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Toshiba Satellite U845W review: an Ultrabook with a screen size all its own
More Info Toshiba outs Satellite U845W Ultrabook with 14.4-inch, 21:9 display (updated: $999 and up in the US) The Ultrabooks of Computex 2012 Toshiba bows out of netbooks in the US, sees Ultrabooks as the wave of the future Ultrabooks now come in countless shapes and sizes, and we've seen display quality vary just as much. Though 1,366 x 768 may still be the norm, 1,600 x 900 panels aren't unheard of in this ultraportable category. But what about a screen that bucks the 16:9 aspect ratio for an extra-wide 21:9? Toshiba is mixing things up with its new premium Satellite U845W Ultrabook ($1,000 and up), the first laptop to feature that odd aspect ratio. Styled in the fashion of movie theater screens, the U845W's 14.4-inch, 1,792 x 768 panel adds more horizontal pixels -- ostensibly to enhance the movie-watching experience. In theory, too, that setup should allow for more room to multitask with windows side by side. So how good of an idea is a 21:9 screen in practice? Join us as we put it to the test. %Gallery-161861%
The Ultrabooks of Computex 2012
It was last year that Intel chose Computex, a computer tradeshow in Taiwan, to introduce its Ultrabook concept to the world. Twelve months later, 110-plus models are in the pipeline, which meant the Taipei Convention Center was overrun by skinny, lightweight laptops. Make that skinny, touch-enabled laptops. Between those new Ivy Bridge chips and Microsoft putting the finishing touches on Windows 8, this week's show was nothing if not a five-day-long wedding between two tech giants: almost every device on display here was a vehicle for showing off Microsoft's glossy new OS. At every turn, a celebration of touchscreen notebooks. With more than 30 hands-on posts this week, we can see where one Core i5 laptop might look like the next, or how you might have failed to keep up with Jonney Shih's rapid-fire product announcements. Now that we're wrapping up here in Taiwan, though, we're ready to take a step back and think about what it is we just saw. Whether you felt overwhelmed by our wall-to-wall coverage or just need to catch up, we suggest you meet us past the break for a quick recap of all the new Ultrabooks. Oh, and if you're in the market for a new laptop, you can check your trigger-happy finger at the door. With few exceptions, we're not expecting these to go on sale until the fall, when Windows 8 is expected to start shipping.
Toshiba outs Satellite U845W Ultrabook with 14.4-inch, 21:9 display (updated: $999 and up in the US)
It's a shame we have to write headlines -- we would have invited you to guess what screen size you're looking at on that Ultrabook up there. Alas, though, you can read, and that funky-looking laptop is indeed the Toshiba Satellite U845W (or U840W in Europe). Its display measures an unusual 14.4 inches diagonally, which translates to a severe 21:9 aspect ratio (and 1792 x 768 resolution, in this case). All told, it's the first panel of its kind to be used in a PC. But who's it for, exactly? Toshiba reps said the aspect ratio is meant to mimic a movie theater screen, despite the fact there's no Blu-ray drive onboard. They also imagine people using that real estate for multitasking and getting work done in cramped airplane quarters. It's also meant to get your attention. Everything about it seems designed to make a statement: the machined aluminum design, the soft-touch accents, the backlit keyboard, even the metal FCC plate and chrome-ringed feet. The machine's also decked out with Harman Kardon speakers, like other Toshiba laptops, along with amenities like sleep-and-charge and sleep-and-music ports. You'll also find an Ethernet jack, HDMI output and three USB 3.0 sockets. It's a bit ironic, then, that the weakest bit seems to be the display -- with a TN panel like that, we're not expecting jaw-dropping viewing angles. On the inside, it runs your choice of Ivy Bridge processor, though the storage varies wildly depending on how much money you're willing to pay: at the entry level you get an HDD starting at $999, but the top-tier configuration nets you 256GB solid-state drive. The weight is also likely to vary depending on which you choose: though these specs aren't final, Toshiba is saying a machine with a spinning hard drive should weigh "just under" four pounds, while an SSD-packing machine should come in at about 3.5. The company is also staying mum on battery life for now, though we're hearing a tentative range of eight to ten hours, at the high end. The U845W is expected to go on sale in the next couple of months, and until then we've got hands-on galleries below and a video after the break.%Gallery-156550%%Gallery-156551%
