Toshiba Portege R400 reviewed
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jan 12th 2007 1:25PM
posted Jan 12th 2007 1:25PM
Laptop Magazine had the opportunity to put the new 12-inch, Toshiba Portege R400 through a review. One "especially convenient feature" of the convertible tablet is the ability to receive real-time alerts using Microsoft's Active Notifications and Push Technology. So long as you're connected via WiFi or embedded EV-DO Rev A, the front edge of the R400 can display real-time email and calendar notifications. In notebook mode, the full-size keyboard was comfortable though "a bit springy" and the digitizer (in tablet mode) was "accurate and responsive" even when making the subtlest of moves. Laptop Magazine wasn't too happy about the external DVD multidrive, though we're just fine having it strung from a tether in order to keep the weight down. The LED glossy screen was "bright and vibrant" but a bit "too glossy" resulting in glare and reflection especially in tablet mode. The biggest complaint is performance; pre-loaded with Windows Vista Ultimate, the reviewers noted "sluggish" performance from "some actions" making them wonder if the 1.2-GHz Intel Core Duo processor and integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics were "overmatched by the OS." Hmm, us too. Bottom line, they "like, not love" the R400.
Is Toshiba joking!? They want $3500 for a tablet using a core duo processor and intel graphics??? At least throw in the Core2Duo! I personally won't be buying Toshiba again. I think they are great quality and my r200 tablet still works great. However that Tablet is also very slow (even with 2gb of ram) and Toshiba's support is non existent. The R200 came with dedicated nVidia but they have never released an updated driver. That means I have to go and used a hacked driver as the original 3 years out of date driver doesn't play quicktime files. The hacked driver then reduces the functionality of the screen auto rotating. I don't support companies that don't update their products. The R200 also doesn't support booting from external dvd players other than their own, so I have to borrow a friend's anytime I reinstall Windows as I don't want to fork out $250 for a CDRW/DVD drive! I bet the R400 has the same problem.
As far as the sluggishness goes, I doubt its a problem with Vista being too much for the processor. Vista runs fine on my 4 year old desktop machine. However, I think Toshiba's utilities are to blame. Like I said, my R200 has bizarre slowdowns with the mouse and many other people have the same issue... This shouldn't happen with a 5400rpm hard drive and 2gb of ram.
I'm waiting for Sony or Asus to release a tablet. BTW: the review states the LED lit display is a laptop first, it's not as the Sony TX I bought for a friend had this last Christmas.
This (convertible)notebook is awesome , esp. with the Ulta Wideband WIRELESS port replicator.This is the one iv`e been looking for.
I'm in the market for a tablet PC, and it seems like Toshiba already has better offerings than this. Unfortunately, there's no real reason to upgrade to Vista at the moment and XPTE2005 would free up some resources.
I agree, I don't see Vista adding anything to tablet functionality. Onenote 2007 on the otherhand is a nice upgrade from ON2k3. But that runs on XP just fine.
I want to get a tablet for my next pc, however I need to use it for illustration and animation work (photoshop, after effects etc...) so I need it to have
A) Decent screen (high res, even backlight and good viewing angle)
B) Beefy specs
C) Light & comfortable to hold while I doodle.
I would seriously consider this tablet if only it was more powerful. Ive considered both the m400 and the tecra m7 (to name a few) both of which have one flaw which discourages me from buying - no dedicated graphics in the m400 and poor screen performance in the M7 despite its high res. I hope someone from toshiba/motion/asus/apple realises a tablet pc could be an essential tool for professional illustrators and graphic artists if only they would get thier collective thumb out and build a machine that caters to our needs. One reeeealy basic consideration which no manufacturer seems to have thought of is this: a built in method of adjusting its angle to a more natural drawing position when it is laid on a table. At its simplest a more sturdy version of the feet attached to most keyboards would do the job. As a side benefit it could potentially compensate for the limited viewing angles of many lcds.
As you can see, Im excited at the possibilities of this technology but quite dissapointed by so many near misses and the short sightedness of so many companies - targeting tablets at business men for taking notes in meetings? Nearly everyone I know can type a hell of a lot faster than they can write!
Ill shush now ;)
So all I've known is Toshiba M200's...and I've played with the M400 and found it to be basically a larger M200 with a DVD...something I don't need.
The bottom line is this: At the time...a great processor matched with a 12.1" Diagonal SXGA+ Wide View Angle Display (1400x1050). Simply the smallest lightest Tablet PC notebook with the greatest desktop real estate you could buy. Stuff it with 2 gigs of RAM and life is great.
I think I'm going to stock up on some of the old M200s...find hardware hacker to find a way to put in a better processor in and keep my light 1400x1050 desktop. I L-O-V-E my M200. I am crying that I will have to "upgrade" to something wimpy.
Very nice system, pretty much like the Asus R1F series.