Toshiba Tecra M2 My Travel thoughts

Just came back from a 3 week trip with the M2 .. HNL to MNL to BKK and back.
Short answer: I Loved it.[ ]

Being my first Notebook, and using a 21" Monitor with a Large clicky MS Natural Keyboard "normally",
When I first started using the M2 it was a shock.
SXGA on 14" for my Bad Eyes, had too small fonts and the keyboard took some getting used to.
But, once I tweaked the Display ... using WinXP accessibility settings ... all was fine.
After 3 weeks with the M2 I even got so used to the Keyboard feel that I can actually type faster on the M2 (vs my MS Natural Keyboard). LoL
* and yes, there is a nice place to rest your palms below the keyboard. Did not realize how important that was.

I actually wanted a 15" IBM at first ... but, wanted a Notebook that could also last a 10 hour flight without changing a battery.
So, I had to go down to a 14" and Price wise the Toshiba for the features was much better than the IBM, particularly when you buy the Full 3-year idiot proof protection.

On this trip ... I got to fly on all three classes of Philippine AIR.
Economy,Business,First
Economy Sucked and you don't want to bring anything bigger than 14" in my opinion.
The flight between MNL and BKK had no business class. And I just got my 14" and a Ultra Micro Targus Mouse on the Economy class fold down Tray.

I was flying business class when they gave me a free upgrade to first class, Yea!
Even in First class the M2 "good looks" can turn heads. And if you are going to pay that much for a Notebook you do want it to look good! No matter how much performance is "first". The M2 is a notebook you will be proud to use anywhere.

Solid, YES ... for being only 5 pds ...
And I dropped it going in to a cab in MNL.
The M2 was in my Travel Pro Bag with wheels ... dropped it from my shoulder to the Street ... trust me, you don't want to be dropping your New notebook on a Manila Street!
It also survived being wheeled around two separate trade shows .... across bumps and Taped over power cords.
I must have wheeled this Notebook at least 5 miles! (including airports and X-ray machines)

As far as "build" quality ... this is something I noticed and liked ... Changing Battery’s in the back and switching the DVD drive to the Slim Battery was smooth. I like the way the parts just slides out and snapped in. That to me feels like quality.
And I buy "stuff" for a living.

I also have a thought about the thickness.
The M2 might not be the thinnest ... but, it might help the cooling and the durability. I have always liked larger cases for my desktops to keep things cool.
And cool is always good.

Ok, you want to know what impressed me most?
With the 12-cell and slim battery combo ... the 9.5 hour flight was no problem for this M2!
I know now I can work confidently on anything and not have the battery’s go down.
I ran Cut and Paste Macros in Excel across to Word constantly ... viewed HTML web pages after editing them .. Ran a few slide shows to show the stewardesses my pics on disk ... and viewed many RAW and jpg files in PS CS. As well as a DVD.
Although I did not do both on the same flight ... Did not work most of the flight and then view a DVD. The flight I watched a DVD movie, I got sleepy and did not work half the flight. LoL

* Oh, yes ... I also need to say ... I was not as impressed with the 6-cell battery that came with the M2. The slim size is the only thing I like about it.
( my favorite 12-cell sticks out and makes it hard to fit in a Notebook case )
There is another thing ... when you start running low on battery ... the M2 dims the display (not one of my favorite things) ... one day I will need to find out how to tweak that.

Also used the Infrared to Print wireless to my Cannon i70 with no problems.

Ran broadband in my Hotel room in MNL & BKK, WiFi in the Exec Lounge of the Makati Shangri-La with no problems, and the WiFi Web surfing was pretty fast.

p.s. the touch pad is Great ... and having the pointing stick is nice too.

The Toshiba WEB update I thought was a nice feature ... on my trip I downloaded the update that fixes a Uninstall program issue.
And how many times did you suspect a Install and uninstall messed up your OS?
Nice to see a fix on that one.

Just in case you are wondering ... PS CS runs pretty smooth for me.
But, remember my set up has 1g ram ... 64mb on the Video

The M2 is a keeper for Travel, for me!
Do I still want the IBM ... NO
Oh yes, I might start using my M2 in my living room too, while I watch tv!
If not my bathroom [ ]

I bought a iGo Juice with my M2 from www.shoptoshiba.com
and it did not work with the M2 ... disapointing.
Will need to send it back for another.


Newbie w/Tecra M2
1.5ghz,1gig,64mbvram,gigEthernet,Firewire,bluetooth,14"XSGA,40gbHDD,DVDCD-RW,802.11g,12-cell+SelectBay 2nd batt for 11.5hours at normal,iGO Juice AC combo,3-yrs SystemGuard
& a OLY c-5050 digi cam.

 

This was a nice, informative review. The battery life impresses me. Makes me wish I considered this model when I got the v505. For your power/screen dimming woes: Check your Programs for an application called Toshiba Power Utility...or something to that effect. It may be a little different from the one on mine (Libretto L5) but you should either come to or have access to the power 'profiles'. Once you find it, you should be able to modify your settings according to your profile (ex. AC/Battery/Max Life, etc.). On my Libretto, you can define the dim level used for various power settings. I imagine it would still be relatively the same across the Toshiba lines.

 

Big,
Thanks for the tip ... the utility on my M2 is on the right click menu on the battary icon on the taskbar.
Being that it is my first experiance with a Notebook and battary life.
I was not sure how much I should turn up the monitor brightness.

Noticed it is only Full brightness on AC power.
and in Normal on the battary only Half bright ... then drops with battary life.
Not sure if I want to tweek Higher on a long flight LoL

One day I will have to test it at home ... and just run it at it's highest and see how long it lasts.

* I assume the best way to test is to play a DVD ?
with all WiFi off.


<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Big Calhoun

 

if you can play through a dvd movie on battery life you are doing pretty damn good.

- §árd¡µs
"God is outside the "box" of religion. Nevertheless, nearly everyone-religious or not-has come to equate beliefs and tradition with God himself." - www.gogeneration.com
http://Sardius.home.comcast.net/SardiusSig.jpg

 

Had a feeling playing a DVD was a good measure.
But, did not know just playing thru a DVD was good.
Will need to check my different battary combinations to test.
Right now I am sitting in front of the TV running at FULL Power, to get the Brightest and Fastest setting.
Running pretty cool for being at Full power and WiFi on the the Internet .... and looks like it will run for over 5 hours.
Running with my Standard battary and Slim bay Battary combo.
I like this combo because no battarys stick out ( the 12 cell sticks out a little although it's great on long trips )


Newbie w/Tecra M2
1.5ghz,1gig,64mbvram,gigEthernet,Firewire,bluetooth,14"XSGA,40gbHDD,DVDCD-RW,802.11g,12-cell+SelectBay 2nd batt for 11.5hours at normal,iGO Juice AC combo,3-yrs SystemGuard
& a OLY c-5050 digi cam.