Toshiba Portege R700-S1331 13.3-Inch Laptop (Magnesium Finish in Black)

I love how lightweight this computer is, for the great computing power that it has. I will probably use it to run Matlab so I needed the power, and I don't have many muscles so I needed the low weight. I really appreciate how fast I received it after order, just two days.

I received this Toshiba Portege as an office computer when it was new on the market. My 14-year-old son is making an attempt to take it over as a gaming computer, so I am in the search to purchase a laptop for my son at a lower price point for school and gaming. I am writing this review because of the shortage of reviews by non-journalists or everyday people who use these products over time. Please pay it forward.

I have used a laptop every day of my working life (Compaq, Samsung, Dell, Dell, VAIO, Samsung, Dell, Toshiba in that order...there is an ACER in there somewhere as well). As a working laptop, this has been a solid performer. I find it to be lightweight and durable and good for business travel. Because my officemates also carry this computer, I have included some of their input. I also asked my 14-year-old son whether he felt the computer was adequate for his on-line games. I have included his opinions.

Weight:

It is sufficiently lightweight that when I have a choice of ditching it and taking my Samsung tablet, or an Ipad for travel, I have usually chosen to go ahead and bring the laptop for its increased functionality.

Quality:

This laptop has presented no quality-control problems for me or my officemates.

Keyboard and touchpad:

The keyboard is what I expected once I got used to the feel of a new keyboard. I am not a fan of the touchpad. I find it cumbersome for really manipulating documents or presentations.

Speed:

My officemates and I complain about the slowness of the computer to start up. Programs on it include Office, wordperfect, virus scan. However, once the computer has booted, it does not have a problem in speed for work purposes. My son felt that the speed was fine for his level of gaming. He usually plays while connected with a group of friends via Skype.

Screen:

I am not a fan of the screen, as there is significant glare for working on documents. I need to have the screen at the correct angle to view it without glare. In my non-gamer opinion, the problem of significant glare makes this inadequate for gaming--my son is grateful to have a computer, so he did not complain about the screen.

Hubs and ports:

This computer has an adequate number of adequate usb hubs (two), and an hdmi hub, which can be used to connect the computer to a larger screen. While many new televisions come with built-in netflix and suite of apps to connect on line, I find the hdmi port helpful. One can also insert an sd card, which I find as a helpful backup in transferring documents from computer-to-computer, or from printer-to-computer, or from camera-to-computer. When wireless networks are down, etc, it has worked beautifully to have one on standby held securely in the computer.

Wireless and Bluetooth:

I find the bluetooth to be cumbersome enough that it is my preference to use non-bluetooth devices with this computer. This is not a problem for me, as either I have adapted, or bluetooth wasn't the best solution in the first place. The wi-fi works as it should.

Battery:

This battery does not overheat, and it lasts as long as it was rated when it was new. This has not faded over time.

Rating:

I debated between giving this between a 3 or 4-star rating for office use because of the touchpad and screen glare. However, because I would purchase this or request this model again (or it's update) for office use, I chose to give it a 4-star rating. I would not purchase it for my teen for school and gaming purposes even if wished to spend at this price point for him.

Buy Toshiba Portege R700-S1331 13.3-Inch Laptop (Magnesium Finish in Black) Now

I will keep this short and sweet: this is the best laptop I have ever owned! It is as light as a Macbook Air and faster than a Macbook Pro. In fact, I returned a top-of-the-line Macbook Pro for this, and that was a great decision. I am not going to disrespect Richard's one-star assessment, but I simply cannot believe anyone would rate this laptop as anything but fantastic. I have had it over half a year now, and it is fast, stable, portable, and powerful. Very, very good stuff.

For context, I am "that geeky guy." I have about 10 computers at home at the moment, and manage a programming team for a very large and well-known Internet company. I went through 4 other very good laptops, some costing more than this one and some less, before choosing this one. As soon as I got it I knew it was a keeper. Just awesome.

Read Best Reviews of Toshiba Portege R700-S1331 13.3-Inch Laptop (Magnesium Finish in Black) Here

I had the misfortune to buy not one, but TWO different Toshiba computers for my two children a Satellite A665-S6056 and a Portege R500. Both have been unreliable, both had to be returned for service within the first two months, and my dealings with the Toshiba service depot ranged from very disappointing to downright nightmarish.

The Portege had a very noisy fan right out of the box, plus within a few weeks the plastic casing around the headphone jack came out making the jack unusable. Upon return from the service department, the fan was only a little less noisy and the jack had not been fixed. I didn't return the computer a second time only because my daughter didn't want to lose the use of it for another several weeks. This experience was highly disappointing, but the nightmare is yet to come.

The Satellite developed some nasty lines in the display after a month or so, so it too goes off to the service depot. Then I get a phone call telling me the repair isn't covered under warranty because they considered it to be caused by abuse, and they wanted $300 to fix it. I don't believe the computer was ever abused, but if I wanted it fixed they had me over a barrel, so I gave them my credit card number and authorized a repair.

A week later the computer shows up, and far from being repaired, it is twice as bad as it was before, with even more lines! I call again, they tell me to ship it back to them again, I do so, blah blah blah. Couple weeks later it returns.... NOT FIXED. This time they actually didn't fix it on purpose. I received a letter with it saying they couldn't reach me to authorize the repair. Not bloody likely I had received no phone calls or emails or messages from them. And why does it need authorization? I already paid for it!

So I call again, and now, get this: THEY HAVE NO RECORD THAT I EVER PAID FOR IT. I can see the charge on my credit card statement, but these morons don't know it was paid for. I can't even ask for my money back because they don't even realize I paid them! I give up in disgust, call my credit card company to dispute the charge, and I take the computer to my local, very honest and very competent repair shop, which does a fine job fixing it for less money.

Take it from someone who made the mistake of buying Toshiba not once, but twice. JUST SAY NO! I have sworn never to buy any Toshiba product again, not a computer, not a television, not a radio, not nothing. Once burned, twice shy. Wait a minute make that twice burned. Sheesh.

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