Review: Toshiba Prot'eg'e R830 laptop

Toshiba's Prot'eg'e R830 is a neat and compact machine. Toshiba says the device is aimed at corporate and business users. While it's definitely compact and easy to transport, the slow boot-up will probably leave most corporate users more than a little frustrated.

The R830 is pleasing on the eye. It really is. I definitely like the black casing. The chassis is made of magnesium, with a metallic finish. This makes the laptop durable, while still ensuring a sleek design. It feels solid and sits nicely on your lap.

The device weighs just under 2kg, making it heavier than some devices, but still fairly easy to carry around. It won't suit incredibly mobile people that carry their laptops all day, but if you're only moving the device from home to work and to the occasional meeting, you won't find it too heavy.

The well-spaced keys were also a plus, and a welcome change from the crowded keyboards that feature on a lot of laptops. The keys are also very responsive, making for effortless typing. As an added bonus, the keyboard is spill-resistant.

The keyboard isn't backlit, so it's not great for use in a dark room. This means surfing the net and typing e-mails in bed or in a dark room is not an option. Having said that, those who perform these activities probably won't be considering the Toshiba R830 in the first place.

The laptop comes with a USB 3.0 port, an eSATA port that doubles up as a USB 2.0 port, HDMI port and a multi-card reader. I found this more than sufficient for transferring data, including movies and photos.

The trackpad is a good size, and also very responsive. However, the left and right click buttons were not as responsive. Anyone wanting to make efficient use of this laptop would therefore have to buy a separate mouse. Unfortunately, this combination will make the laptop a tad tricky to use on your lap. The result is that it is not ideal for commuters and businesspeople who travel extensively.

The screen has a 1 366 x 768 pixel resolution that provides a clean image with bright colours. The 33.8cm screen is also non-reflective, which makes typing Word documents for extended periods a little less painful.

The sound is a tad tinny, but for a laptop, it's not bad.

The laptop comes preloaded with a number of applications, although users will have to install Microsoft Office, or an equivalent. I found this disappointing. One would expect a laptop aimed at businesspeople to include office software.

I like that the R830 comes with a power-saving mode, and it also goes to sleep pretty quickly, so it really saves on power. This is great for extending battery-life, and also means you don't waste electricity.

It also comes with airflow cooling technology, which prevents over-heating, and in this way, ensures the laptop's durability.

The R830 has wireless connectivity in the form of LAN 802, Ethernet LAN and Bluetooth 3.0.

The Prot'eg'e was a bit disappointing in terms of computing power, with only 4GB RAM (this can be expanded to 8GB). Additionally, it has a processing speed of 1 333MHz, accounting for its slow start-up. The laptop is also slow to open applications. It comes with a second-generation Intel core processor and Intel HD 3000 graphics card.

The graphics card shares the 4GB memory with the computer's processor. However, it manages to play HD video clips, and the graphics are more than adequate for business use.

With standard use, the battery lasts up to eight hours. This can also be upgraded to 14 hours. I found this more than sufficient, and the ability to upgrade is a definite plus.

The laptop comes with Windows 7 preinstalled, and also features some extra applications and games (I particularly liked Plants vs Zombies). However, you will need to install Windows Office, or an equivalent office suite, at your own expense.

The Toshiba Prot'eg'e R830 is a neat and compact machine. Unfortunately, it isn't very powerful, but it's portable, with good battery life.