Toshiba Portege R500 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: The R500 is one of the lightest notebooks with its screen size that we've tested, but its overly flexible screen worries us.

Review summary: THE R500 laptop is well-suited to road warriors thanks to its light weight and built-in 3G module.

Pros: Built-in 3G module, great battery life, very light, built-in optical drive, plenty of ports

Cons: Gets noticeably warm, screen has narrow vertical viewing angle, hard drive was slow, touchpad is sticky

Verdict: It's well-suited to road warriors thanks to its light weight and built-in 3G module, but it's still not the perfect laptop. If you're going to go for the R500, opt for a solid-state drive instead of a conventional hard drive.

Review summary: Toshiba's updated R500 is a remarkably compact and complete machine, making it ideal for business travellers. However, at $3,300 you are paying extra for the privilege of a lighter load, and the screen is a little flimsy.

Pros: Very compact, Good range of ports, Built-in 3G wireless

Cons: A bit pricey, Screen seems a little flimsy, Mouse pad and keys need improvement

Verdict: A remarkably compact, but complete machine -- ideal for business travellers.

Pros: Built-in 3G module, great battery life, very light, built-in optical drive, plenty of ports

Cons: Gets noticeably warm, screen has narrow vertical viewing angle, hard drive was slow, touchpad is sticky

Verdict: It's well-suited to road warriors thanks to its light weight and built-in 3G module, but it's still not the perfect laptop. If you're going to go for the R500, opt for a solid-state drive instead of a conventional hard drive.

Review summary: The MacBook Air and Eee PC have nothing on the Portege R500 when it comes to extreme portability, but does it measure up in other areas?