Another winner from Toshiba??
Written: Apr 08 '02
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Pros: Excellent display, wireless technology, DVD/CD-R/CD-RW drive, well equipped great support.
Cons: A bit slow, battery life somewhat short, pricey.
The Bottom Line: The Tecra 8200 is an amply provisioned, fully configured, wireless-ready notebook for corporate users. Its slower speed and steep price may chase away many, including me.
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| LaFeet's Full Review: Toshiba Tecra 8100 (PT810U-12CP7) PC Notebook |
First off, this is a review on Toshiba's Tecra 8200, not the 8100.
I have been on a quest to find a new laptop that could meet my needs as well as those of a teenage girl about to enter college. I had believed that the Toshiba Tecra 8200 just might be the one I need.
Toshiba has managed to cram quite a it of technology into the 1.5-inch-thick Tecra 8200 while managing to keep the weight down to a comfortable 5.5 pounds (6.5 with AC power supply).
The Tecra will not take up too much room in a briefcase or on a desktop. With 12.25 by 10 inches of lap space I found that this computer was small enough to fit onto a airplane fold-out tables and still allow me to have a drink.
This Tecra has an 850MHz Pentium III and a 19GB hard drive. The 128MB of memory was a bit small, but it is easily expanded. There are two free slots to allow up to 384MB of additional memory. Toshiba sells 128MB of SDRAM for $104 and 256MB of SDRAM for $503, but save your pennies and shop around on the internet for better deals. I managed to get 256MB for 250 dollars.
I chose the Windows 98 system (saving 100$) over the Win2000 - I am awaiting the bug removal of the W2000.
When compared against several other 850MHz PIII notebooks, the Tecra performed satisfactorily, but slower. However, it did do better with battery life as compared to Dell and other. Repeated tests gave me an average battery life of 2 hours and 12 minutes while using all equipment and software. The Tecra did even better in the optimized mode, lasting a little over 3 hours. Performance for this computer geek is not up to par, especially considering the cost of this machine.
The best feature that I enjoyed was the display. The Tecra has a crisp, bright, evenly lit 14-inch (diagonal) LCD with a native resolution of 1,024 by 768. A Trident CyberBlade XP video adapter with 16MB of its own memory provides the resolution and crispness I enjoy. This unit also has an optional adapter which will support a higher 1,400 by 1,050 resolution on an external display. The only downfall of the display is the lack of user adjustable brightness controls.
The Tecra's hot swap bay supports a number of drives and accessories. I opted for the combo DVD/CD-R/CD-RW drive ($599) so that I could burn CDs and DVDs. Toshiba has also managed to include Ethernet, a V.90 modem, infrared ports, two Type II (one Type III) PC Card slots, one PS/2 and two USB ports for a mouse or external keyboard.
One option that I chose not to acquire is Toshiba’s fingerprint reading PC Card ($199). I am not that paranoid – YET!
The 8200's wireless LAN technology is based on the new 802.11b, or Wi-Fi, standard. I found that I could mess around with several other’s notebooks as soon as they recognized each other. I managed to share data and swap files with ease. Even with the wireless feature, the network performance is disappointing. You must isolate external noise sources, otherwise you will have grossly slower network times as well as numerous errors.
Toshiba must have known that I wouldn't want my notebook striking up a conversation with every wireless passerby because they included a power switch for the network feature. A simple flip of the switch can cut off the Wi-Fi's juice even while you're working on the notebook.
The keyboard is comfortable and easy to use, even for my fat fingers. I do think that the Escape, Alt, and Tab keys are a bit too small. The placement of the “trackpoint” in the keyboard is a bit awkward. There is not sufficient clearance between the “pointer” and the surrounding keys. I was frequently poking adjacent keys and altering my documents while trying to use the “pointer”.
There is no touchpad, and I have found this a detraction from the Tecra. Many of us have grown proficient in the manipulation of the touchpad. Remember how inadequate we all were when it first appeared?
Since Toshiba knows that a happy computer user is one who has a working computer, they provide a wealth of support. The three year (24/7) toll-free tech support and two-business-day turnaround (shipping paid) for repairs, is one of the industry best warranties. Toshiba's Web site includes a database of technical information, e-mail access to technicians, and discussion groups.
The Tecra 8200 isn't the fastest of the fast, but it comes close. The compact design offers an exceptional assembly of the latest mobile capabilities. But I find it a bit too costly.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 3350
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 801-900
Screen Size: 14
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20
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LaFeet
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Member: Paule Patterson
Location: Cushing, Ok
Reviews written: 314
Trusted by: 36 members
About Me:
Retired Submariner, ex Air-Force Brat, current radiation protection tech, hiding in urban Oklahoma
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