Portege R700 - the thin and light 13.3"

Does anyone know if there's a way to add bluetooth to the consumer version? For me, this is an important feature (along with a quality webcam, which still remains to be seen). BT is currently the best way I have to tether my phone and use it's data connection on my laptop. I would prefer to avoid a USB dongle, but I suppose that can work if it's very small. Is there a way to add it internally? BT + widi + 3.2 lbs + good battery life + <1000 and this is one of the best bang for the buck ultraportables out there!

 

I'm in the same boat -- I'd prefer to have internal bluetooth, rather than use a dongle. I'm not a dongle fan... even if they're small.

With this in mind, if I end up buying this laptop I might just go for the R700 instead of BestBuy's R705. I'll gain internal bluetooth AND get a 3 year warranty PLUS get the ability to use a docking station, which is very convenient (and pretty cool too ). It also includes Windows Professional vs Windows Home Premium, although this is not a big deal to me.

I'll lose the widi, but keep in mind that you'll still need to buy an adapter to use it. Not to mention it's not really working that well from what I've read.

Lastly, the price different isn't really that great when you consider the tax (BestBuy) vs non-tax (online retailers).

Know what I mean?

 

i5-5xx also support virtualization, and there are versions of R700 with i5-520cpu...

 

I didn't think about the tax issue, thanks for reminding me! Should make the price difference more like $120 instead of $200. I did like the idea of widi, but I'm thinking that a docking station + bluetooth are more important to me.

Do you know when toshiba direct will be shipping these machines? I really want one, like yesterday

 

Oh yea, you're right. For some reason I was under the mistaken belief that the middle one was an i5-430 (don't know where I got that idea)

So the R700-S1320 would actually be perfect for me.

 

Yes, the i5-520 model is the perfect one for me too, I'm waiting for it to be released...

I'd like the hard disk to be a little bigger than 320gb, but I'll change it if i need....

 

You're welcome...

Toshiba Protege R700-S1310 13.3'' Notebook, Intel Core i3-350M (2.26GHz), 4GB DDR3 Memory, 500GB SATA HDD, DVD Super Multi-Drive, Intel GMA HD, 802.11a/g/n, Windows 7 Professional 32-Bit - PT310U-01Q01Q - Buy.com

 

No i5 version? That does look quite enticing, though. Does that come with the full 3 year warranty?

 

Also, for you current owners out there, does anyone know more specifics on the webcam? Is it at least 1.3 mp??

 

about tax, ya... best buy had freakin 70$ tax + 7$ recycling fee.. :/

Not sure, but it does allow you to record in 720p but its kinda blurry

 

You forgot to add that the $200 more come with fingeprint reader too.

I am leaning toward getting this instead of the Sony Y. I wil wait until tax free day coming up next month in most states.

 

Is there any way for you to get more detailed info, such as a model number in the device manager?

 

6-7 weeks 'til shipping on pre-built models from Toshiba.

 

Toshiba needs to get Optimus on this! Intel Graphics is a big no-no.

 

that's aluminum? i thought it was magnesium. hmm ... odd. i hope i didn't accidentally get greasy fingers on it ... k:

 

brushed magnesium* whats the dif lol

 

ah, right. i don't pay attention to specs as much as others.
toshiba is da bomb dot com.

 

Surprisingly, while toshiba's site says its up for pre-order, newegg has two versions of the R700 ready to ship:
R700-S1310:
Newegg.com - TOSHIBA Portege R700-S1310 NoteBook Intel Core i3 350M(2.26GHz) 13.3" 4GB Memory 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi Intel HD
R700-S1330:
Newegg.com - TOSHIBA Portege R700-S1330 NoteBook Intel Core i7 620M(2.66GHz) 13.3" 4GB Memory 128GB SSD HDD DVD Super Multi Intel HD

Edit: and it also appears that the latter is cheaper by $50 compared to toshiba's site.

 

ah, love newegg. *almost* jealous.

 

Still no i5 yet...

 

i still think the r705 is the best buy for 800$ from bestbuy ;D
i mean do u really need a fingerprint reader, a processor that takes up more power from ur battery, and a black top instead of navy blue?

 

No tax with Newegg and save 2% on bing.

 

No, but I do need built in bluetooth and a 3 year warranty

 

Well... well... i never get warranties, and i dont use a mouse or anything that would even use bluetooth anyways

 

I like the idea of the i3 - i7 series instead of a ULV but after living with a AMD hair dryer (i.e. HP dv3z Turion X2 RM-72) for the past several years, I have to know: WHAT ABOUT THE FAN NOISE?!!

My next laptop has to be easy on the ears.

 

very very silent. the laptop has been on all day today, and i run many programs up at once... it only gets a bit warm towards the very back/bottom of the laptop (keyboard and mouse pad dont have even a bit of warmth), and ya the fan is very soft, even when its running on high

 

Thanks Gamermatt. I'll stop off a Best Buy tomorrow to take a look.

 

Keep in mind that my last laptop was a 5 year old HP that heated up within 1 minute of turning it on, and would make your hands sweat to type on it. Haha, this laptop is a HUGE change

 

Does the keyboard make any sound while typing? Is it spouse-friendly?

 

They keyboard is pretty unique. Is is quite, BUT takes some time to get used to it. U have to press on the buttons a bit harder than most keyboards, but once u get used to it, it feels VERY sturdy and nice (in my opinion). but ya dont be too worried about it being noisy, cus it isnt.

 

I just ordered this laptop online from BB, but I'm concerned about the display quality as this is one of the most important factor for me. I was comparing this laptop with other 13.3"-14" (acer 4820tg, sony y series, asus ul30jt) and I think the sony probably have the best display quality. I'm on a sony vpc-cw series 14" laptop right now and the color reproduction of the screen is pretty nice. The R700 has a contrast ratio of 250:1 which i guess is average/typical for laptops this price range (compared to 600-700:1 in the sony z series, macbook pros) well, guess I'll find out soon enough.

 

Can you please point to anywhere where 600-700:1 contrast ratio is listed as Sony Vaio Z's spec? Display is most important for me, too.

 

Need? Nah. But I would like to have internal bluetooth, and the ability to add a docking station doesn't hurt. The 3 year warranty is a nice extra, too.

 

eeek. That doesn't sound too good.

 

Notebookcheck: Review Sony Vaio VPCZ11X9E/B Notebook

636:1 to be exact

- the 15" MBP is 683:1

 

My BB just sucks. Still no sign of the new Portege, and the employees don't seem to care.

Does anyone know if the new Sony Y series is eventually going to be at BB too? I'd love to compare them side by side.

With the rise of online shopping it's hard to actually get your hands on most laptop models without buying it first.

 

Sounds like the first BB i went to! I had to call up 4 other best buys near me (good thing i live in southern california), before i found a store with 1 left in stock for sale.

 

hey just found this blog,have a few questions...

1) what's boot time and shut down time like on this machine?

2) how would you rate video playback? i use youtube a lot and plan on watching movies and such on this machine...

3) gamermatt, i think you mentioned usign photoshop (?) not sure, but how does the laptop handle photoshop or illustrator? i'll likely be using both, nothing too intense, just basic photo editing and some graphic design in illustrator

4) you might have already commented on this, but what kind of battery life are you getting?i'll be using this for school also and would like to see at least 5-6 hours of internet/web browsing...

5) how sturdy is the unit, my friend just got a macbook pro and i love how solid it feels, do you feel good throwing this thing in your backpackand carrying it around all day?

6) what reasons made you get this over a macbook (anything besides price (they are pretty close once you take into consideration the free itouch and printer))?


thanks so much, i'd really appreciate your opinions and experience

 

1. i havent timed it. its average, a laptop with a core i3 running windows 7.
2. ive been youtubing like all day today. its youtube, it runs videos fine lol. it can even run 720p HD videos on youtube, but not 1080p because of the laptops resolution.
3. it runs photoshop fine. just keep in mind, if you are like me, and are running chrome, photoshop, AIM, etc. all at the same time, u will only get like HALF the actual battery life (more like 4 hours instead of 8). This all depends on your battery settings though. But ya, there is absolutely NO lag on this thing, even while running several apps at once, including photoshop.
4. if you are just using web browsing, you could get 6 hours if u turn the battery settings down. i havent been able to get the full advertised 8 hours (thats probably if u just have your computer idle for 8 hours on lowest settings haha).
5. HELLA sturdy. it feels as sturdy as a macbook in my opinion. watch this video, he talks about the "honeycomb" design
Toshiba Portégé® R700 Laptop Computers
6. Well, other than the price (1200$ vs 800$), there are a few reasons. macbooks do not have core i3 on them yet and still use core 2 duo. i refuse to buy anything apple, its just a personal thing i have... i hate mac OS and itunes, the toshiba is thiner and significantly lighter than the macbook, my budget was under 1000$, and i have a ton of windows-only software that i use. plus, im way too used to windows. Im just a PC kind of guy

 

thanks for the quick reply !

i've been looking at several laptops for a while and this one just seems too good to be true lol. 4 hours is a lot of battery for what you listed so that's great..i keep trying to tell myself that the only thing i like about macs is the design, i mean by the time they come out with a 13 with i3, new processors will be out, and the waiting game will continue...plus for 1200 you only get 250 gb hard drive...


i think i'm going to take the (relatively light) plunge and go with this machine. i have a nice 26 HD tv that i used with my old laptop for HD stuff, and that worked great, so i'm assuming the same will be true for the r705


any gripes at all you have with this thing? i know nothing is perfect, but i just want to know what i'm getting into... i heard webcam isn't the best, not a huge deal though..

how would you rate the overall zippyness of the machine (opening programs, internet browser...)

and how long did it take you to get used to the keyboard, keys look a tad small, i'll be using this to take a lot of notes


thanks again!

 

things i dont like - battery life could be a bit better, it does get a bit hot on the bottom/back of the laptop, i could use some media (play/pause) shortcut buttons somewhere on the laptop, and the screen DOES have a glossy finish (nearly impossible to find laptops with a matte screen now 'adays -.-)

With a core i3 cpu and 4gb of ram, the zippyness is quite fast

The keyboard took me 1 full day to get used to it. I used it like all day, though. The spacing is fine, its just somewhat hard at first because u have to press down the buttons a bit harder down than most laptops. But the keyboard just feels extremely sturdy tome (<--see i didnt press the space button down hard enough ). Note taking should be fine

 

thanks again!

i'm coming from an old bulky HP and battery life is literally 10 minutes lol, and we live in a world of overrated battery lives, so 4 hours (actually using programs) is plenty fine with me..good point on media buttons, but no deal breaker at all (mac doesnt even have play/pause)..and i actually love glossy screens haha so no problems there!

glad you're enjoying it! hopefully i will be too, i'm in norcal and several bestbuys are out of stock here too, hard to find this thing!! lol

 

Wow, i am coming from and old bulky HP with a battery that was used so much that it went down and down and literally is now dead - i HAVE to keep it plugged in, or get a new batter

And ya, good look finding one! U can also buy an r700 (more expensive) online at newegg, but i'd recommend calling a few bestbuys to get the 800$ r705. Keep in mind theres 70$ in tax and 7$ recycling fee

 

well can't really avoid tax on any computer lol, california doesn't have tax free day/weekend as some other states to (to my knowledge)

can't wait to carry this thing around, i don't know what was more annoying, carrying around my 6 pound HP or getting to class early and fighting to find an outlet! lol

 

nope, no tax free day although some websites online do not charge tax :/

haha, ya im sure ull love it! good luck finding one!

 

I do understand that photoshop runs fine, but how much benefit is lost because of integrated graphics? I am hoping that Photoshop CS5 hardly relies on dedicated graphics. In other words, is the integrated graphics in the R700 a bottleneck for Photoshop CS5?

 

Can someone comment on the contrast ratio and on the screen brightness? Can it be used outdoors?


what's that ratio, what the cd/m?

 

Size : 33.8cm (13.3") | Toshiba HD non-reflective High Brightness display with 16 : 9 aspect ratio and LED backlighting | Internal Resolution : 1,366 x 768 | Dot Pitch
(HxV) : 0.2148 x 0.2148 mm | Diagonal : 33.8cm (13.3") | Typical Contrast Ratio : 250:1 | Response Rise/fall : 9/23 ms | LCD Brightness Levels 1-8 :
10-20-40-60-90-120-150-200 cd/m²

 

Sony Vaio Z versus Toshiba Portege r700

-- r700 feels a bit hot at bottom (Vaio Z users report no heat at all)

-- r700 has abit stiff keyboard

-- Average contrast ratio (250:1) (Sony Vaio Z has 630:1)

-- Average brightness (200 cd/m²) (versus Z's 300 cd/m²)

-- No dedicated graphics card (vs Z's GeForce GT 330M)

-- Average resolution (1366x768 vs 1600x900)

-- .2 pounds more weight

-- No backlit keyboard

Makes me look at Sony Vaio Z again... but then r700's plus points:

++ Value for money (same config but with discrete graphics costs $900 more)

++ Longer battery life (8 hrs vs 5 hrs)

++ Optional base has USB 3.0

++ USB sleep-and-charge port

++ eSATA port

++ SSD: even Sony Vaio Z now uses Toshiba SSD

++ 3 yrs warranty vs. Z's 1 yr

++ Frequent driver updates than Sony's?

++ Sturdy screen (Z's one has flex)

I hate dilemmas. Did I miss any comparison points?

Heat at bottom and screen vividness/vibrance are the most important criteria for me.

Gamermatt, is the heat at bottom lap-friendly or not for continuous use? Do you feel the screen could be brighter and/or contrast is lacking?

 

The heat is lap-friendly, in my opinion. If u have it on a lot then it CAN get uncomfortable. The brightness and contrast ratio is fine, i see nothing wrong with it. The screen is perfectly clear, bright, and vibrant for me