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Toshiba Portege A605-P210: Review

Posted to Notebooks 2010-03-07

Toshiba Portege A605-P210: Review

If you are always on the go and you need a notebook that can meet your needs without adding too much heft to your luggage, then you may want to check out the Toshiba Portege A605-P210. Encased in a glossy black shell, this notebooks professional design can help you make a good first impression regardless of where your job may take you. Equipped with Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit this notebook can provide you with the right level of performance for those times when you need to impress a potential client or just spending some relaxing after a hard day's work on the road.

Weighing in at only about 3.2 lbs, the Toshiba Portege A605-P210 notebook is light enough to go anywhere without sacrificing computing power for when you need it most. This notebook comes equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 1.4 GHz Processor with 3GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, a LabelFlash SuperMulti DVD+/-R double layer drive and the Intel X4500 Integrated graphics card. While its screen size may be smaller than the average notebook on the market today, the included Intel Wi-Fi Link 5100AGN with 802.11 a/g/n capabilities gives you the ability to connect to nearly any wireless network so you can access critical business updates when you need them most.

Rating:

3.4 out of 5

Features

The Toshiba Portege A605-P210 notebook comes equipped with a 12.1" WXGA LED Backlit display with a 1280 x 800 resolution. While this may seem small when compared to other competitor's models, this notebook ups the ante with its RoHS compliance which means this notebook is made environment friendly levels of hazardous materials such as lead and mercury. This feature allows you to have a higher powered machine while doing your part to save the environment. The Toshiba Portege A605-P210 can also support 720p and 1080p resolutions, which is great for watching HD content.

There are ports galore on the Toshiba Portege A605-P210 notebook which may be a surprise for a notebook of this size. It comes complete with 3 USB ports, a VGA out, audio jacks, eSATA through a combo port, and an Ethernet port. While most competitors models in this size range may come equipped with a HDMI port, Toshiba felt it was unnecessary on this model due to the fact that most business users will use the VGA connectivity option for presentations. As an added bonus, this notebook does support docking station compatibility which gives users access to added ports when they need them most. The Toshiba Portege A605-P210 also comes equipped with a biometric finger scanner so you can feel safe knowing that only you can access the most important business contents of your notebook with just a swipe of your finger.

Performance

Battery life on the Toshiba Portege A605-P210 notebook is about average for machines of this size. The battery is estimated to last about 5.27 hours which can come in handy when you spend most of your time on the road. Just keep in mind that battery life can vary depending on your performance needs. If you spend most of your time using graphic intensive programs, there is a good chance you may experience less battery life than what is stated here, so you may want to keep a power source handy.

Another less than satisfactory feature of the Toshiba Portege A605-P210 is its case. While the black plastic makes this notebook look sleek and professional, the quality of the plastic that went into this model makes it's suffer from a good deal of flex. Some users have identified that the palm rest and lower half of the notebooks case will flex inward when carried around. You may also notice some give under the palm rests when using the notebook which is a negative side effect of the Toshiba Portege A605-P210's lightweight construction.

Lastly, if you like the ability to modify the components of your notebook, you may not be able to do that with the Toshiba Portege A605-P210. While most notebooks give the user easy access to memory slots and even the hard drive, the memory on this notebook appears to be soldered to the motherboard and there is no access drive, making this notebook next to impossible to upgrade without a good amount of manipulation. While this may be unneeded for those using this notebook as company issued hardware, it may be a frustration factor for the self employed businessperson who needs to get the most out of their notebook.

Summary

In conclusion, the Toshiba Portege A605-P210 notebook packs a lot of functionality into a portable package but it's not without its flaws. While this notebook does its part to help the environment, battery life is average for a notebook of this size, and the components that make this model so lightweight also seem to negatively affect the models ruggedness for the road. If weight is more important to you than strength, then the Toshiba Portege A605-P210 may be the way to go.

Pros

12.1 inch screen with 1280 x 800 resolution
Supports 720p & 1080p resolution
5.27 hrs battery life at normal usage
Lightweight case almost too flimsy

Cons

Inability to upgrade notebook