I actually purchased both the Toshiba Z830 and the Asus UX31 so I could decide for myself which one I liked the best. Both come with a 128GB solid-state hard drive and 4GB RAM. The Asus has an i5 processor while the Toshiba (which costs $100-200 less) has an i3 processor. Here's what I liked and what I didn't like:Appearance
The Asus with its spiral design is gorgeous. The Toshiba is boring gun-metal gray with sharp corners.
Winner: Asus
Weight
The Asus is heavier than the Toshiba by a half-pound. As a result, the Toshiba's display has some flex to it and will wobble if the laptop is bumped. In the end, however, I can deal with this. That half-pound is something I can really feel when I'm carrying the laptop around.
Winner: Toshiba
Speed
The i5 processor in the Asus easily beats the i3 processor in the Toshiba I purchased. Of course, you always have the option of purchasing a Toshiba online with the faster processor.
Winner: Asus
Touchpad
The Asus I purchased came with a Sentelic touchpad. The latest driver (ver. 9177) stinks and results in the mouse jumping all over the place. I finally had to uninstall it and rely on the built-in Windows 7 touchpad driver (which meant I had to give up gestures like scrolling). Newer versions of the UX31 apparently ship with a far improved Elan touchpad. The touchpad on my Toshiba is significantly smaller with shiny chrome buttons that pick up fingerprints but it's so far superior to the Sentelic in terms of its functionality. Furthermore, there's a button just about the Toshiba touchpad that allows you to enable or disable it.
Winner: Toshiba
Keyboard
Too many times, I found I had to hit keys on the Asus multiple times before I got them to register. Not so on the Toshiba. Furthermore, the Toshiba's keyboard is wider which allows it to have dedicated Home, End, PgUp, and PgDn keys on the far right. On the Asus, I have to hold down the FN key. Finally, the Toshiba's keyboard is backlit, a very nice touch.
Winner: Toshiba
Display
The Asus has a gorgeous 1600x900 resolution screen. The Toshiba comes with a commonplace 1366x768 display.
Winner: Asus
Ports
The Toshiba has built-in connections for Ethernet, external VGA monitor, and HDMI. The Asus ships with dongles for Ethernet and VGA but requires you to purchase a micro-HDMI adapter separately. Furthermore, the Toshiba has 1 USB3 port and 2 USB2 ports while the Asus only has 1 and 1. Obviously, the Toshiba wins hands down for its plentiful built-in ports.
Winner: Toshiba
AC Adapter
The Asus AC adapter is small and lovingly designed. The Toshiba adapter is bulky and unwieldy by comparison.
Winner: Asus
System indicator lights
The Toshiba has an entire array of useful indicator lights just below the touchpad. The Asus has a couple spread across the keyboard.
Winner: Toshiba
Accessories
The Asus ships with a padded sleeve. The Toshiba doesn't.
Winner: Asus
Heat and Fan Noise
With an updated BIOS in each machine, heat and fan noise was not a problem for me.
Winner: Tie
Speakers
Both sets of speakers are nice and loud, but the Asus Bang & Olufsen speakers sound better.
Winner: Asus
Battery
The Toshiba edged out the Asus by about an hour or so.
Winner: Toshiba
The Toshiba Z830/Z835 is easily my laptop of choice. Granted, it's slower than the Asus, but not noticeably considering how I plan to use it.
-Incredibly light. Almost too light for the size. But solid feeling.
-Keyboard backlight isn't too bright or too dim. Was a big factor for me personally, I want a backlight in my keyboard.
-Keyboard is just about perfect for both of us. It's about as wide as can be. Not too shallow.
Reviews I've seen have mentioned flimsy hinges (not a factor given the way we open and close by default), poor color quality (haven't noticed anything odd, again, main use is just internet browsing/movie watching), slow SSD (as far as I'm concerned it's better than a HDD).
The keyboard on this ultrabook is slightly recessed, you can see it in sideshots. When the lid is closed, it does flex some due to that gap. I don't think it's a big deal but it's definitely something to be aware of.
At night when there's no other noise, the low-pitched hum of the fan *really* gets to me. When I have the fan by my ear, the fan sounds normal, but when it's on my lap, it's just... the pitch or the volume or something is just right to where it annoys me.
To its credit, I haven't yet felt the wristrest/keyboard area get warm.I was very close to picking up an ASUS ultrabook that looked amazing before I decided to head over to my local electronics place and try it out for myself. After not being a fan of the ASUS keyboard and trackpad, I decided to try this ultrabook out.
Pros
--The keyboard and trackpad are great. Both components have a really nice feel to them. The backlit keyboard looks very catchy, and gives a nice level of feedback.
--Super lightweight. Very sleek look to it. I LOVE the look and feel.
--Battery life is pretty good for such a tiny system.
--Fast! Although other reviewers have mentioned they aren't doing much heavy-lifting on this ultrabook, and neither am I. I guess if you're crunching huge numbers of datasets, this might not be the unit for you. (To that other reviewer, what does "heavy word-processing" mean? Does that mean having 40 documents open, or typing at 500 words per minute, or what?)
--Has a USB 3.0 port, which is great because it's something like 10x as fast as USB 2.0
Cons
--no optical drive. While software is increasingly available online, this may pose an issue to someone not prepared for this. It is compatible with most external CD/DVD drives.
--"annoying hum" is pretty accurate. The fan is constantly whirring. I usually lay on my bed while browsing, and just breathing moves the ultrabook up/down makes the whirring pitch change, which isn't nice.
--integrated graphics card. That probably sounds neat, but that just means the graphics card is built into the motherboard... which means it's lower-performing. Not great for gamers.
--lacks the neat features that Lenovo offers (laptop "airbag", fingerprint reader, etc)
In general, I still think this is a 5 star item. I love the price and for such a lightweight and tiny laptop, I think Toshiba did a fantastic job. Glad I bought one (and another for my mom).I bought this unit from Toshiba Direct, they are courteous and try to help.
There was a lot to like about it, but the fan noise is really an unresolved problem. I now see this problem can be seen all over the internet. Toshiba tech support stated they are unaware of the problem. The fan actually makes a "fluttering whine" sound, which never turns off from the moment the machine is turned on. So it seems they did not even design the unit to allow the thermostat to turn the fan off when not needed---which is most of the time, for my non-intensive needs. Other notebooks are smart enough to perform this basic feat.
The noise is annoying, at best. Furthermore, it transmits mechanically right into the built-in microphone, making the use of Skype distracting to both parties.
I went to Best Buy, to see if it was just my machine. Their display machine noise was not nearly as loud as mine, but still very much there, as compared to non-existent in the other ultra-books (Samsung and Asus).
The screen is also very fussy about viewing angle, especially compared to the Samsung. You will notice that you often have the top of the screen at the sweet spot, and then the bottom is starting to fade, or vice-versa. I have seen this problem on other comparable screens, to be fair.
The choice was clear: Gamble on swapping this unit with the same replacement, with possibly less noise, or move on and just return it. I finally decided I could not live with this crazy noise, so I bought the Samsung Series 9 at Best Buy. Compared the two side-by side for a week. My suggestion: Pay the extra 200 bucks. There is no comparison in almost every respect (except connectivity, which Toshiba has done a great job with.) The Samsung is something of a masterpiece, with a screen that puts the others to shame (including the higher res Asus, due to Samsung's incomparable contrast ratio and viewing angle.)
When I called Toshiba to return the computer, they were very courteous, and the lady said my phone call was the 2nd one she had gotten that day regarding fan noise---finally a little acknowledgement!
In a noisy room, you would not notice this noise, and not everyone is as neurotic about noise as I am. But in a library, I imagine you might very well be approached by people who are not sympathetic to your little notebook.... :)
Good luck with your decisions!I am a computer scientist, I bought this computer with the intention of using it for my job. I needed a light and responsive computer that would allow me to program on-the-go without needing a power cord everywhere I go.
Generally I am not picky with computers, my previous laptop was an HP from 8 years ago, anything I bought today would be better than that. When the computer arrived I noticed a couple things upfront. The screen was incredibly flimsy. You can really wobble it with light touches to its sides. The screen also feels incredibly cheap, its easy to twist and bend it. That alarmed me at first, since most of these Ultrabook's screens have an really thin glass behind them. This glass is incredibly fragile, and having a screen casing this cheap seemed like a recipe for disaster. I decided that engineers at Toshiba knew better and would not be so stupid as to commit such egregious design mistake. I was wrong.
The first two weeks with the Portege were awesome. The low depth keyboard allows for faster and more natural typing. The trackpad is ok, nothing special. The buttons on the trackpad resemble a computer from the early 2000's but who cares. The keyboard backlight was awesome. The camera looks weird as the camera hole is a bit too big, but no big deal I'm not displaying my computer on a fashion show, I'm writing code. The hinges are bad. They are way too weak and make the screen wobble way too easily. This is horrible if you're on a train as it won't stop shaking. Now I understand why the hinges are so weak. If they were stronger, the pressure that they would put on the screen when the lid is opening would be too much, possibly cracking the screen (keep in mind that the screen bends, so it would bend too much). Another thing the bothered me was that the screen has weird angles. If you don't look from the right spot, the edges get a little lighter. You can't really see too much from the side as the screen reflects a lot. Despite all that I was happy with it during the first weeks, the computer was getting my job done. The SSD was great. The keyboard was quick. The USBs plentiful, and the fan noise didn't bother me too much. I wasn't too worried with durability as I don't usually travel.
However, one day I wake up and go to work. When I open my computer I see a one inch crack on the screen. Keep in mind that I didn't drop it, or hit it with anything. I suspect something on the screen failed and blew causing the thin glass behind the screen crack (there is a small melting mark where the crack starts). As the day goes by, due to the flimsiness of the screen, the crack only gets bigger. By the end it has reached the other end of the screen, making 50% of my screen unusable. This is the cheapest laptop screen that I have owned. I never had a laptop where a part just fails, or bends. In fact I once dropped a 5 pound weight on my Sony Vaio's screen, and I lost a row of pixels, not half of my screen. I was disappointed.
Anyway, I call support and of course the warranty doesn't really cover anything, but this is standard I wasn't expecting it too.
Now I'm searching for a new Ultrabook to buy. If you are looking for one too, may I suggest the HP Folio or Envy or Spectre. Also take a look at the Samsung's, they don't seem bad. Frankly though, the only truly stable and time tested Ultrabook in the marked at the moment is the Macbook Air and I'm no Apple fan.
In summary:
PROS
Light
Good keyboard
SSD
Ok Processor
Thin
CONS
Weak screen
Flimsy screen
Cheaply built
Noisy Fan
Weak hinges
Weird screen angles
... It's just not a well designed laptop
I suggest you stay away from the Portege and Toshiba for that matter. The Ultrabook market is new, stick to the pioneers. You'll be better off paying 200 buck more for something that lasts.
BTW: Regarding that first 5 star review. Do you really think you're going to buy a new screen after yours breaks? Let's face it buying a product where you know something is going to fail is plain stupid. I fixed computers for years, replacing a screen takes time, 1 or two hours depending on the model. Usually the thinner the harder. Moreover, screens are not always available, usually you order and wait until they get to stock, that might take months. Unless you have nothing else to do in your life this might be a good strategy. For me, where my computer is crucial for my job, that is unfeasible.
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