Toshiba's Libretto is a great ultra portable<< Test Drive a Macintosh... again | Main | Off to SF for Apple's event next week >> Michael Gartenberg | September 02, 2005, 10:10 AM I love really small computers. When I was in Israel I traveled with a tiny U101 that I picked up a few years ago (that computer died on the return, anyone know where I can get a u101 fixed in the US?) and while these aren't mainstream systems for the most part, they do make an excellent second or third computer for the road warrior. It's been hard to find a really good ultra portable in the US. Other than OQO, there really hasn't been anything for sale here that wasn't an import from Japan. While the OQO is great, it lacks a few things that I like, most notably long battery life and a PC card slot (which is important for using services like EV-DO). Fortunately, the good folks at Toshiba, who have been building tiny systems for nearly ten years, have released a new version of their famed Libretto for the US market. I bought several of the original units back in the 90s, both import models and a limited US version and I carried them until the limitations of their mid 90s architecture just couldn't meet my needs. When Toshiba offered to send one of the new units to look at, I jumped at the offer. This system rocks. First, it's tiny. Really tiny and might even be too small for some folks. It does carry a big punch with a speedy processor, PC Card, FireWire, Bluetooth, SD slot, 802.11 and a 60gb hard disk. Screen is bright and beautiful. Comes with a small attachable DVD burner, so the unit doubles as a nice little personal DVD player. Keyboard is small but I've found that using it with a small, fold up BT keyboard makes the system more usable when I need to really create a lot of content. Battery life is great, I get just under four hours of use, which is more than adequate, if not stellar. if you love tiny computers, you need to take a look at the Libretto. UPDATE - I'm not alone, my friend Gary Krakow (who is one of the best tech reviewers out there, I often buy stuff only on Gary's word alone, can't say that about any other reviewer) also likes the Libretto a lot. His review is here. |
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