Prime Notebook Computer Review

If you are looking for an ultra portable notebook with decent battery life, then the Toshiba Satellite U200 must be one of your objects of desire. The notebook come with 12.1″ widescreen and only 4.1 pounds. It’s “small” and easy to carrying around. Toshiba design the U200 just like the Tecra M6, durable and solid with magnesium alloy chassis. The exterior is black and grey nice color. There is no ripples on the screen when pushed on the back. Overall, the design is simple but nice looking.

The U200 powering by Intel Core Duo T2300 1.66 GHz backed up by 1 GB, 533 MHz of RAM and 100 GB of hard disk. The notebook’s performance is great, without slowing down even when doing multi tasking or playing hard games. Compare to other notebooks in its class, the U200 still faster than Dell XPS M140 but slower than Dell Inspiron e1505 and Lenovo Thinkpad T60.

How about the screen? It’s a nice 12.1″ WXGA screen with TruBrite. The screen is bright and there’s no dead pixels. There’s also leakage on the bottom of the screen, but it is so minimal and will not annoying for most user. The speakers, which is located below the screen, is average notebook’s speakers. It’s clear and loud enough, but for more great sound, added external speakers is highly recommended.

The keyboard is absolutelly nice and very comfortable to type on. The key travel is nice and the keyboard’s flex is so minor. The touchpad also responsive. Although tiny, its still nice and easy to use. The notebook also come with fingerprint reader. Its a nice feature from Toshiba. The fingerprint is easy to use and very useful. You will not need to type a password, just swipe your finger.

The heat is not big issue for this notebook. It will get warm after several hours or when doing heavy tasks, but it’s still cool compare to other notebooks. The fan also quiet, just like the the hard disk.

For wireless, the Satellite U200 comes with Bluetooth and Intel Wireless 802.11ABG. Both works well.
The 6-Cell battery is very amazing. I can get 4-4.5 hours under normal use. It’s more than enough for most user and will satisfied the business traveler who need more battery life time.

Overall, the Satellite U200 is the ultra portable notebook combining durabilty, power and mobility. It’s light, easy to carry but so powerfull. The battery life is amazing. The business traveler will satisfied with this good notebook.

The Satellite U200 specs are :

Processor : Intel Core Duo T2300E 1.66 GHz
Operating System : Windows XP Home
Screen : 12.1″ TFT XGA
Memory : 1 GB DDR2 533MHZ
Hard Drive : 100GB, 5400RPM
Optical Drive : DVD+/- RW Duoble Layer
Graphics : Intel GMA 950
Wireless : Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG, Bluetooth, LAN, 56K modem
Weight : 4.1 pounds
Price : Starting at $1,180