool.

How do people rate it?

 

I actually really like it. The keys could be a bit longer vertically but its not a huge deal. I feel like I can really fly on this keyboard and type pretty accurately. Its a little cramped since I'm coming from a 15in laptop, but not something I couldn't get used to.

 

This definitely was right. I was playing around with power settings and the fan is set to battery optimized in eco mode and maximum performance in high performance mode. Never thought a fan could use up so much battery life too.

 

So do you confirm that it's not a "soft" keyboard? Do you confirm clicking sounds and "loudness", or how exactly would you describe the keyboard.

 

Well, I think you have it backwards (remember the chicken and the egg...)

It's not so much that that the fan is using power, it's the cpu, so much so that the fan needs to blow all the heat, generated by the cpu, out of there.

Its the cpu that is the power hog. The fan certainly makes its own small contribution to the load but it is by no means the primary consumer of power.

 

It's not a soft keyboard and does make some clicking noise - but to me it is not too loud. The keys are a bit smaller than most "chiclet' keyboards, but overall, I have had no issues with it.

 

I actually like the keyboard a lot, and this is from a person coming from a mechanical "click" keyboard for my desktop and a thinkpad keyboard for my other laptop. The key travel is very short, there is very little resistance, and there is firm feedback when you depress the key all the way in, and i find I can type super fast on it. I also think lighted keys would look very cool, but unless you don't know how to touch type, I'm not sure what additional benefit there is.

 

I love the keyboard. No complaints about it. I will admit that I do have very skinny fingers, so I don't have any problems with the size that some others might. I do miss having a keypad though.

Does it take adjusting to? Sure. But all keyboards do.

 

I'm an extremely fast touch-typist-- many years ago, before grad school, I earned top money as a temp b/c I could type so fast both for text and data entry-- but I still need a lighted keyboard in order to type in the dark. The portege keyboard in particular has a ton of function keys that are not at all intuitive (fn+ 3 for volume lower, fn+4 for volume higher, fn+ function keys to adjust brightness), plus I type on several different keyboards-- my office keyboard on campus, a bluetooth keyboard that I use in my home office, and then my laptop keyboard when I'm elsewhere in the house, so I have to adjust to different key layouts all the time. At least my old DV1000 had lighted volume controls and a lighted button to turn wireless on and off.

Most nights I read to my kids and then work for a while in their darkened bedrooms, and/or work in bed when my wife needs to sleep, and I don't want to be tilting the screen downward all the time and then squinting downward to figure out which key is which. Students who are working in darkened dorm rooms while roommates are sleeping probably have similar issues.

And that, my friend, is why lighted keyboards are important even if one knows how to touch-type.

 

The lack of dedicated volume controls is my one major complaint with the R700. It'd be convenient to have.

Would it have been difficult/a lot more expensive to include them? I don't know much about laptop design.

 

I'm happy that discussion has shifted to the keyboard.

I played with the R705 at BB yesterday. I wanted so badly to love this laptop, and for the most part, I did. But I HATED the keyboard.

Size is not an issue. I've typed on a smaller than standard keyboard on a 10" laptop for years now, so adjusting to a standard size keyboard is going to be an issue no matter what. As such, the slightly smaller keys actually did not annoy me at all.

The thing that bugged me was the pressure needed to depress the keys. I felt like I had to press so hard to get the keys to go down, and when I did, I still couldn't tell whether or not the keystroke had registered or not. In general, I felt like the keyboard had a lack of "feel". This issue, for me at least, is very close to being a dealbreaker...

Has anyone else felt this way about the keyboard, purchased the notebook anyway, and come to love it? I really don't want to step into the ~4lb notebook territory, and the Sony Z is way out of my budget.

 

The R705 is the first laptop I have owned that uses the island or chicklet style keyboard. I struggled a little at first but like all things you get used to it after a few days. It definitely has a different feel to it, though. It isn't as refined as a Thinkpad, though few laptop keyboards are.

 

By feel, are you referring to the issues I was discussing above (pressure required to depress keys, etc.) or the layout of the keyboard with its chicklet style?

I have no problem with the layout, size/shape/feel of keys, spacing b/w them etc. I just felt like I had to smash the keys down, and even when I did, I wasn't sure if the stroke had registered.

 

My experience has been something like this. I find myself repeatedly having to redo keystrokes b/c my first one didn't register. I've been typing on the tall keys of my DV1000 and my microsoft natural wave keyboards at the office. Those keys have to be depressed further in order to register, but it's still an easier process than on the r700.

Also, I strongly dislike the smooth, flat, quasi-hollow feel of the r700 keys.

That said, I've gotten a bit more used to it over the past few days and maybe I'll continue to grow into it. But I would have vastly preferred if it had been the soft type of chiclet keys as on a Macbook Pro. Much more of a tactile feel to those, and much quieter.

 

When you press the keys down, there is a different feel to the keystroke than on a conventional keyboard. You don't have to push the keys down that far but there isn't a click to indicate the completion of the keystroke. That makes for a quiet keyboard but it almost has a "plastic" tactile feel to it.

I realize that those are rather subjective comments, but that is the nature of keyboards. Some of us like keyboards that others don't. After having my R705 for a month, I have adapted and it doesn't detract from overall experience - I still am extremely pleased with my purchase. That is why I keep coming back to the forum on a regular basis. I wan't to know if everyone else is as happy with the laptop as I am.

 

ditto here.

The keyboard was one of the first things I'd written about on this forum. I was initially a bit slower on it as well, and had to keep repeating missed keystrokes. I've never used another chiclet keyboard so I can't compare this one with others like it, but I have no issues with it now. That said, I've found myself using this laptop significantly more than others before it, so it is entirely possible that I really don't care much about the keyboard. The ability to lean back on a chair and prop this thing up on a leg while working with 100,000 by 200 sized datasets, having a dozen tabs open on a browser, a couple of word documents, half a dozen pdf files, with a skype video call on.... makes me feel old!

 

Thanks for your opinions, very helpful. Not enough to sway me, but I didn't expect them to.

 

Consider going back to BB and giving it one more try. It's a fantastic laptop.

 

I am asking one more time...

 

I hope this is the right thread for a question. The 700/705 has made my final short list for a very light laptop but after reading for hours, I'm confused.

On the Toshiba comparison site: 1310 with i3 $999, 1320 with i5 $1299, 1321 with i5 $1299. The only other difference I see is a 5400 vs 7200 HD and something about mobile intel graphics vs intel graphics.

Is the extra $300 worth it for someone who doesn't game?

Also I see Best Buy at $799 i3 - is this the same as the 1310? If not, what's different and would a total non-computer internal workings person care?

And lastly, on the Toshiba site the machines listed above have a 3 year warranty. I have seen some Toshiba's with a Global warranty - is this the same one? I can't find the warranty info on Best Buy's site - is it the same?

Thanks so much!

 

The R700-1310 and the R705 have a similar base setup but have some significant differences.

The R705 is a consumer model and includes Intel's wireless display and Resolution+ software for upconverting DVDs. The standard warranty on the the R705 is for 1 year.

The R700 series is targeted for the business user and includes Bluetooth, expansion capabilities (ExpressCard and a port replicator), a fingerprint reader, and a 3 year warranty.

As to the price differences, you'll have to answer that for yourself. Are the features listed above worth the price differential to you? Several people have found a way to purchase the R700-1310 for close to $850 using Bing cash-back from some on-line sites. Since Bing cash-back ended yesterday, that deal may be more difficult to find now.

I own the R705 and love it. At $799, I have no regrets. I purchased the Netgear PTV1000 adapter and I am really enjoying the Intel Wireless Display capabilities. If I owned the R700-1310, I doubt I would ever use the expansion capabilities but Bluetooth would be nice and I sure wouldn't turn down the 3 year warranty. Your call...

 

Thanks! Bluetooth isn't an issue nor is a fingerprint reader. I don't know what expansion capabilities are so I guess I don't need those either

I actually can't find a 705 - everything I am seeing is a 700?? (sorry, that's the one at Best Buy, I think, my bad not reading carefully enough).

Can you tell me if the weight is really 3.2 pounds as weight is a huge issue for me.

 

It is definitely light. You'll be shocked the first time you pick it up. I also own an HP Mini netbook. Despite the size difference, they are close to the same weight.

 

Man, it's sounding better all the time. I hate making these decisions, no matter how much I read, I just don't feel confident!

 

i would like to add one more thing.

there was some concern about the hdd protection sensitivity.

if you go to the control panel, you can decrease the sensitivity setting.

 

OK, so as to the absence of dedicated volume controls:

Might there be an easy workaround? I've found several programs for remapping keys, including this one:
AutoHotkey - Free Mouse and Keyboard Macro Program with Hotkeys and AutoText

I'm totally ignorant of any kind of computer programming, code, language, whatever. Can anyone else look at this (or some other) program and see whether one can easily assign, say, the F11 and F12 buttons to do make the keystrokes of FN + 3 and FN + 4, respectively? I'm playing around with the program but I haven't been able to figure it out yet.

 

I wonder if there is a difference between the 705 (BB model) keyboard and the 700-series keyboard. I just can't figure out why people are complaining that you have to use a lot of force to push the keys down. On mine (700), there is almost no resistance, the keys are light and airy, it's like typing on a cloud (I know that sounds cheesy). Also, the 700 keyboard is supposed to be spillproof, where as the 705 isn't, so I wonder if they used different keyboard mechanisms as a result.

 

I wonder if they would really use 2 different keyboards for the 700 and 705. I have the 705 - it does not take much force to type and after a few days, I got used to the keyboard.

Overall, this is a great notebook. It is very portable and seems to have good build quality. I am still amazed at how light it is. I have a dell mini 1012 netbook and the R705 seems to weigh just as much, yet offer so much more...

 

Well, here's an unboxing of the R705: YouTube - Toshiba Portege R705 Unboxing and Hands On

It looks the same as my R700. I LOVE the keyboard, but everyone has their quirks, and satisfaction with a keyboard is dependent on a number of factors such as hand size, typing style, amount of typing you do, etc.

 

My experience definitely was not "like typing on a cloud". However, I do want to emphasize and clarify that my issue was not necessarily that it took greater force (than average) to press a key (though it certainly played a role in the overall problem), but rather a lack of feel for the keys.

I felt like I wasn't able to distinguish between a half-way stroke and a "bottomed-out" stroke. I'd guess that my issue was that the pressure needed to simply depress a key, was relatively similar to the pressure of the key pressing back up on my finger when it bottomed out. On other keyboards, I feel as if this "pressure difference" is far more exaggerated. Hope that made sense...


Edit: In one review, the reviewer describes the keyboard as "one of the spongiest we've used" - maybe this adjective helps clarify.

 

A little while ago on this thread we were discussing the laptop chipset's compatibility with Linux. This indicates that the chipset definitely IS supported. It's an Intel QM57.

Intel QM57 - ThinkWiki

 

I cannot decide between this, the Sony Vaio Y and the Asus UL30VT!

please help me if you can, i would really appreciate it! (i made a thread in the "what computer should i buy" section)

 

Junoo - my top three list almost exactly though I've ditched looking at the Asus UL30VT in favour of the soon to be released ASUS U35JC. The Sony has fallen to third on the list. Decisions decisions!

 

Alcina- its definitely a tough decision! The protege r705 might be a tad much for me though...I'm starting to lean towards the Sony

 

The sony is more expensive? The 705 is $799

 

Any of them are good choices. Good luck making a decision!

 

Well, I bought an r700. I imported it from the US because I didn't want a bilingual keyboard; I had it shipped to Freeport Forwarding and then drove down to pick it up.

I've taken some pictures, which can be seen here:

http://fixppp.org/guspaz/r700/

I bought the 1320, for about $1250, from ProVantage. It's the i5-520.

So far, I quite like it, but there are some caveats. Here is a random stream-of-consciousness list of items of note:

1) The fingerprint reader makes the mouse buttons smaller. This causes my hand to shift to the left of the trackpad, which gives me some trouble with my pinkie finger touching the trackpad and preventing the cursor from moving. This laptop has a bigger touchpad than my 17" Inspiron 9400, so that is taking some getting used to.

2) The keyboard is very spongy. I have no problems typing on it, but it's a very different feel compared to other chiclet keyboards I've tried in the past.

3) The whole thing vibrates, I believe due to the hard disk. I may put an SSD in there at some point.

4) It gets super hot around the exhaust port (the side and bottom). Do not use while wearing shorts; it will burn you. The fan is very loud, although this does not bother me much. In the "Pc health monitor", the CPU temp, system temp, and fan speed seem to never go below ~55% even on a flat table when the room is room temp. Hopefully someone will release a fan speed control tool at some point.

5) Toshiba loads a *TON* of crap onto it; I spent hours trying to clean a lot of stuff out. Ultimately I decided not to re-image the machine with a stock Win7, but be prepared to spend a lot of time tidying.

6) The screen is matte. I don't know why people keep saying "It's glossy, but not as much as most". No. This is a matte screen, straight up. I've owned both matte and glossy, this is matte. The viewing angle is not very good, but the screen quality is decent apart from that.

7) I seem to get 3.5-4.5 hours of battery life, but those are based on Windows' estimates and not actual testing.

8) StarCraft 2 is perfectly playable on low or low-medium settings at 1280x720, or low at native (1366x768). Doesn't look like much, but it plays smooth.

9) StarCraft (1) does not run properly since it's incompatible with Windows 7 (colour palette issues) Use VMWare Player (free, newest version can create VMs and has most workstation features) to play StarCraft if you must, it runs perfectly inside that.

10) I also imported the 13.3" case that Toshiba recommended. It's a perfect fit, although I would have preferred if there was some way to seal it (a button or zipper) rather than the way it just folds over. I got it so that I can just toss my notebook into my messenger bag.

11) The space bar is bowed down in the center. It seems the two supports underneath are on either side with none in the middle. Not sure if it matters, but I'm not the only one to notice (someone else asked about it when they saw the notebook).

12) There is a MicroSD adapter in the SD slot in the pictures (it doesn't look like that by default).

13) The specs claimed the webcam was 0.3MP (640x480), but the toshiba webcam software runs at up to 0.9MP (1280x720). No clue what the native res is.

Overall, despite the caveats, I'm very happy with it. I love how portable it is; compared to the 12 pound i9400 that it's replacing, it's a huge improvement. I'll post more if I come up with more thoughts.

The photos were taken with an iPhone 3GS, processed using PhotoAcute (which combines, in this case, 4-5 pictures of the same thing, in order to remove noise and add detail).