Excellent performer with ergonomical problems
Written: Jan 23 '01 (Updated Jan 23 '01)
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Pros: Great looks, nice weight if you don't need options
Cons: Too much externals if you need more options
The Bottom Line: If you can bare with the bits of pieces of external devices, go ahead, otherwise there are other options out there
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| akira_xtc's Full Review: Toshiba Portege 3480CT (PP348C-4PU82) PC Notebook |
What would everyone look for in an ideal portable system? Thin, light, and all-in-one system without having to swap devices back and forth. I thought i found my partner when i get this Portege 3480ct.
The first day i got it, it really does look nice, and it boots really fast unlike any other notebooks i have seen. From that moment it became my favorite toy. Later on, i bring it along with my on my travels... and discovered some flaws which otherwise could make this notebook an excellent notebook.
Although this notebook is VERY thin, it's only a 1 spindle design, which means that there can only be one device connected to the laptop at a time: a harddrive, optical drive, or floppy drive.
Now before i pack my thing for my trip, i organize what i need to bring with my laptop...
First the laptop itself (3.4 lbs), then the power brick and its wire, then the external I/O bar (needed if i need a parallel port to print, since the only parallel port available is on the bar), then i start shuffling the external Floppy drive, then an external mouse (Toshiba's pointing stick is not comfortable in my opinion), then an External CDROM drive, and lastly, an extra battery.
I think i was ready to leave for my trip, when i lifted the notebook bag, and found it to be very heavy. Now this really defeats the purpose of buying an ultraportable! I then started packing another notebook (a two-spindle Armada M700), which amazingly easier to pack (no small bit and pieces of external devices to collect), and it's way lighter than the portege package!!
Anyway, i went ahead with my trip along with my bulky package of portege... On the first day, the harddrive gave up on me! it just couldn't read several part of the disk.. it just gave me a 20 seconds delay when i create a folder, scandisk crashes everytime it loads...
As if it was enough... the heat emanating from the base of the unit is unbearable. I agree to what people say in this epinions reviews... the heat produced by this unit is tremendous, even when they say that they have active cooling solution (which doesn't help in any way).
That was just the ergonomical side of the laptop... As for performance, i had no complains at all with this notebook. It blazes through my application as fast as i possible can imagine.
All in all, that was not necessarily a nice experience with a portege, which i had high expectations.
If you a kind of person who has to have the coolest looking notebook, and don't mind the hassle of carrying external parts and keeping them organized, this is the one for you! Otherwise, there are other better options out there...
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 1400
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 501-600
Screen Size: 11
RAM: 64
Internal Storage: CD-ROM
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20
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Epinions.com ID:
akira_xtc
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Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 0 members
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