Techie
11:19 AM | Monday | 15 March 2010

Toshiba is a first-class innovator which has been making waves in portable, high-technology products since the initial outing of its T1100 notebook in 1985. It makes durable and aesthetically pleasing notebooks – two important qualities the consumer-electronics giant is known for. Even so, it's adding three more merits under its belt with the release of the Slim Series: ultra-portable, energy-efficient, and Earth-friendly.

The Portégé T130 is the result of Toshiba's bold, "green" initiative, and we feel the brand's latest gambit pays off in dividends. We review Toshiba's ticket to CULV notebook fame.

Form factor and design

The Toshiba Portégé T130 is available in three eye-catching color variations: Glossy Pearl White, Glossy Precious Black, and Glossy Iron Red. 

This incredibly svelte machine measures just 28.7 x 21.1 x 3.42cm and tips the scales at a mere 1.76kg.

To say this ultra-portable is easy on the eyes is an understatement. In fact, with its paint scheme, metallic trim, and masculine undertones, we reckon the T130 is one of the more attractive CULVs out right now. Its handsome shell with a seemingly carbon-fiber finish is draped in shiny plastic. It's got that strong yet unassuming and likable personality.

But if gloss is not your cup of tea and you loathe smudge-prone form factors, then you're better off skipping this ultra-portable for something in matte. Daily computing with the T130 is sure to leave a liberal amount of fingerprints on its shell, even as you try your darnedest not to.

Display

Toshiba's T130 sports a 13.3-inch widescreen monitor with a decent resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The LED backlit display shines the brightest playing films in HD format, as it produces vivid, high-contrast images.

Interface and connectivity

This Toshiba CULV notebook is a joy to use. The T130's flat, plasticky, and well-spaced keyboard capitalizes on every inch of the machine's frame, narrowly missing a standard-sized keyboard. Its touch pad is far more expansive than what other notebooks carry and boasts a multi-touch feature with gesture support. The smooth surface allowed us to steer the mouse cursor accurately, making us feel we have complete control over its 13.3-inch widescreen display.  

The only thing that dampens an otherwise noteworthy navigation experience is its stiff mouse button. Truth be told, hitting the button is a hit-or-miss affair – resulting mostly in misses at first. Good thing we got the hang of it over time. A quick tip: Pushing the button on its edges gives you a better chance to interact with Windows 7 effectively.

Performance

The Portégé T130 is, by no means, a high-performance product. As far as gaming, multimedia editing, and other heavy computing tasks are concerned, we suggest you turn to bigger, better spec'd notebooks instead. For everything else (read: movie marathons, Web surfing, Microsoft Office applications, and other lightweight, single-threaded tasks), this ultra-portable is heaven-sent. It allows you to juggle application windows and Web browser tabs stutter-free, and with relative ease.

Yes, guys. The Windows Index and PCMark scores indicate that it's not really meant for threaded applications

The fact that you can use it for more than eight hours straight using its eco settings with brightness set at 3 (more if you set it at 1 or 2) is just what you need if you're a mobile worker. Charging's a hassle, so this is  HAPPINESS in all caps.

To a performance extent, though, the thing that sticks out of the T130 like a rotting thumb is its weak built-in speakers. There were times when sounds were barely audible – even at cranked-up volume levels.

But after a battery of tests, we were able to figure out a workaround to solve the T130's audio issue. We uninstalled the notebook's stock Conexant audio drivers, which Windows 7 automatically replaced with its own High Definition Audio drivers upon reboot. So if you already own a Portégé T130 or its more portable brother, the Portégé T110, or you're planning to get one of the two, we highly suggest you do the same to make best use of the notebook's speakers. 

Verdict

This machine performs consistently well in areas that matter most. Despite its mildly irritating shortcomings, it's still close to the ideal, largely because of its light, slender form factor and extraordinary battery life. At P42,990 with free Smart Bro HSDPA, the Portégé T130 might set you back a few thousand pesos if you're looking at the CULV-based segment, but in exchange, you get a first-rate diet product which embodies everything Toshiba aims to be: tough, chic, ultra-portable, efficient, and Earth-friendly.

For inquiries, call Tricom at +632 890 6525.

Note: The price has already been updated. – Editor