Toshiba Portege Z835 Review: The Best Ultrabook Discussion

This $899 Best Buy exclusive features a 13.3-inch display, 128GB solid state drive, backlit keyboard and six hours of battery life. Read our take to find out what makes this Ultrabook really impressive.

Read the full content of this Article: Toshiba Portege Z835 Review: The Best Ultrabook

Related Articles:

• Toshiba Satellite L755 Review: Basic Home Essentials
• Toshiba Satellite L735-S3220RD Review: A Good Deal on a Budget Laptop?
• IDF2011: Toshiba Z830 Ultrabook Hands On Preview
• Toshiba Portege Z830 Ultrabook Unveiled
• Toshiba Qosmio X775 Review

 

Very good review. Sadly, I expected too much; maybe it's because it's the watered down bestbuy version.

If that is $899.99... I wonder how much would this configuration be?
- atleast a core i5
- 256gb SSD
- fingerprint reader

 

Great review Charles!!! I know you put a lot of time and effort into it.
Still disappointed by the slow SSD and NON-matte screen; maybe the screen is a Best Buy thing?

**EDIT**
Not sure if it's relevant, but BestBuy has the z835 listed as $799; review says $899.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+Port%26%23233%3Bg%26%23233%3B+Ultrabook+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i3+Processor+/+13.3%22+Display+/+4GB+Memory+-+Silver/3868228.p?id=1218437467260&skuId=3868228&st=z835&cp=1&lp=1

 

For $799 I can live with an SSD that breaks no records but glossy LCD is really pushing it. Other than that it seems a great value.

 

Good review. Still, though, the UX31 looks like a far more attractive ultrabook (granted, it's quite a bit more expensive). And if one were willing to give up thinness, the X220 would fall below this price point and provide a much more attractive overall package.

On a side note, if this laptop only got 3 stars, how'd it also get Editors' Choice?

 

The Best Buy version seems to have a huge discount compared to the better versions. Or is ToshibaDirect just being expensive and we should expect cheaper prices elsewhere.

I don't think that the UX31 presents and overall better package. Actually, I personally would take the X220 over all the 13" ultrabooks instantly except this one. The main thing that it has going for it compared to the others is the 2.4lb weight and the ports imho. Its nearly a full pound lighter than the X220, still has ethernet and VGA ports and useful stuff (no ExpressCard or docking connector though).

 

I'm with Pseudorandom on this one.

Although I'm not a huge fan of Ultrabooks, I like the Z830/Z835 ... mainly because of the ports. I like thin and light laptops as much as the next person, but if you get rid of the ports you get rid of some of the reasons to use a Windows PC instead of an iPad.

On the other hand, if it gets much thicker/heavier then you might as well buy a X220.

 

I liked the ASUS UX31 but would also choose the Z835. It's cheaper, has the full-sized ports (biggie ... UX31 has a "mini-VGA" and "mini-HDMI", and only a converter cable for the former is provided), has a keyboard that works better, is backlit, and has a nicer layout, and the Z835 is lighter.

Edit: and although I like the Z835, these Ultrabooks are simply not robust enough to depend on as a primary machine in this author's opinion. Get an X220 if you want that.

 

Thanks for the review Charles. For the record, the SSD and RAM are both upgradeable, without affecting warranty. Yes, you have to undo a whole lot more screws on the back, but it is possible. Also, the wireless card should theoretically also be upgradable, if someone needs Bluetooth, although I'm not sure how easy it will be to access. If you take Best Buy's online price, then the $799 makes for a very impressive price-to-functionality ratio, and I think it makes this a worthwhile purchase.

 

I like the colour

 

Toshiba Z835 vs Lenovo X220: price-to-functionality ratio

Microsoft store are selling a 160GB SSD equipped 1.45kgs (3.2lbs) 12.5" Lenovo X220 with 8GB of RAM for $800 (-$100 credit for future purchases). Microsoft Store Online - Lenovo ThinkPad X220 .

A X220 has one of the highest price-to-functionality ratio if compared to any ultrabook. Consider it is more robust, has bluetooth, swappable 6/9 cell hi-capacity battery, is internal WWAN/3G and mSATA SSD + 2.5" capable, has a more powerful full powered CPU and an expresscard slot so can add a ~$200 GTX460-768MB DIY eGPU to make it a gaming box. Full powered CPUs can run at a lower performance setting using Throttlestop and core parking, mimicking misery ULV CPU power consumption as detailed.

Supposedly Acer and Asus will add Thunderbolt ports to their systems in 2012 so they, like the 2011 Macbook Air, will be able to have faster Thunderbolt-based eGPU attached. Thunderbolt enclosures are estimated to start at US$400 without the video card, so will be considerably more pricey than an expresscard-based DIY eGPU.

See the thin-and-light link in my sig for a comparison by weight of the X220 vs other ultrabooks/ultraportables.

 

that x220 makes me want to live in the US and sell my mbp

 

Can't argue there... of course, I was moreso referring to the ultrabook category in general, which tends to be higher priced that other options. I'm personally willing to accept some cut corners for the lighter weight and smaller volume.

 

Just to clarify... did you mean to say R835 or Z835 ?

 

wow. x220 is very tempting..

will other retailers sell z835 ? preferably amazon.com?

I hope....

 

Yes, $799 is a great price for the Z835. It was originally planned for an $899 price. I would not spend more than $800-900 for this product simply because I don't think it's worth that. Too many compromises.

Good to know that the machine can be upgraded, but you're still restricted to mSATA (presumably) SSDs - those are limited right now and cost a pretty penny.

For lightweight computing - e.g. non-essential things - the Ultrabook is a pretty solid solution. It's a decent alternative to a tablet as well, depending on your uses.

 

Great review... not sure if you mentioned that Lenovo and Toshiba are the only 2 ubooks that support WiDi.

I want the Z830 with the UX31 screen... I'm sure someone here can make that happen.

 

Nice review of a nice laptop.

"Best Ultrabook"? Well that title is at least missing a question mark in my opinion. Especially after looking at Anandtech's screen measurements.

The one thing all these Ultrabooks prove is that the Macbook Air is a great product. Maybe the next generation Ultrabooks will actually beat the Air.

And yeah if I didn't care about looks the Lenovo X220 with IPS screen would be my top pick.

 

@ Charles

Thanks for your review! I was waiting to see what the HP Folio looked like but I think the Toshiba Z830 (not Z835) is my current top choice. The Z380 has the matte screen (and faster processor and more memory and costs more ).

My question for you is regarding the fan. You did not not identify that as a "Con". Did you not find the constant fan noise a problem? I'm trying to determine if that's a deal-breaker for me as I work a lot in a quiet home office.

Thanks

 

True. Too bad they don't make a Windows machine (with a Windows keyboard).

Fingers crossed...

 

I would say it proves that the MacBook Air is a mediocre product whose only saving grace is the Apple logo.

The MacBook Airs sell well since they are the only ultraportables that you can run OS X without violating the OS X EULA. And they have that annoying glowing Apple.

The MacBook Air compares horribly against a traditional Windows ultraportable in nearly every way imho. Its slower, has less ports, a worse keyboard, a worse mouse input system, less storage space, speed, and options, has less battery life, has less user serviceability, has worse build quality, lacks a docking option, and costs more than a Thinkpad X220. MBA is thinner, but manages to weigh nearly the same anyways. Ultrabook makers and Intel are making clones of the MacBook Air, some better than others, but they all fail to realize that they have to compete not only with Apple, but with traditional ultraportables.

 

I think you should take a step back and try to see where the ultrabooks and mbas are in the niche of laptops.


Aside that there is the growing tendency to diminish the tdp of cpus, that was kind of stopped with those 2 past generations of cpus, but is coming back in force with ivy and haswell

 

Are you referring to the hardware itself or the OS implementation?

As far as I know, from personal experience and almost everyone's opinion I have read, Apple's glass trackpad is the best trackpad to use in regard to motion, surface resistance and accuracy.

Sound like most of your pans are based on Apple and OSX and not really the hardware. The unibody design is much better and more rigid than all of the ultrabooks I have played with... including ultraportables... not many of these can say they have almost zero flex in the body.

 

I mentioned a X220 as a competitor to a Z835. A 1.1" 3.3lbs 11.6" Asus U24E is worth a look too. A i7-2620M/4GB/500GB U24E starts at US$745. There you get a full powered CPU, 2.5" drive bay, 56Whr battery, contemporary looks and chiclet keyboard. Appears to be exceptionally good value. Certainly one that would be good to match up against a Z835.

 

The hardware itself is the problem. I tried using the MBA11 for a while since I was looking for a new ultraportable. The trackpad was nice, definitely above average, but its still horrible compared to even the less than perfect trackpoint on my 2510p, which is worse than a Thinkpad trackpoint. As for multi-touch, I would have preferred circular scrolling (that I actually grew to like a fair bit on my Latitude 2110 when forced to use a trackpad) to two finger, though that would be more of a complaint against OS X than the MBA itself.

The ultrabooks are very niche. Because traditional ultraportables do nearly everything better. Aside from being thin and sexy, there are very few things ultrabooks do better than a traditional ultraportable such as the X220.

The Z830 manages to weigh in at 2.4 pounds, but despite also being half as thick, the rest of the 13 inch ultrabooks fail to weigh significantly less than traditional ultraportables.

 

Understood... more like personal preference. After using the glass trackpad of the MBA, I find it hard to use any other trackpad.

I disagree... I feel this will be the new growth segment of notebooks. Mid-size notebooks will find their way to this form factor and ultraportables will overlap into it.

Hold... there is no aside from that. At least most men think so .

While this may be true... form and profile do factor into someone's buying decision. Take tablets for example, the Toshiba Thrive and the Sony S have more in functionality in regards to ports but the drool is created by the likes of the thinner (and sexier) Galaxy Tab and iPad 2.

And... I do think ultrabooks add a dimension over ultraportables in that they can have screens from 11" to 15"... and if rumors of higher density resolution are true... even better.

 

Exceptionally thin and light notebooks would be more popular if they were less expensive ... thanks to Ultrabooks, they now are - at least, at or under the $1,000 barrier. I'd agree that they have a very good chance of becoming a growing market segment.

The fan is not what I consider a con for the review's sake, no. It's always on but is not particularly audible unless the room is totally silent. More or less I need to keep the "con" list short and the always-on fan didn't matter enough to mention.

But you should know it's always on ... best to see this product in person before you buy it, for sure.

 

nice review! any chance you'll guys also do Lenovo's ultrabook? I heard good things about it (in comparison to the other ones)

 

It seems as if the HP Folio that was just announced is aiming at this Toshiba. Both are slightly beefier UltraBooks that offer a better port selection than their competitors. One might have to choose the Toshiba on the touchpad alone (boo HP, with your integrated mouse buttons. They never work right!)

 

I'm comparing ultrabooks to ultrabooks. MBA comes out tops in my opinion. And it's not just my opinion, it's Anandtechs, Laptopmags and Notebookchecks opinion too.

Asus UX31 came close but it's being let down by poor contrast and a poor trackpad.

 

That is a very weak reasoning to defend your stand because reviewers opinion doesn't reflect the views of people who do real work on it.
If you do real development work on computers the lack of ports really affects how you work.
Ports are not there to make the laptop look ugly, it is to attach devices for working.

 

OK so my reasoning is weak and Anand Shimpi doesn't do real work on his computers. Interesting.

I'll agree with you though that for people who need a lot of ports the Air would be a horrible choice.

 

Ultrabooks don't exist in a vacuum. If we only compare ultrabooks to ultrabooks, yes the MBA would probably come out on top, but ultrabooks compete with high end netbooks (HP dm1, Thinkpad X120e), high end thin laptops (VAIO Z, Fujitsu SH771), and traditional ultraportables (Thinkpad X220, Toshiba R830).

The Z830/Z835 is actually the most portable of the 13 inch ultrabooks.

 

No they don't and my post was a reply to the phrase "Best Ultrabook". A phrase that can stir a lot of discussion as we can all see.

 

I think one of the keys to the MBA 13's success is that Apple isn't cutting corners to make a $999 price point. Sure, they offer an 11" model with a tiny SSD that costs $999, but the MacBook Air 13 ranges from $1300 to $1600. There's no $999 MacBook Air 13 for a reason. On the other hand, the 13" ultrabooks are all trying to reach that magic $999 price point, and a significant amount of corner cutting (whether it be cheap keyboards, no backlighting, cheap screen, heavy weight, flimsier case, etc) must be made in order to make a 13" ultrabook cost 25%-40% less than a MacBook Air 13. Every ultrabook cuts a different set of corners, so maybe someone can find one where they don't care about the corners that were cut, but every single one inevitably cuts serious corners to meet that magic $999 price point.

 

Even at $1300 (the lowest MBA 13")... seems like PC makers are having issues with building a similar ultrabook.

Only 2 of the 4 currently out are priced below $999... so why aren't they able to match Apple?

In my opinion, the myth of the Apple Tax is a bit overblown.

 

There a few reasons to get an ultrabook other than style. I would argue a lot of things like value, ergonomics, etc matter significantly less, since if they mattered, you would be looking for a traditional ultraportable and not an ultrabook.

From this thought that style matters over all else for ultrabooks, I think that the MacBook Air and the IdeaPad U300s are the best ultrabooks. The MacBook Air looks better than all the MBA lookalikes, and the U300s has a unique styling of its own.

From a functionality and value standpoint I completely agree with the review that the Z830 is the best ultrabook.

 

Ultrabook Showdown: Which is the Best?

 

I think there's something to the "Apple Tax" with the MBP line, which are very well-made machines, but even so, more expensive than I would expect. But I think the MacBook Air, iMac, and iPad are very reasonably priced for what they offer.

 

Hey this looks like my still functioning toshiba r200... even the # ports in the back (minus modem ) top view's almost the same haha

 

i3 version available at Best Buy for $699:

Toshiba - Portégé Ultrabook Laptop / Intel® Core™ i3 Processor / 13.3" Display / 4GB Memory - Silver - Z835-P330

The cheapest ultrabook by a mile.

 

Impressive. For that price, I think most would be willing to forgive the Z835's few shortfalls. If you're not going to be intensively writing files to the SSD (probably not a really common usage scenario), it should be a great ultrabook choice. At $699, it's about the same price as an equivalently-specced X220 (granted, the latter does have an IPS display). Still don't really like Toshiba's design language, but the price is unbeatable in this segment.

 

For $699 that is a fantastic deal; thanks for posting it.

 

Not to mention, the shortfalls are indeed pretty few (no 900p resolution springs to mind). But it's the lightest ultrabook on the market and it has good build quality...hard to argue with that. For $699, I'm almost tempted to go get one myself. I won't--I love my Vaio F and don't mind carting it around in a messenger bag--but I'm very tempted indeed.

As for styling, I actually really love its crisp, angular look.

 

Agreed; the main shortfalls I see are the lack of a higher screen resolution and the relatively slow SSD (the write speeds seem abnormally slow). That, and something about the looks isn't particularly attractive to me, but in any case it is far better than the standard Toshiba look. All of these flaws are easily forgotten when the price is only $699, though--indeed, at that price point, most laptops still only have 1366x768 screen options anyway.

 

The Z830-2005U is currently the Malaysia or Asia edition. Comes with

- i5-2467
- 13.3" LED LCD (semi glossy)
- Intel HD Graphics
- Windows 7 32-bit
- 6GB RAM (not sure why they bundled this as the 32-bit OS will not use more than 4GB)
- NO Backlight keyboard (a major disappointment, Asus and Acer is a better deal).
- Too many bloatwares.
- The 128GB Toshiba SSD is super slow (Asus comes bundled with SATA3 6GBps)
- Bluetooth 3.0 (Asus comes with Bluetooth 4.0)

This laptop is over priced and nothing to shout about compared to Asus or Acer which both have better processor, specs and value for the money.

There is also no 30 days money back guarantee for Toshiba purchased in Malaysia, unlike Dell, HP or IBM.

 

Depends on where you are in the world, I suppose. Here in the U.S, the Z835 as reviewed is around $700 on sale, $800 normally. Great deal. Interesting that there are versions without the backlit keyboard. I consider that a must on an Ultrabook.

The SSD I agree however, it is downright pathetic. Slower than many hard drives.

 

By far, I wouldn't say the Z830 is the best ultrabook.

Asus came into the market in as a budget product, where Toshiba was the premium tier-1 product and costs alot more.

Now Asus with the Zenbook UX31 beats the Z830 flat out. With more competitive specs and lower priced.

e.g.
The SSD on Zenbook is also a 6Gbps where the Z830 is only 3Gbps.

Bluetooth 4.0 on Zenbook and Bluetooth 3.0 on Z830.

Brighter and higher resolution LCD available on the Asus Zenbook i7 with 1600x900 ! Not sure why Toshiba always has the pathetic 1366x768.

The Z830 Asia edtion comes bundled with 6GB RAM. 4GB is ALOT for an ultrabook and can take alot of heavy office workload. Why waste the addition 2GB RAM. Could have bundled the costs to beef up the keyboard backlight and the Bluetooth 4.0.

The finishing on the Asus Zenbook is also better even the LCD is almost twice brighter !

The Japanese are clearly losing out to be competitive. Take for instance Sony. Losses in over 8 years. Samsung and LG beats Sony out flat on pricing with the features/quality.

The Toshiba is manufacturerd in China, which is cheaper to ship within Asia, Asus as a smaller company managed to do that, and also beat many Tier-1 manufacturers to their game. Toshiba just created too many models out of the same thing with $100-200 difference and they left it to badly managed retailers and distributors (locally).

Not too long ago, Taiwanese manufacturers are horrible on their bundled software, bad support - left to local retailers or distributors and almost no patch updates, now they have pretty much improved on their software, website updates etc. Most importantly they make much more competitive products of higher quality and also features than Toshiba.

For casual non-business use. If in Malaysia, given the choice of Toshiba or Asus coz they are almost the same in support services, which are done by distributors. I will opt for Asus.

For business use. If Toshiba is compared to Dell or HP notebooks. I will definately choose Dell & HP because of their support and Dell's money back guarantee, 1-to-1 swap, accidental damange protection etc. It's clearly shown, Toshiba's market is only to target low-end consumers where other Taiwanese products have already out grown from that market.

I hope Toshiba realizes this and rectify their product planning flaws. Coz Toshiba WAS one of my favourite after IBM. Customers are better taken care when the direct manufacturers serve the customers instead of leaving it to distributors and retailers !

Would it be possible to find a US version of the z835 keyboard and replace it to a Z830 Asia edition? So I can have the LED backlight keyboard ?

 

Not sure where you are seeing the Asus UX31 cheaper than the Toshiba Z835... must be an outside of US thing.

Plus the UX31 has a few problems... you can read about them in their threads.

 

Yup. it's just an Entire Asia which is booming in economy ,thriving and hard working people. Toshiba has forgotten and ignored it's home ground where more than 50% of the populations are. I don't see a reason why they have to make a lesser model for Asia and America gets a better model. This is where manufacturers will fail. Take for instance Apple. They are consistent bin the model.

One thing odd i find is, Toshiba made in China, but with lesser ones to Asia and better ones (sell cheaper) in the US and ignore the rest.

This is a typical Japanese idiosyncrasy. Best to avoid an inconsistent brand.