Toshiba Portege R835-P56X Review

Compare With VS Samsung Series 9

The premium ultraportable notebook category has never been more competitive. Between the long-lasting ThinkPad E220s, the gorgeous Samsung Series 9, and the instant-on 13-inch MacBook Air, consumers have a wide range of compelling options. But what if you don't have well over a grand to spend? Enter the Toshiba Portege R835-P56X, an update to the company's popular R700 series that costs a very reasonable $929 (and starts at $829). This 3.2-pound speedster includes a second-gen Core i5 processor, USB 3.0 support, and Intel's nifty WiDi 2.0 technology for streaming video wirelessly to a TV. Sound too good to pass up? Read on for our full review.

Design

The Portege R835 looks nearly identical to its predecessor, and we're not complaining. The chassis is still made of magnesium alloy, complete with a handsome dark blue lid. Although they're plastic, the chrome hinges are a nice accent, as are the smoky gray touchpad buttons. When we picked it up, the Portege R385 didn't feel as sturdy as the aluminum MacBook Air or the Samsung Series 9 (which is made of even stronger duralumin), but this is still a fairly durable design for the money.
As with the R700, the R835's durability extends beyond its magnesium finish. Toshiba used a honeycomb rib structure for the base and palm rest for extra resilience. You also get hard drive protection and a spill-resistant keyboard.
Weighing 3.2 pounds, the Portege R835 is one of the lightest laptops you'll find with both a 13-inch display and a built-in DVD drive. While not as thin as ultraportables that eschew optical drives, the 0.7-1.1-inch profile makes this machine easy to slip into a bag.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Because the keyboard sits between the space for the battery and the large touchpad, the keys on the Portege R835 aren't quite as large as what you'll find on competing ultraportables. They're shorter than those on Toshiba's own 13-inch T235, making the keyboard feel cramped.The keys also gave too little feedback when typing, which made it more difficult to tell when we'd successfully hit a target. Nevertheless, we acclimated to the layout in about 30 minutes and typed at our usual speed as we wrote this review. We'd really like to see Toshiba add a backlit keyboard, like on the Samsung Series 9.
Two small dedicated buttons sit above the keyboard on the right side. One launches the Eco Utility for saving power, and the other engages Intel's WiDi 2.0 technology for streaming video to a big-screen TV. (More on that technology below.)
Measuring 3.3 x 2 inches, the R835's touchpad isn't as ginormous as those on the Samsung Series 9 (3.9 x 2.7) or the 13-inch MacBook Air (4.3 x 3 inches), but it's still plenty large for smooth navigation. With the older Protege R700, the cursor sometimes jumped around when our palm accidentally brushed up against the touch pad, but we didn't experience that issue this machine.
In our tests, pinch-to-zoom and rotate gestures worked fine on the Protege R835. Plus, the Synaptics touch pad lets you perform neat tricks. We configured a three-finger press to launch Google Chrome and activated three-finger swiping (great for flicking through photos). You can also deactivate the touch pad with a button right beneath the space bar.
Not a fan of touchpads with integrated buttons? Then you'll be pleased with the R835. The two dedicated mouse buttons worked well, whether we were opening apps or selecting text.

Heat 

Maybe it's because of the new processor, but the R835 doesn't get as warm as its predecessor. After playing Hulu at full screen for 15 minutes, the touch pad registered 86 degrees, the area between the G and H keys reached 88 degrees, and the bottom of the underside measured 96 degrees. The R700 was about as cool on top but reached 103 degrees on the bottom. The only spot where the R835 got slightly uncomfortable on our lap was the bottom-left side near the vent, which registered 102 after our Hulu test.

Display and Audio

The LED-back lit 13.3-inch display (1366 x 768 pixels) on the R835 delivered a bright and colorful picture when we streamed a 480p episode of The Daily Show from Hulu. However, because vertical viewing angles are narrow, you need to push the screen back a bit so the display doesn't wash out.
To test out the small speakers above the keyboard we cranked Blink 182's "All the Small Things" on Slacker. The R835 got loud, but the song sounded too harsh above 60-percent volume.

Ports

The only new addition with the R385 is a USB 3.0 port on the right side for connecting high-speed peripherals. Otherwise, you still get Ethernet, headphone and mic on the right, along with the optical drive and SD card Slot. The left side houses the power connector, VGA, USB/eSATA port, a third USB port, and HDMI.

Webcam and Face Recognition

According to our Skype video caller, the R835's 0.3MP webcam delivered a bright and mostly clear picture. She also noted that the sound was plenty loud. You can also use this webcam with the built-in Face Recognition software. The system correctly identified our mug after a few minutes, but having to move our head around to log in was annoying. We'd skip this option.