R600 round table

Didn't see an R600 discussion, and it's now being released in the U.S., so...

Our first unit arrived today and went to me. At first I thought it was an empty case! With a 12" vs. 11" screen it is slightly larger than our Sony TZ/TX computers , but is somehow lighter! LIGHTER! Good screen, terrific weight and size, and the best ultraportable keyboard I've seen. The case is only 1/4" wider than the TZ, but the keyboard goes right to the edges so is a full inch wider. The keys feel great, too.

I took it outside to see the transflective screen. There's a button near the right hinge that controls the screen lighting. In OFF, sunlight is sufficient to permit work. This is a nice feature as spring approaches - our office is in a park. But there's a compromise: the LED-lit screen is better than other laptops in the office, but is not as brilliant as the screen on the TX/TZ.

Vista business "worked", but we retrofitted XPProSP3 using the provided media and did some preliminary checking. With the 9400 at 1.4GHz, it is among the fastest of ultraportables with spinning hard drives, and when we install an SSD it should move to the top of the list.

I don't think there's functional difference between this $$$$ unit and the $$ A605 or even the $$$ R500, but we'll find out...

 

Either the R500 or R600 make the various netbooks seem heavy despite the latter not having an integrated optical drive.

How is the fan noise when under stress? The noisy fan is one of the deficiencies of my R500.

John

 

There's a fan?
Seriously, the unit seems very quiet. Vibration from the spinning hard drive (and the surprisingly thin DVD drive) is also low.

I am installing a solid state drive in the next week or so, and that will further improve sound levels as well as speed.

So far, it's an excellent unit but as usual when you get to the edge of things there's a poor relationship between cost and functionality. For half the cost we could have gotten 99% of the functionality, but with a significant increase in weight and size. If this is indeed equivalent to the lower-priced A605, etc., I will recommend a change in future purchasing.

On the other hand, this R600 is almost weightless, very slim, terrifically portable, fast and efficient, and ego-satisfying.

I spent a few hours setting it up, and now must figure out how to use face recognition.

 

The R600 seems fine so far, so we'll attempt to screw it up today by installing the OCZ SOLID 60GB solid state drive. The plan is to use diskpar to set the alignment, then an immigration tool to move the image.

We expect to substantially accelerate this already-fast machine. If the result is satisfactory, we will wait a bit for further clarity in the SSD market, then go for a better product.

This R600 is really a "pilot" effort - assuming it works well we will settle on it for all laptop replacements.

Yesterday we called Toshiba with a connectivity question, and were very disappointed with the quality of the CSR. For any issue, the response was "Restore to an earlier date" - and though that might be a valid answer for problems that cannot be resolved in other ways, it does nothing about discovering the source of problems and how to avoid them. The CSR, however, was adamant. Eventually we did the restore, just as an experiment, and then discovered we couldn't UNdo it. Not happy with our first experience with tech support... but the 3-year warranty means that we will obviously get to know them better and better.

 

The new laptop was passed around today, and the consensus is very positive. Comments:

"It's empty, right? There's no computer inside that thing." Really, this laptop is amazingly light - even lighter than the TZ/TX/TT series.

It's "right handed", in that the touchpad is left of center.

We all feel that the keyboard is superior to those of the Sony TX/TZ/TT units.

The PG UP and PG DN buttons are welcome - on some ultraportables they're omitted.

For a while today it was in bright sunlight, and we all agreed that it was completely useful thanks to the transflective screen. This is a great feature in California, but might be less important this time of year in Wisconsin or Vermont...

There is only one speaker, and its 'grill' is smaller than a dime. The audio is about like you would hear from an earbud - a foot from your ears. Terrible!

We got it with the dock, so on the desktop there are plenty of USB ports. Nevertheless, the three built into the laptop makes it more flexible than some competitors. One of those ports is dual-purpose: USB+eSATA, but I have no idea what to do with that second function.

So far, so good.

 

Thats great to hear so overall its is an awesome business notebook with less the average speakers?

 

I agree, they are a very useful feature that is missing from many 12.1" and smaller machines (and a few bigger ones).

Call it a beeper. However, there's not a lot of spare space in that chassis for anything bigger.

eSATA is very useful for connecting an external HDD and having it run at full speed. USB 2.0 is a bottleneck these days. You will probably also find that one of the USB ports can supply power when the computer is off - very useful for charging small devices such as phones and MP3 players.

John

 

With ATTO, the provided 160GB hard drive scores in the high 50s R/W. We want to install a properly tweaked OCZ SOLID, and will report on the results, which we expect to be nearly X3 R and X1.5 W.

 

DISASSEMBLY


Opening the R600 case is tricky, but it does not require removal of the keyboard or the top bezel.

1. Remove all 394 screws (perhaps less - I didn't count) including the smallest one on the left edge.

2. Open the smaller of the two panels on the bottom - not the large one above the RAM, but the one that provides access to the ExpressCard connector.

3. With any plastic tool shaped like a large toothpick, slide each end of the ExpressCard connector toward the cable, freeing it. The cable release is shaped like the letter "L", and it really does slide. Really. Disconnect the cable.

4. With the unit upside down, on the right side of the front edge there are a couple of clips between the metal (magnesium?) top and the plastic (carbon fiber?) bottom. Working from left to right, use the plastic tool to free those clips, minimizing the force required and the pressure on metal or plastic. Be gentle.

5. Lift the DVD end first, rocking the bottom up till it clears the video and power connectors on the other side. Voila! The bottom has been detached.

6. Gasp as you see that the interior is mostly empty. The mother board fits under your hand. The drives and ExpressCard cavity occupy perhaps 80% of the interior volume!

7. The hard drive (2.5") is a pressure fit into elastic corners. Lift it slightly and detach the connector, being careful not to overly distort the tissue-thin connector ribbons. Slide the hard drive out.

Exactly the reverse for assembly, using modest pressure to snap the pieces together. You did keep track of where each screw goes, right? There are at least three different sizes.

 

Thanks for the update. Getting into the R600 seems to be slightly more challenging than getting into the R500 which, I recall, involves removing 19 screws.

John

 

According to a drawing I saw, the R500 has a hatch over the HD, providing access while the rest of the bottom is attached.

EDIT: R500 and R600 have similar configurations, though the R500 has ONE hatch that covers RAM and a cable to be disconnected, while the R600 has TWO.

 

The only cover on the bottom of the R500 is for the RAM. The whole base has to be removed to get to the HDD as shown in my R500 review.

John

 

Two questions:

1. Are there 64-bit drivers available to run a 64-bit version of Windows on this?
2. Does Toshiba with the R600 cripple it like Sony does for running virtual 64-bit guest OSes under programs like VMWare? I love my Z with the 2x64 SSD RAID, but right now that limitation is going to kill me longer term.

 

According to the lit, 64-bit operation works. In that domain, however, I'm a neophyte and cannot help.

 

Good to hear that the R600 holds up, i love my old R100 (after they replaced the motherboard because of the faulty memchips ).

It's not out in sweden yet tho ( and R500 isn't available anymore. Bought a crappy lenovo x60s because R500 wasn't available yet.

 

If you can boot into BIOS and see if there's a setting (probably under Advanced options I would assume) relating to VT or virtualization it'd be helpful.

 

Yes - it's there and can be Enabled or Disabled.

 

Thank you very much. Sad that Toshiba's tech support couldn't give that info to me ...

 

Mind if I ask why you (or your company I gather) decided to buy the R600 or why you're using the R600? Excuse my ignorance, you're obviously well versed with laptops and just curious as it seems this is for some type of specific business use.

 

Thanks for starting this thread...especially since I'm considering purchasing an R600!

So if I interpret your comment correctly, the transreflective (whatever that is) screen is basically fine indoors, but just not as great as Sony models. I would just be using it for solo use, not displays or showing it to other folks.

Also:

1. Does the R600 seem durable enough for life on the road?
2. Any problems with the underside getting very warm?
3. How is it running with the SSD installed?
4. Any more problems with Toshiba customer service?

Thanks for any info!

 

We use our laptops for travel, so want a combination of low weight, small size, and excellent performance, and it's great to watch movies while traveling so DVD is useful. These units are desktop replacements in our business, driving 22"-24" monitors at home and at work, so Toshiba's competent dock with DVI is important. We tend to keep our equipment a long time, so the three year warranty is also an issue.

The Toshiba R600 is generally faster than the TX/TZ it's replacing. It's incredibly light, durable as a rock, has a tiny power supply making it the lightest combination available with integrated DVD. And, Toshiba utilities and diagnostic tools seem excellent. This unit is running XP Pro, and after three weeks has yet to experience its first crash - there's something to be said for that!

But wait - there's more!
--We like the Mogo Mouse, which requires a 54mm ExpressCard slot that is unavailable on the TT.
--The one additional inch of screen seems to make a big difference for old eyes like mine that prefer large fonts.
--There's great luxury in computing-in-the-park. When the R600 LED illumination is turned off the transflective screen is perfectly adequate in sunlight, and with radios off the battery life is more than 8 hours!

We bought a couple of netbooks (ASUS, ACER) and dumped them quickly. The N270 just doesn't cut it, a 10" screen is too small, and we were unable to achieve compatibility with the Dynadock or Targus dock.

We miss Sony's internal broadband radios, though - and the TT is a slicker-looking computer than the R600.

FINALLY - have you compared Sony's Customer Service to Toshiba's (or anyone else's)?

 

1. I like the solidity of the Sony, but this one seems very durable.
2. No heat. Amazing.
3. Couldn't get the SSD installed due to our ignorance with things like nlite, SATA drivers, etc. We'll keep trying.
4. We've talked with CS four times now. The first experience was disappointing (canned response: "Go to earlier restore point"), but since then it's been super. AND, we took the unit to a service center only five minutes from the office, where it was the first R600 they've seen. They pulled it apart, tutored us, etc. all at no charge. Very nice people, tech savvy, ready to help. Now that I think of it, we'll ask them to do the SSD.

 

Hey notaguru, thanks very much for the info you provided in response to my and Andrew's posts. I assume that in the quote above you're saying that Sony has a lousy reputation for customer service, right?

I'm curious...did you folks consider the Lenovo X301 (which is another choice I'm thinking about)? If so, why did you go with the R600 instead?

Finally, when you say that the R600 is "durable as a rock", is that from personal experience with the new ones your company just bought, or just from general reputation?

Thanks again!

 

Regarding Sony's customer disservice, it is not a matter of reputation but our direct experience, which has been disappointing or comical. In the latter cases, at least it was entertaining...

The x301 is bigger and heavier than the R600, with the same processor and generally the same features (DVD, etc.).

Durability is a guess, but we've had it apart a few times (struggling with the HDD/SDD), and it's beautifully built. I can hold it flat at arm's length, pinching the unit's corner between thumb and finger. The magnesium frame makes it feel rigid and strong, but so far we have not done the frisbee or hammer tests.

 

Here is a significant "gotcha" for Canadian buyers.

It turns out that in Canada, Toshiba is selling the R600 with what they call a "Canadian Bilingual (English/French) Keyboard". They have attempted to serve both French and English users by cramming in extra keys and modes to provide the various French accented letters.

The result of this is that some keys are in the wrong place. For example, hitting "enter" without looking gets you a backslash character. To me this was irritating enough that I entered the computer store planning to buy, and left determined not to.

It appears that Toshiba Canada sells only the bilingual keyboard. You cannot get the normal US English keyboard that they sell in the US.

I wasn't able to find any photographs of the bilingual keyboard, but this review gives an idea of what they look like (fast-forward to 4:00 mark).

I'm very glad I didn't just go ahead and buy one online. Definitely do not buy one of these in Canada unless you get the chance to try it out first.

 

Unless you have a big budget it's best to wait for when you trip over the cat or the carpet.

However, I would agree with your general comments: The light metal construction of my R500 means that it is much stronger than I would expect for the weight.

Is there scope for a DIY work-around? Get a US keyboard as a spare part and do a swap.

John

 

Yep, working on that. In Canada, Toshiba won't even sell me a US keyboard! So some skullduggery will have to take place.

Very, very odd.

 

I have had my R600 for about 1 month now, and am very happy with it. Despite being only a 1.4 GHz C2D, it feels like the fastest computer I've ever had. This is of course because of the SSD. I'll be sure to have one of those on every computer I buy from now on. I've been using it as a desktop replacement (I have two offices, and docks in each), and am finding it works just fine in this role. I've even used it for some light programming in Visual Studio, and its performance is perfectly adequate.

On the road, I'm finding that battery life is great - I'm getting 5-6 hours from the nominal 9 hour battery. It's small size is ideal on planes, where there's room to use it even when the person in front has their seat reclined. I've been using a Shinza ZeroShock III case, and am very pleased with it. I can put the laptop in the case, and then put the case into my usual bag. The R600 is just a little large for an 11" case. I got one anyway, and it fits fine, if a little snugly.

I've run into a few negatives:

• The touch pad is not perfect. Sometimes it is a little slot to respond. Sometimes hitting the the touch pad leads to the cursor jumping all over the screen.
• If the R600 is powered (either through the AC adapter or the dock), "sleep" mode does not work. This is annoying when undocking, as I put the computer to sleep, undock, then have to log back in and initiate sleep a second time.

But over all, I'm very satisfied with the R600.