Toshiba Portege R705-P35 and the Samsung QX410-J01

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In this article we will review the Toshiba Portege R705-P35 and the Samsung QX410-J01 laptops.

The Toshiba Portege R705-P35 is a 13.3-inch thin-and-light laptop that offers the attractive trifecta of solid performance, features, and design.  The R705-P35 is available for $749.99.  It comes with a standard one-year warranty on parts and labor.



The Portege R705-P35 has solid performance thanks to a 2.4GHz Intel Core i3-370M processor with 3MB of cache.  The processor's multiple cores come in handy when running different applications simultaneously, and it gives the R705-P35 performance that compares favorably to other laptops in its thin-and-light class.  Common daily tasks like instant messaging, internet surfing, photo editing, and more are handled without trouble.  There's also 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM for additional multitasking power.

A good amount of storage space is available on the Portege R705-P35 via a 500GB hard drive.  Graphics are supported by a Mobile Intel HD graphics card.  The lack of a better graphics card beyond integrated graphics is a bit of a downer, but you can still enjoy some casual modern gaming with the R705-P35.  Battery life is quite good on the laptop as well, with its six-cell battery giving a supposed eight hours of battery life when fully charged.  If you are gaming or viewing video, expect that battery life to be much less than eight hours.  Still, the battery life makes the R705-P35 a solid computer to take on long trips.  Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit is the operating system that comes pre-installed.

Besides the basics, the R705-P35 also comes with plenty of additional features, especially when it comes to entertainment.  It has a DVD drive for playing CDs and DVDs.  It also has integrated Intel Wireless Display, which allows you to stream content from the laptop to a television.  To do so, you will need to purchase a NETGEAR Push2TV adapter.   Video chatting fans will enjoy the built-in microphone and webcam.  For internet connectivity, there are two options.  You can use the integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi, or the embedded 4G WiMAX technology.  Last, but not least, is a media reader that can be used to transfer data quickly to and from other digital devices.


The design of the Portege R705-P35 is attractive and very portable.  The laptop weighs just 3.2 pounds, and it measures in at 12.4 inches wide by 8.9 inches deep by only one inch thick.  Despite its thin profile, the R705-P35 feels very sturdy and well-built.  It has a brushed metal finish on the lid with a blue color scheme that is unassuming, yet easy on the eyes.  It also has a few chrome accents on the hinges for some added flair.  The R705-P35's 13.3-inch display has a HD resolution of 1,366 x 768.  The display produces vibrant color and graphics.  The integrated speakers are decent, but you should connect headphones when watching movies for a suitable volume level.

The keyboard is spacious and features flat, wide keys.  The keys are good for typing and are responsive.  The lack of any backlighting is the only negative aspect as far as the keyboard is concerned.  The touch pad is also spacious and responsive.  It supports multi-touch gestures as well.  Connectivity on the R705-P35 is solid overall.  The left side of the laptop houses a VGA port, two USB 2.0 ports, one of which is also an eSATA port, and a HDMI port.  The right side houses the DVD drive, the media reader, microphone and headphone jacks, another USB 2.0 port, and an Ethernet port.

The Toshiba Portege R705-P35 is an excellent choice in the thin-and-light category of laptops.  It offers impressive performance and an equally impressive set of features.  It's streamlined design is also another in a line of strong points for the laptop, making it hard to pass over when shopping for a new portable computer.

Next: Samsung QX410-J01 >>
 

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