But is the Toshiba Satellite U920t
just space detritus?
You’d be hard pressed to find a standard
laptop among the armies of hybrid devices. The Toshiba Satellite U920t is one
such device, but isn’t portable or stylish enough to be recommendable.
While some twist into tablets, Toshiba has
opted to start the U920t that way, so your first experience with the device is
in 12-inch slate form. If you’re looking for a tablet to compete with the likes
of the iPad 4 or Nexus 10 you’ll be surprised, as the U920t is seriously bulky.
At 1.5kg it weighs the same as three conventional 10-inch devices, and is too
heavy to be used comfortably. However, the screen slides back to reveal a
full-sized QWERTY keyboard and rises so that it becomes a trad laptop.
The
Toshiba Satellite U920t features an Intel Core i3 3217U processor which is
relatively underpowered when compared to the competition
The Toshiba Satellite U920t features an
Intel Core i3 3217U processor which is relatively underpowered when compared to
the competition. Needless to say that people looking for top performance will
find the Toshiba Satellite falls short of their needs, and it doesn’t compare
favorably when placed next to the likes of the Dell XPS 12 or Sony VAIO Duo 11.
If there is an upside to the low-powered
processor it comes in the form of excellent battery life. The Toshiba Satellite
U920t lopped HD video for 235 minutes, which means you’ll easily be able to
watch a couple of movies, and it should translate into around five hours of
light surfing and document writing, making it one of the best Ultrabooks of
longevity.
The Toshiba Satellite U920t also features
4G of RAM and a 128GB SSD drive, which is pretty standard for a laptop of this
price. 4GB of RAM is more than enough for Windows 8, but the operating system’s
footprint wipes 20GB from the installation, and the formatting also eats 20GB.
That means you start with an 80GB hard drive, which is tight for anyone with
large amounts of apps, programs and files.
The
Toshiba Satellite U920t also features 4G of RAM and a 128GB SSD drive, which is
pretty standard for a laptop of this price
The U920t only features a 1366 x 768 IPS
touchscreen, which is behind the competition in terms of quality. There’s no
problem with graininess and you won’t notice the difference working on text
documents, but movies looked flat and pate. The panel is Gorilla Glass making
it resistant to drops, falls and scratches. This is extremely important because
the tablet-like form factor of the Toshiba when it’s flattened means that the
normal laptops which are hidden inside the clamshell design.
There are two USB 3.0 ports, one of which
has the power to charge devices when the U920t it asleep. Aside from the USB
connectivity there’s a full-sized HDMI port and an SD card slot.
Aside
from the USB connectivity there’s a full-sized HDMI port and an SD card slot.
If there’s one black mark against the
Toshiba’s name it’s the general build quality. The textured finish might be
grippy but it looks dated and the rounded curves aren’t exactly eye-catching.
It’s chunky when closed and being able to see notched runners at the back
doesn’t offer an alluring look.
One detail that typifies the whole build
problem is the power button which is small, sharp and tough to find. The
keyboard itself is backlit and well-spaced but the keys have minimal travel.
They do feel noticeably smaller and it took us time to master typing at speed
without making regular mistakes. It’s more comfortable than the Acer Aspire S7,
which is an achievement given that the S7 is a full-form Ultrabook which
doesn’t offer tablet functionality. However, it’s far less comfortable than the
Dell XPS 12.
If
there’s one black mark against the Toshiba’s name it’s the general build
quality
While the excellent battery life and beat
transformation between laptop and tablet endeared us to the Toshiba Satellite
U920t somewhat, the n1iggles with build quality, bland looks and dull screen
make it hard to recommend. There’s a dearth of exceptional laptops and hybrids
on the market right now, and the Toshiba Satellite U920t has fallen short.
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Specifications
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Price: $1349
§
Processor: Intel Core i5
§
Processor speed: 1.7GHz
§
Graphics hardware: Intel HD Graphics 4000
§
Screen resolution: 1,366 x 768
§
Screen size: 12.5 inch
§
Hard drive: 128GB
§ Operating
system: Win 8 Pro
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