Review Toshiba Satellite U845W Notebook

Design

One of the more unusual notebook designs to come along, the Satellite U845W looks like Toshiba took a 15-inch notebook, and sliced a few inches off the long end. Measuring 14.5 x 7.8 x 0.72 inches, it's as long the 15-inch Acer Aspire TimelineU M5-581TG, (14.4 x 10.1 x 0.79-0.81 inches), but much narrower. If anything, its dimensions reminded us of a legal notepad, or a supersized Sony VAIO P. While slim and light (the U845W weighs about 4 pounds), its length stretched, ever so slightly, our messenger bag.

You'll get stares for more than just its dimensions, though. This is an attractive laptop. About two-thirds of the Toshiba U845W's lid is made of a Midnight Silver brushed aluminum (which has a slightly bronze tint), and the top third is covered in a black textured rubber. The underside is coated in the same material, which makes the U845W very comfortable to carry around while closed.

Inside, the palm rest is made of the same rubberized material. Above, the keyboard deck is a bead blasted aluminum. On either side of the black keyboard are two large speakers. Overall, it's a subdued yet sophisticated look.

The Toshiba Satellite U845W weighs around 3.5 pounds, according to Toshiba, depending on configuration, and is 0.82 inch thick: thicker than most 13-inch ultrabooks, but around the size of many 14-inchers.
Keyboard and Touchpad

As the chassis of the U845W is more squat than traditional notebooks, the island-style keyboard attempts to accommodate its unorthodox dimensions. As a result, the keys are squatter than is usual. Additionally, the keys felt a bit slippery and the key travel was sorely lacking, which resulted in more errors than we're used to making. The backlighting is a nice touch, as are the media keys along the function row, but overall, this layout just doesn't provide a comfortable typing experience. (TOSHIBA PA3904U-1BRS batteries)

The 3.9 x 2.5-inch Synaptics touchpad on this Toshiba is quite spacious, and the integrated buttons are easy to press with one hand. We had no problem selecting text using our thumb and forefinger. Multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom, rotate, and three-finger swipe worked well.

Display

Of course, the star of the show is the Toshiba Satellite U845W's 14.4-inch 1792 x 768-pixel display. When watching 1080p trailers for Total Recall, The Avengers and other films, the glossy panel did an excellent job with whatever we threw at it. Blacks were deep and true, with no artifacts, and colors were wonderfully vibrant.
With an average brightness of 259 lux, the Toshiba Satellite U845W outshines the thin-and-light average of 202 lux, and is on a par with the Dell Inspiron 14z (254 lux). It's far better than the T13, whose screen was a relatively dim 163 lux.

One of the things that Toshiba touts with this Ultrabook's display is that the black bars on the top and bottom of movies are minimized. However, this is dependent on the movies themselves being filmed in the same 21:9 aspect ratio as the display. For example, The Avengers was shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, while Total Recall was filmed in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. As a result, the latter completely fills the screen, while the former has black bars on the left and right sides.

Of course, you can do more than just watch movies on the U845W. Toshiba built in a small utility designed to maximize productivity. Called Snap Screen, it allows you to snap windows to either side of the display, and automatically resize them to a size of your choosing. You can tell the feature is activated by a small icon that appears on the upper right of any active window. It takes Windows 7's Snap feature an extra step.
We found it very useful to have the text of this review open on one side, and our notes on the other side. However, text does appear a bit smaller than we'd like, especially when it came to menu items. (TOSHIBA PA5023U-1BRS batteries)

Audio

Half the experience of watching a movie is listening to it, which is why we were pleased that the Toshiba Satellite U845W's harmon kardon speakers pumped out loud, accurate sound. Bruce Springsteen's I'm on Fire resonated, as did U2's Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. There was a nice amount of bass, and trebles were clear without being distorted. Flo Rida's Turn Around cranked out loud enough for a small dance party, and the bass thumped.

The SRS Premium Sound 3D control panel let us tweak settings; one unique slider, called SRS Focus, redirected the sound toward the middle of the notebook, as opposed to the edges. This increased the volume, but made things sound a bit tinnier, especially higher notes.

Ports

The left side of the Toshiba Satellite U845W has an Ethernet port, as well as two USB 3.0 ports. The right side has a third USB 3.0 port, HDMI, and headphone and mic jacks. The front edge has an SD card slot.

Webcam

While the Toshiba Satellite U845W's webcam only takes pictures at a max resolution of 640 x 480, images and video were reasonably clear and well-balanced in terms of color. Our skin tones were accurate, as was the blue and white of our shirt. We did notice a bit of graininess in darker areas, though. (PA3820U-1BRS batteries)

Heat

After streaming a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the Toshiba Satellite U845W's touchpad measured 76 degrees Fahrenheit, and the space between the G and H keys was 83 degrees. Both are well below our threshold for what we consider uncomfortable--95 to 100 degrees. However, the middle of the underside reached a troubling 101 degrees.

Graphics and Gaming

While the Toshiba Satellite U845W has an integrated Intel Graphics HD 4000 GPU, it's more than powerful enough for some moderate gaming. With the screen set to its native resolution and effects on autodetect, the U845W averaged 49 fps in World of Warcraft. Amping up the effects to ultra dropped the rate to an unplayable 20 fps. Still, that's better than the T13, which averaged 32 and 15 fps at those same settings, but with the resolution at a lower 1366 x 768. The 14z, which has a discrete AMD Radeon HD 7570M GPU, averaged a higher 64 fps and 32 fps at those same settings.
The Toshiba Satellite U845W's 3DMark11 score of 614 falls below the 14z (902) and the category average (819), but bests the T13 (456) by a comfortable margin.

Battery Life

The Toshiba Satellite U845W will definitelylast you through a double feature. On the LAPTOP Battery Test (Web surfing via Wi-Fi), the notebook lasted 7 hours, about a half-hour longer than the category average, 90 minutes more than the Inspiron 14z and two hours longer than the T13. (PA3842U-1BRS batteries)

Verdict

Those looking for a cinematic experience--or simply looking to get the benefit of nearly two screens in one--will find the Toshiba Satellite U845W an intriguing option. For $999, you get a 14-inch Ultrabook with a wide, bright screen, excellent audio and seven hours of battery life. The biggest issue holding this notebook back is its mushy keyboard. We'd be a lot more willing to live with this system's wider frame if the typing experience were better.

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Dell Inspiron 15R Special Edition Notebook Review, 4YRJH / 8858X computer batteries

Property: original computer batteries Battery Type:Li-ion Battery Voltage:11.1V Battery Capacity:60Wh / 97Wh Battery Color:Black

DELL 8858X Battery Life

Dell ships the notebook with a 4YRJH 6-cell lithium-ion battery rated at 48 Wh.
To determine the maximum run time during idle, we deactivated the WLAN, turned the display brightness all the way down, and enabled the power-saver profile. Our Inspiron manged to run for 4 hours and 45 minutes.

To determine battery life using a more realistic scenario, we subjected the test candidate to our WLAN-surf-test. Surfing the internet using WLAN (via an automated script) with a display brightness of 150 cd/m², we measured a run time of 3 hours before having to plug in the adapter.

Those wanting to watch a movie better check the feature length first: a DVD shouldn't be longer than 1 hour and 41 minutes, a Blu-ray 1 hour and 25 minutes.

When we ran our load test using DELL 312-1242 Battery Eater Classic, which renders an animated 3D-scene and places a heavy load on the processor and the graphics card, we recorded a run time of 1 hour. Charging the battery takes about 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Although the processor is able to supply full power while the laptop is on battery, 3DMark 06 showed a drop from 9615 to 5291 points, indicating that the graphics subsystem is running at reduced capacity.

Case

The design is completely new. The unusual placement of the hinges, a distinctive feature of older Inspiron and Vostro models, has been abandoned in favor of a new design. The hinges are now located at the far back of the base unit. Unfortunately, the display lid still can only be tilted back about 140°. The lid is made out of plastic which accepts the interchangeable aluminum covers as inserts. With the cover in place, the display is very resistant to any pressure applied. The hinges are strong and easily keep the display in the desired position.

The base of the unit, save for the palm rest, is made from plastic. The chassis is torsionally very rigid but the surface areas deform under pressure. Build quality could be improved: the top appears well constructed, on the sides we noticed uneven gaps. The locking mechanism for the battery is very solid and user friendly. (TOSHIBA PA3904U-1BRS batteries) 

Most of the surfaces are non-glossy. The interchangeable aluminum cover and the palmrest are made from black anodized aluminum and feature an embossed (but subtle) honeycomb pattern. The sides are made from silver plastic. The three quick access buttons and the keyboard panel are painted glossy.

With Switch, Dell is trying to separate the Inspiron notebooks from the rest of the pack. Unfortunately, the selection of covers leaves to be desired. At this time, only a pink, a red, and a blue cover are available for the standard Inspiron 15R. Additional aluminum covers are not offered. The process of changing the cover is easy and thoroughly explained.

Connectivity

Port selection is above average. The front houses a card reader (compatible with SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC(+), MS (PRO), and xD). The right side is home to a Blu-ray optical drive in the front and two USB 3.0 and the Gigabit LAN jack towards the back.

The notebook is not particularly well suited for left-handers wanting to use an external mouse: the headphone- and microphone-jack, a regular USB 3.0 and one USB 3.0 that is always powered, are on the left side towards the front, followed by a HDMI port. A VGA port and the power jack are located behind the cooling fan outlet. No ports are located on the back.

Keyboard

The keyboard is different from the predecessor's: while the design is similar, the numeric keypad is missing. The keyboard is now the same one found on some Vostro models. A backlit keyboard, the same one the Vostro V131 features, is available as an option (40 Euro) on the top-of-the line model. Typing is a pleasure: the key travel is not too short and the feedback is solid.

Aside from the fairly big and backlit power button, the Inspiron features three shortcut buttons on the top right. The first one opens Windows Mobility Center, which provides an overview of frequently used settings. The second one opens a small window that lets the user choose a profil for the sound card (game, music, movie,..). The third key can be customized as desired. (DELL PRRRF batteries) 

Touchpad 

The touchpad is adequately sized and allows for precise control. It features a definite (and easily felt) perimeter although the extreme borders don't respond that well. Multitouch is supported and works without issues. The driver properties allow for a plethora of configuration settings so the touchpad can be customized as desired. A key combination turns the touchpad off; a little orange light glows above the touchpad when it's deactivated.

The two mouse buttons are a pleasure to use. They offer clear tactile feedback and respond well even if not pushed dead-center. 

Screen

The screen measures 15.6 inches on the diagonal. If you've not been able to decide between the more portable 13-inch laptops or the desktop-friendly 17-inch beasts, 15 inches is an excellent compromise.

Better still, it packs a Full HD resolution making it well suited for media use. Most 15-inch laptops tend to offer a lesser 1,600x900-pixel display or even 1,366x768 pixels -- the resolution offered on the lower-end model -- so it's great to see Dell providing 1080p on a display of this size.

The HD screen means you're now perfectly equipped to enjoy the Blu-ray drive shoved in around the side. I loaded up my Blu-ray copy of of The Art of Flight and spent blissful minutes watching snowboarder Travis Rice descend mountains at terrifying speeds. The screen proved fairly bright and adequately bold although I have seen more vivid screens. (DELL XPS L321X batteries) 

It'll certainly do the job for watching a casual movie on the sofa or for looking at Maru's latest exploits on YouTube, but if you want a more cinematic experience then you'll need to hook up your massive TV and sound system using the HDMI port.

The screen has been given a matte coating that helps cut reflections to a minimum. That's particularly handy if you often find yourself working in bright sunlight or harsh office lighting. Reading the fine detail in massive Excel spreadsheets is considerably more comfortable when you're not avoiding staring back at your gawping face.

Speakers

Dell heavily promotes the speakers in the Inspiron 15R. They are sourced from the US company Skullcandy and controlled using Waves MaxxAudio 4. The sound quality is definitely above average. Maximum volume is very high and the speakers never sound distorted. Unfortunately, there is no subwoofer in the Inspiron, so bass is severely lacking. While we can't recommend the Dell for audiophiles for that reason, for movie night or a presentation the system is perfectly usable.

Verdict

The Inspiron 15R Special Edition is designed to appeal predominately to the performance-oriented crowd. Dell spruced up the chassis with aluminum components and installed more powerful hardware to differentiate the model from the standard edition.

The Inspiron-series was completely redesigned. The models now have generously rounded corners and sport a timeless grey-black chassis. Build quality of the base unit and the display lid is good, although we noticed uneven gaps on the sides of the notebook.

Features and port selection are above average. A Blu-ray optical drive, four USB 3.0 ports, and a card reader capable of reading almost all formats are all included. Networking components are up to date and include WLAN b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and Gigabit-LAN.

The input devices allow using the laptop for extended periods of time without any issues. The keyboard, which provides good feedback, is also used in the Vostro notebooks. The touchpad is adequately sized and has very decent mouse buttons. (TOSHIBA PA3928U-1BRS batteries) 

The FullHD-display is a differentiating feature of the Special Edition compared to the standard Inspirons. Since it is very bright and none-glare, it can be used in bright conditions. The generous viewing angles make using the laptop easier and allow several people to watch a Blu-ray movie. The contrast ratio is quite impressive.

The Intel quad-core processor and the middle-class graphics card supplied by AMD allow decent performance and satisfy most use-case scenarios. Most current games can be played successfully in medium or sometimes even high quality mode. We were quite impressed with the very quiet and fast 1 TB hard disc drive. The notebook remains mostly silent but gets quite warm under load.

Manufacturers seem to pay more and more attention to the sound quality of their notebooks. Skullcandy provides the speakers for the Inspiron. The sound is indeed very impressive, albeit lacking bass.

The Inspiron 15R Special Edition is a multimedia-notebook that manages to leave a very good impression in those areas where it really matters: a great display, well-designed input devices, and plenty of performance.

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