The libretto U100, Toshiba's new ultralight laptop
posted Apr 20th 2005 9:30AM
It's been on vacation for the past three years, but Toshiba's bringing back their much-loved line of ultralight
libretto laptops. They're claiming that they brought back the libretto to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the
introduction of their very first laptop, too bad the U100, the first model in the revived line, looks a bit like it was
inspired by boxy mid-Eighties laptop design. Snotty aesthetic concerns aside, they do manage to squeeze a lot into the
U100, which weighs 2.16 pounds and has a 1.2GHz Pentium M processor, 7.6-inch widescreen LCD with a resolution of 1280
x 768, built-in 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, 512MB of RAM, and a 60GB hard drive. Retail price: $1,999 (pictured at
right with its optional dock).
[Thanks, anonymous tipster]
That's an impressive resolution for a 7.x-inch screen. Perhaps a little too small?
Sweet Jesus. I just had a Compaq Armada flashback...
I currently have a Libretto L5 and the resolution is great. It actually means the machine is usable rather than just a big pda. I've used it for quite a bit of programing and so on.
Anyway this new one doesn't look too pretty does it... It seems like they have gone back to the old libretto 50/70/100 look. Oh well.
j.
Me likey.
I also am a product of the 80's (and truth to be told, not too pretty myself), which is probably why I dig that particular boxy squared off style. It looks like some of the edges have been softened a bit w/out becoming to curvy or swoopy. The very basic color scheme is a plus in my opinion as well. I'm probably in the minority, but I like it's looks...
Nice to see the Libretto coming back with a bit of punch. At 1.2ghz (even with a Pentium M) it won't win any speed competitions, but it will most likely do anything you'd want to do on a screen that small with aplomb.
Much as I like the 'Ultra-Portable' concept behind such hardware as the Oqo and such vaporware as the Flipstart, I think if you really want a device to be usefull beyond it's 'wow factor' it needs to be about as big as the Libretto. Kinda hard to edit DOCs and spread sheets if you can't really type, and it's kinda hard to create effective powerpoint presentations if you can't see what's going on.
The one thing I don't like about these tiny tiny machines is that they don't have an optical drive in the main unit. Think we'll ever see mini-dvd drives in these things ? Probably not, but it would be freakin' sick...
Looks clunky, boxy, and those thick LCD frame borders reminds me of the old days. For '05 theres really no excuse.
Now, i don't know about the rest of you but for my money wouldn't you rather have 1.7lbs super ultra-thin, untra-portable from sony instead??
http://www.dynamism.com/x505/webfiles/pic_main_05.jpg.800.jpg.html
http://www.dynamism.com/x505/webfiles/open.jpg.800.jpg.html
#5, I don't think you're quite understanding how small the Librettos are. They fit in the palm of your hand. They're not PDA-sized by any means, but they are sized in between a large PDA and a thin-n-light notebook.
The new Libretto does look a little chunky but you can still tell just by the size of the CD that it's basically palm-sized. This is not the same market as the Vaio you linked.
When I worked in retail back in the mid 90's people went nuts every time a new Libretto came out. The store I worked at couldn't keep enough in stock. These days there's more competition for small computing devices of various types, but I still think this is an underserved market segment - a full-fledged Windows PC that you can easily hold in one hand and type on with the other while standing in the aisle on a bus or whatever. These things are portable in ways that even more normal-sized thin-n-light notebooks aren't.
btw, this link, while obviously two composited pics, nevertheless will give you an idea of the relative size of the machine vs. a human being: http://dynabook.com/pc/catalog/libretto/050420u1/index_j.htm
notice that it also comes in silver and blue.
This looks similar to my JVC/Victor MP-XP741 (http://www.dynamism.com/xp741/), which has an 8.9" screen and is Japanese only. I love my 741. I have a Sony U70 as well, but the 741 has become my day-to-day computer. Although it says 1GB max on that spec, I bet it's more. My 741 says 768, but I have it at 1.2GB.
Me likey and would consider it if I didn't have my 741.
It also looks like the US version will get the 1.2 proc instead of the 1.1 in Japan ... but Japan gets the cool colors.
Hrm ... in reading the specs it looks like one negative against it - a 1.8" drive. At least the 741 has a 2.5". Still a nice piece of kit ...
I agree with the above poster, whenever they come out with the next gen add a mini-dvd drive/recorder. Also make it 64 bit @ with their new super fast rechargable batteries. do these 3 things @I would buy one in a year or 2 from now with the above features and make it dual bootable between win xp & linux : )
I just got my U100 (and still have my old Libretto 50CT), and I'm debating whether to keep it. In terms of aesthetics (not my top concern, to be sure), my issues go beyond its boxy nature. The back of the LCD (rarely shown in any pics) is half brushed metal and half glossy white plastic. Combined with the black plastic base and the gray plastic hinge and battery, it looks like a hodgepodge of parts instead of a sleek machine. The six-cell battery sticks almost an inch out of the back, and yet does not extend the length of the machine, making it look like a clunky add-on. It also does not fit very tightly and jiggles enough to make you wonder if it will snap off if you pick it up the wrong way. Clearly the machine was built for a half-size battery that would sit flush; hopefully they will make one available for those who want a sleeker machine and could live with less mobile juice.
The U100 and its protruding battery are nearly two inches deeper than my 50CT, yet they managed to deliver a worse keyboard. The overall keyboard size is about the same, but the tiny function keys of the 50 were replaced with bigger ones on the 100 -- by shrinking down the regular keys! These shorter keys, combined with the fact that they are less beveled than the older model, make it far easier to hit two keys at once. Granted, no one is going to write a novel on one of these things, but over time I found the 50 to be workable for typing; I'm not so sure about its new sibling. The up-front trackpoint and its flanking buttons are also annoying to me, particularly when it comes to trying to click-and-drag (and this is coming from a person who always preferred the little nubs to trackpads).
On the upside, performance is pretty good, and the 512MB RAM and 60GB HD means out of the box it can actually run XP and its apps adequately. There are a few nice extra touches like the firewire port, SD card slot, and the fingerprint scanner (although mine only seems to work about half the time it wakes up from hibernation). The screen is incredibly dense; some will love the detail, but those without great eyes (or glasses) need not bother. It's actually nice for applications where the text is fairly large and therefore drawn with a ton of small pixels; but reading the text under icons (or decyphering tiny task tray icons, which are about 1/16" square) is a chore. The screen also inexplicably will not open any further than about 45 degrees from vertical (my old 50 went totally flat if you wanted). I find that not quite enough to use the machine easily while standing over it. While I never much cared for full-sized tablet PCs, if they could have put one of those flip-around hinges on this little guy, I think it would have made it an even more interesting product.
All in all, it is not a bad machine given the compromises required by the size (at least it is not hobbled with a slow processor or tiny hard drive like some). And now Toshiba is including the DVD dock for almost the same base price (at almost $400, it was a tough sell as an add-on). However, it is hardly a true "docking station" as some articles have suggested -- it contains only the drive and a few CD/DVD-related buttons. There is not so much as a second power connector. Not much help for those who truly want a "home" for it on their desk.
I do wish Toshiba had come back into the market with something that didn't seem to be lacking compared to some their models so many years ago. It is good, but by no means the killer subnotebook it could have been.
Hi,
I've had a Libretto U100 for just over 5 months now, and can say, without doubt, it's brilliant ! I have a 19" Flat panel monitor / wireless keyboard and mouse at home, so after plugging it in it's as good as any desktop. When traveling i pack a small cheap keyboard in the check in luggage for writing long reports etc. but the Libretto keyboard is fine for email replies etc and the screen, though small, is excellent.
The most amazing thing is that it is so light and easy to travel with, so much so that the army of brain deads that now pass for airport security in various countries hardly bother you as it fits in a bag so small they don't think you have a laptop :-)
A great product !
Martyn
Hi,
I've had a Libretto U100 for just over 5 months now, and can say, without doubt, it's brilliant ! I have a 19" Flat panel monitor / wireless keyboard and mouse at home, so after plugging it in it's as good as any desktop. When traveling i pack a small cheap keyboard in the check in luggage for writing long reports etc. but the Libretto keyboard is fine for email replies etc and the screen, though small, is excellent.
The most amazing thing is that it is so light and easy to travel with, so much so that the army of brain deads that now pass for airport security in various countries hardly bother you as it fits in a bag so small they don't think you have a laptop :-)
A great product !
Martyn