Like models, most people want their laptops thin… bordering anorexic. Seems like each manufacturer has its own slim and sexy offspring with Apple and Samsung leading the pack. Not to be outdone is Toshiba with their 13-inch Portege R830 notebook.
Although not as slim or as light as the MacBook Air or the Samsung Series 9, the Toshiba Portege R830 makes up in power and specs. It is 1.05 inches thin which is slightly thicker than MacBook Air’s 0.68 inch frame and at 3.2lbs., it’s also slightly heavier than the Air’s 2.9 lbs. However, on its own it is still a thin and light notebook.
The inclusion of an optical drive is what hinders the Portege R830 to be as slim as you want it to be. But some people wants an optical drive so it’s not all bad. Instead of the usual SSD drive, the Portege R830 opted for the traditional 500GB SATA HDD. More capacity but slower than an SSD drive.
Powering the Portege R830 is the 2nd Generation Intel Core processor and 4GB DDR3 RAM which is expandable up to 8GB. Sadly, no discrete graphics on this one but it does have a USB 3.0 port though. Battery life is also rated at 9 hours which is already impressive.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the Portege R830 is its magnesium alloy construction making it highly durable. It features a honeycomb structure in some of its vital parts that also makes it highly robust against flexing. It has an “œAirflow Cooling” system that allows it to have a powerful processor while optimizing heat removal and at the same time keeping the fan noise to a minimum which is very important on a thin notebook.
The Toshiba Portege R830 retails for Php72,990 which is in-between the MacBook Air and the Samsung Series 9. I’m not sure yet if the price is for the i7 variant but I would like to think so. For a premium notebook with a slim design, the price is actually spot on. It comes in metallic black, red and blue by the way.
Just like the Samsung Series 9, the Portege R830 is for those who value design, durability and performance above anything else when it comes to their laptop.
Toshiba Portege R830 Specs:
- Intel Core i7-2620M processor (2.70GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.4 GHz)
- Windows 7 Professional
- 4GB DDR3 1333MHz SDRAM
- 13.3″ WXGA HD Clear SuperView LE Backlight TFT display (1366 x 768)
- Intel HD Graphics
- 500GB SATA HDD with shock absorbers
- DVD SuperMulti Double Layer Drive with Label Flash
- TouchPad with Gesture Support
- Bluetooth v3.0, WiFi b/g/n
- Build in Web Camera with Toshiba SmartFace technology
- Stereo Speakers, 16-bit Stereo with Intel High Definition Audio Support
- 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.0/e-SATA combo port (Sleep and Charge), RGB, HDMI, Express Card slot
- 6-Cell Lithium Ion
- 1.40 kg
- SRP: Php72,990