Toshiba Satellite U400-138
-The little wonder; Laptop at its best!

Why to buy?
Let me first tell you that I had owned laptops before (5 of them). A month back I purchased an HD Camcorder and thus, started shopping for something more powerful, to do my HD Movie Editing. I knew it was time for a core2duo model. After contemplating few of the latest brands I chose the Toshiba Satellite U400-138, about 10 days back. Have used it vigorously since; and am already overwhelmed by this Little “Powerhouse”.

Main Specifications:
You’ll get the detailed config. of this notebook everywhere, specifically http://www.toshiba-europe.com. Here’s why I chose to buy it:

-Intel Centrino2 (latest notebook technology)
-Core2duo (A superpower multi-processor)
-13.3” Display (boy, here we are talking about mobility)
-Light Weight (just about 2 Kgs.)
-HD Ready (Toshiba is the pioneer of Hi-Def)
-3 Gb RAM (min. needed for today’s multimedia works)
-320 Gb Hard disc (a whopper!)
-Intel GMA 4500 MHD (128 Mb Graphics; not the best)
-Competitively Priced (I bought it for Dhs. 4,500/-; US$ 1,200/- approx.)

Reasoning:
My shopping list had Macbook, Sony, Toshiba, Lenovo and Acer (exactly in that order) for their equivalent “Reliability”. After deliberately checking those out I finally settled down for the Toshiba Satellite U400-138. You know why? (1)Configuration, (2)Looks and (3)Price. Toshiba beats them in these 3 departments. I’ll give you my reasoning, which may not be right for everyone, but is the general requirement for all notebook shoppers:

*Macbook. I sincerely wanted to migrate to Mac this time. But found their configuration & pricing not matching the market (Mac ‘s still riding on their niche marketing).

*Sony-vaio. I wanted the Vaio, purely for its vibrant colours, look-stopper value. But again found that they are unnecessarily pricey.

*Lenovo. A rock-solid laptop. The 2008 Lenovos are better than their older models, nice black, mirror finish tops. But they are still very boxy. Their contours are out dated, I felt.

*Acer. 2nd largest notebook maker. Variety of models. Very competitively priced. But their new models do not look as good as their 2007 ones. These are all plastic, flimsy keypad and I do not fancy their rounded ‘gemstone” looks. But, besides the looks, Acer is a very good bargain. I already have one (2007 model).

Now, back to my Toshiba Satellite U400-138. Beating the above 4 brands in specs., though priced like the Sony, this is definitely the best ‘All Rounder’ notebook of 2008. It has everything today’s laptop needs, Bluetooth, in-built Camera, Firewire port, HDMI port (icing on the cake), Vista Home-Premium, 5×1 Card Reader, DVD RW, Dolby-Digital Stereo, independent Media Player Buttons (don’t need to switch-on windows) and the High Powered ‘Intel P8400 Multi-Processor’.

Fastest Laptop:
My 10 days of heavy usage proved that the Toshiba Satellite U400-138 really runs super-superfast, takes heavy computing without a quirk, that’s what we need today in our notebook. The Crystal-Brite TFT LCD displays 1280×800 rez. (plainly speaking, very-very good quality images) and though the 128 Mb Graphics are a low config. Yet it did my Video Editing (HD, mind you!) without a hitch. The NVidia Geforce Graphics would have been better, but you don’t always get everything, do you? Not an issue though.

Great looks:
In the looks department, it is quite wonderful too. It is small & beautiful. A Gray & Black beauty. Shiny top with their “Horizon Lines” all around. Nice ‘White’ lit buttons & indicators (including the ‘Satellite’ logo), unique flushed touch-pad, light weight, Soft edges and the best in market Shiny ‘Piano’ Keyboard. Let me not forget here, The Toshiba comes with a nice ‘Sleeve Case’, which is quite handy to carry this ‘Small Powerhouse’ around. I also liked the ‘TOSHIBA’ words big & proudly written, at the centre of this sleeve case.

Security:
For Security, it has 2 great features. The Toshiba ‘Face Recognition’ system, to access the computer and the ‘Anti-Shock’ system for the HDD. It also has the McAfee Internet Security Suite.

Robust Built:
Besides, the Toshiba also feels strong & sturdy, including a robust pair of hinges between the main body and the display lid. I say, the Toshiba Satellite U400-138 is definitely ‘built to last’.

Conclusion:
For a 13.3” Ultra-Portable notebook the Toshiba Satellite U400-138 is ‘fully loaded’, something which no other laptop has, as I found. Overall, I grade this notebook as the ‘Best’ in market today. At this price, configuration and reliability, you won’t find another one.

Finally:
Anyone looking for a laptop, I advice, ‘Go for it”, you don’t need to search anymore. You may safely take my word for it as I am its proud ‘user’. And have already fallen-in-love with it!!!

Capt. Sutanu Dutta
Dubai, U.A.E.
01 Nov 2008
(Ps.: I am not a Toshiba Employee)