Toshiba Tecra A11
The Toshiba Tecra A11 isn't the prettiest-looking notebook around, but at prices from £685 (ex. VAT) it might appeal to the cash-strapped corporate looking for good value for money.
The A11 has been around for a while, but has recently seen a refresh, with our A11 1EH review unit featuring an Intel Core i5-560M processor. Of course you pay for this, and online we found this model at around £825 (inc. VAT) from third parties.
For your money, you also get 3GB of RAM, Windows 7 Professional 32-bit, a 320GB hard drive spinning at 7,200rpm, a 15.6in. screen displaying 1,366 by 768 pixels, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Gigabit Ethernet and, interestingly, 3G support.
There is an integrated optical drive and plenty of scope for expansion via three USB ports, a USB/eSATA port, a Mini-DisplayPort, an ExpressCard slot, a SmartCard reader and a reader for SD- and MemoryStick-compatible media.
The latter is on the front edge of the chassis and rather difficult to access, thanks to a severe inward curve. Toshiba's attempt to soften the hard edges of the chassis has backfired, as we had to lift the notebook up to get to the flash card slot — and to the wireless button next to it.
In fact, the chassis design leaves a bit to be desired in general, being somewhat chunky. The Tecra A11 weighs in at 2.54kg and it is not a notebook you're likely to want to carry very far or very often.
The fingerprint sensor sitting under the trackpad will be welcome to business users, though. There's also a secondary pointing stick sitting between the G, H and B keys that can be used in conjunction with two buttons beneath the space bar. These buttons feel a little flimsy under the fingers.
The 15.6in. screen has a matte finish, and its size makes it ideal for viewing web pages or working on large spreadsheets. The integrated Intel graphics should be adequate for all but the most graphics-intensive activities. There is a webcam above the screen.
The keyboard is spacious. It exhibits a small amount of flex, but nothing that caused us serious concern. There are buttons above the keyboard for volume control, managing external displays and running the Toshiba Eco Utility that lets you trade off some performance for longer battery life.
The Toshiba Tecra A11 is a workhorse of a notebook: it's well specified, but neither particularly portable nor especially attractive. The screen is good and the keyboard robust. It doesn't earn points for style, charm or fancy features, but on the utility front it delivers.
Sandra Vogel