Toshiba introduces new Tecra range business notebooks which have reengineered from the start with thin, light and highly-durable designs. Reported by Toshiba, the Tecra R840 is approximately 25 % thinner and 20 % lighter than its predecessor, Tecra M11; and the Tecra R850 concerns 19 percent thinner and 6 percent lighter than its predecessor, the Tecra A11.Both 14-inch R840 and 15.6-inch R750 are powered by range of 2nd generation Core i3, i5, i7 processor or higher to 4GB of memory.
Design
The black graphite lid with a chrome Toshiba logo in the middle sports a ridged texture which enables avoid unattractive fingerprint smudges. Like the Portege, the Tecra R840 has chrome-colored plastic hinges, which stand out on the all-matte black deck and bezel. Like the lid, the palm rests use a ridged pattern. At 13.4 x 9.4 x 0.8-1.1 inches, the new design is thinner than the Tecra A11 (1.3 inches thick at its thinnest point) we reviewed in 2009. The R840 can also be small than the Dell Latitude E6420 (13.9 x 10.3 x 1.3 inches) and the Fujitsu S751 (13.4 x 9.7 x 1.4 inches), which is lighter than both: The R840 weighs just 4.6 pounds in comparison to the Dell E6420′s hefty 6.2 pounds (using a nine-cell battery) and the S751′s 5.4 pounds. The R840 has some durability features. It includes a spill-resistant keyboard, a fiberglass-reinforced chassis, an arduous drive accelerometer, plus a reinforced security cable lock slot. However, the Dell Latitude E6420′s tri-metal design and the Hp EliteBook 8460p?s DuraCase are both more rugged.
Keyboard and Touchpad
That fiberglass-reinforced frame lends the R840′s slightly recessed, spill-resistant keyboard a sturdy feel. As a result of the roomy island-style layout, the keyboard was responsive. However, the flat, slick surface of the keys made typing less comfortable within this laptop than on business notebooks with slightly curved keys (like ThinkPads). Above the right side of the keyboard are dedicated buttons for activating Toshiba’s eco Utility software including a presentation button to boost the desktop or mirror the screen every time a projector is connected. The 3.4 x 1.9-inch touchpad on the Tecra R840 provides for a larger touch area than both the Fujitsu S751 (2.5 x 1.6 inches) and the Dell E4260 (3.1 x 1.8 inches). Its matte, plastic surface is smooth, and pinch-to-zoom and two-finger scroll gestures worked well. The R840′s touchpad uses multitouch software designed by Alps Electronic. That software allowed us to create custom touch controls in the Mouse settings within the Control Panel. In particular, we will tap either of the touchpad’s four corners to perform actions such as cut and paste, or open the Windows Explorer.
Pointing Stick
The R840′s chromatic indicator is small than we’d same and it is awninged which has a touchable that is the lowercase scratchy. We favour the ThinkPad line’s TrackPoints. Still, the Tecra was evenhandedly faithful and many more simple to ingest than the Dell E6420, whose follow sits beneath the take of the close keys and was nonstick during use.
Display and Audio
The 14-inch diode offer the R840 provides a peak partitioning of 1366 x 768 pixels. Close to the Hp EliteBook 8460p, the Tecra R840′s change commission delivered a brighter picture. Also, check angles are comfortably wide. We detected black splotches at most 120 degrees to the correct and left, meet sufficiency expanse for threesome grouping to confirm video. However, a 720p lodging of the flick Hanna on YouTube looked somewhat remove, with baritone contrast. Don’t wait eager beatific realize of the Tecra R840. While the digit speakers produced plentitude of intensity when moving a road from The Strokes on Slacker, the frequence was tinny and flat. However, talking from videos on CNN.com came finished blasting and clear.
Ports and Webcam
On the right side of the Tecra R840 really are a tray-loading DVD burner, an ExpressCard 34 slot, 6-in-1 Storage device Reader, USB 3.0 port, an Ethernet jack, including a reinforced security cable slot on the hinge. A VGA port, DisplayPort, USB/eSATA port, USB 2.0 jack, and audio jacks for headphones and also a microphone line the left side. This is a total of three USB ports, although both the Dell Latitude E6420 and the Fujitsu S751 offer four. The Dell also packs an HDMI port designed with a standard-definition camera, the Tecra R840 captured images with accurate colors but only so-so detail. A Skype call looked acceptable under the florescent lighting in our office, but a phone call conducted at a low-lit coffee shop looked better still, specially when we activated night mode in Toshiba’s Web Camera Application. Callers reported that the Tecra R840′s microphone obtained our voice very well without having distortion. Unfortunately, the sensitive device also registered background noise for example ambient music in the cafĂ© and traffic noise from your nearby window in our office, forcing us to relocate a number of feet away.
Performance
Pre-loaded with 2nd generation Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, Gigabit Ethernet, and assend to 8GB of DDR3 memory, this laptop delivers maximum performance close at hand most. What’s more, with optional ATI discrete graphics with 1 GB of dedicated memory, you may have support for approximately four displays.
Battery life and Wireless
The Tecra R840 is portable in additional ways than one. Its six-cell lithium-ion battery lasted 6 hours and 34 minutes on the battery test (web-surfing over Wi-Fi). That’s above one hour longer than the category average of 5:02, and also the Fujitsu S751 (4:57). The Latitude E6420′s nine-cell battery lasted 8:59, almost all adds lots of bulk. The Intel Centrino Advanced N-6230 a/g/n wireless radio in the R840 pulled down around 33.9 Mbps well away of 15 feet from our Wi-Fi router. At 50 feet, the connection speed dropped to 19.8 Mbps. Both of those speeds are only below the respective category averages of 34.2 and 21.9 Mbps. Read more laptop review.