Toshiba Satellite U845: Ultrabooks Go Mainstream
by Vivek Gowri on October 8, 2012 5:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Intel
- Toshiba
- Ivy Bridge
- Ultrabook
Toshiba’s Satellite U845 is a bit of a mixed bag. They ended up with a pretty solid notebook from a design point of view, which is an encouraging step in the right direction for Toshiba. I’m very hopeful that the level of design and build quality found in their tablets and Ultrabooks will trickle down to the rest of Toshiba’s lineup, and having a well designed Satellite is the first sign of that happening.
But I do have some significant concerns here, though a lot of them aren’t isolated to the U845. The display panel quality is utterly mediocre, the bloatware is blatant nonsense in this day and age, and for a supposedly budget system, $749 is not that inexpensive (especially for the configuration that amount buys you). It’s not a bad system, but it doesn’t do enough to justify the price. I’d rather have something along the lines of Sony’s VAIO T13, a system that’s thinner, lighter, and better designed, with better battery life and a not quite as bad display.
I want to see this type of notebook, or something along the lines of this spec (say, the Samsung Series 5 NP530-U3C/U4C, the HP ENVY 4-1030us), end up around $600, instead of $800. And as fate would have it, that's exactly what we're seeing with the current price rebates. If those hold up, $600 for the U845-S406 is at least reasonable, and it goes a long way towards excusing the kind of display and other cost-related compromises found in the U845. It makes this a budget laptop that's actually priced like a budget system.
Initially, the U845 left me a bit disappointed. I wish that more companies would pay attention to the overall end user experience, the same way that manufacturers approach serious smartphone and tablet products, and the way ASUS is doing with their Zenbook systems. I'm not saying that every system needs to be super thin or supremely powerful; obviously, at certain price points it just isn't possible to create a mind-blowing system. But even at low to midrange price points, it's worth paying attention to the minor details that can affect the overall experience. Toshiba clearly knows this, as shown by their Excite line of tablets, which makes it all the more plexing why they can't do it with their portable PC products. It’s about time something legitimately shook up the notebook industry.
In the meantime, street pricing of the U845 is about $280 less than the MSRP, and that makes the product viable. If you're in the market for an Ultrabook but don't want to spend a lot, this is the sort of compromise you end up with. It won't win any awards, but after uninstalling all the bloatware you end up with a reasonable thin and light laptop.
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Zodiark1593 - Monday, October 8, 2012 - link
At $600, I can almost forgive the bad screen, but the fact that cheaper tablets are shipping with vastly superior displays want to make want to go to a Best Buy, and smash all their laptops (with eww displays) with a baseball bat.Yorgos - Monday, October 8, 2012 - link
the funny(actually it is ridiculous) thing is that a smartphone at this price range has a 720p screen that costs about 30 $(not retail).imagine how people would react to a product that has 4 of those screens, even if there are bezels in the screen and give you a 1280+1280X720+720 screen, that's a 2560X1440.
we have seen many crazy staff going on with the computers, that's one that is going sell like hell.
Hrel - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
I think you are very ignorant and should do some research on everything you just said.peterfares - Monday, October 8, 2012 - link
At least the RAM is a little better than the pathetic 4GB machines have been shipping with since 2009.Calista - Wednesday, October 10, 2012 - link
I have been playing around with computers for almost two decades and as a role of thumb a computer should support three times what can be considered a 'normal' amount of RAM to not be memory starved before the rest of the system has reach it's useful end of life.So in 2012 a laptop should support 12 GB of RAM even if only 4 GB is needed right now. But who knows, maybe we have made computers disposable too a much larger extent since they are so much more affordable today than ten years ago.
Belard - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
"it’s quite disappointing to see the lack of emphasis on notebook display quality. Let's hope Windows 8 changes that."Why would windows8 change anything? It's software. The point is to get sales from people who tend to not know the difference. Same with the $1200-1500 slates with windows7... How is 8 going to change the price of the hardware... It doesn't.
Hence win8 tables are already fail.
VivekGowri - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
Just from the Windows 8 systems that have debuted, it should be pretty clear that manufacturers are completely rethinking the way PCs are designed and built. If you haven't realized that yet, I'd suggest paying a bit more attention.Belard - Wednesday, October 10, 2012 - link
I've been paying attention.MS came out with the Surface, blaming their partners for making crappy tablets... in which case, please point out a tablet-oriented OS MS has ever shipped? WP7 was only for phones.
I completely understand WHAT and WHY Microsoft is doing with Windows 8. They did it wrong. They hired untalented brain-dead middle-management to design a new OS UI called Metro, which at best - works on phones.
I too think the Desktop as we know it, will become a very rare thing in the homes 5+ years from now. Win8 is a bad mixture of a consumer mobile UI and a classic desktop that has been cut off at knees.
Ultrabooks are just think notebooks, nothing more. For 1/3 the price you gain about 1.5lbs and about 3/4 of an inch. They have been selling badly since Intel has started pushing it. Typical PC notebook sales are in the $350~500 range. A low end gamer notebook can be had for about $750~900. If you really want something thin and light, a tablet with a keyboard will do.
WART tablets are really no different than WP7/8 are "Windows". They are going to sell for $400~600 to go against Android and iPads... *yawn*. bait and switch there, when the buyer realizes he doesn't have a "windows" device at all and would need to spend $1000~1400 for a good Slate.
(In case you missed it, Ultrabook sales are tanking) So with ZERO compatibility with actual Windows Software, why bother? Then why bother with a $1200 Win8 tablet when you can get an iPad with a better screen for $500?
Lets see those Win7 tablet sales... not exactly flying off the shelf there, are they?
The same people who didn't buy WP7 phones, won't be buying WP8 models either. MS is in a battle 3rd place with RIM... and that is sad.
The bad consumer experience many/most people will have with Win8's METRO will NOT generate sales of WP8/WART devices.
The success of WP8/WART *IS* based on the reception of Windows 8. (Which I have running all by itself on a notebook)
How do I feel about Windows8? I finally replaced my Q6600 desktop with a new i5-3570K build with SSD, 16GB of RAM, etc this week. Installed with a $140 Win7Pro, as I have ZERO plans of spending a dime on Win8. I have 4 various WinXP Retail discs from PC's retired long ago. So getting the $40 Win8 is a none issue. I would like to have gone for the deal, but Win8 isn't worth $1 to put onto my hardware.
So again... Windows8 *WILL NOT* change the sales of Ultrabooks.
silverblue - Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - link
Well, let's put it this way. Windows 8 is Microsoft's first REAL entrance into the consumer touchscreen market, so now, we're talking touchscreens aplenty on not just laptops. Secondly, you get tablets with extremely good screens and resolutions and you're not having to spend the earth on them anymore. Finally, Microsoft Surface is coming in two flavours, and chances are it's going to rip Intel's Ultrabook strategy out from under its own feet. Why wouldn't you at least attempt to make a viable product?Belard - Wednesday, October 10, 2012 - link
Ultrabooks are bombing... What Win8 tablet sells will only eat into Ultrabook sales.Remember the Netbook craze from 3~4 years ago? Cute little portable notebooks that were $250~300. The iPad murdered the market.
I was in FRYs yesterday... the Ultrabook section has lighted displays... $$$ being spent by Intel. I was the only one there, I walked by - I think I touched one. *meh*. Most of the customers and sales staff were in the $350~500 notebook isle and I saw two people at the gaming notebook area.
Ultrabook is sad.