QosmioG35-av650
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Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650 HD DVD notebook reviewed
We suppose comparing Toshiba's HD DVD laptop, the Qosmio G35-AV650, to Sony's full-fledged RC310G Blu-ray desktop might be a bit unfair, but so far they're the only systems with next-gen drives we've spotted reviews for. For starters, as a laptop the AV650 is nothing to scoff at. With a 17-inch widescreen, 2GHz Core Duo processor, NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 GPU, 200GB HDD and 1GB of RAM, the specs are quite adequate for desktop replacement work, but enhancements like 1920 x 1200 screen resolution and HDMI out (though sadly, no DVI) make it clear this think is built to rock the HD DVDs. Unfortunately, HD playback is all this $3000 system is getting you beyond the normal laptop fare, since the drive doesn't burn HD DVDs. Sony's Blu-ray systems, even their AR Blu-ray laptop, come with a whole suite of software to create content and burn to Blu-ray discs, making the hefty premium a bit more excusable. Also, Toshiba's bundled WinDVD HD playback software was glitchy with HD DVD discs, which might make even the staunchest early adopter rethink the purchase. We're not so sure the Toshiba has hardware decoding provided by its video card like that of Sony's desktop, so that could factor in. It's hard to call this thing much of a portable, though with a 3 hour battery life, an HD DVD on the go is definitely possible, but the 10.2 pounds of heft might make you rethink those plans. Obviously HD DVD has arrived, but we're just not sure it's ready for prime time, or worth corralling into a mere 17-inches.
