A few years ago, before modern smartphones became so widespread, slider phones were firmly in fashion. This form factor was convenient primarily because it allowed the device to remain relatively compact while having a rather large for those days screen. And now, when the era of cell phones is over, some manufacturers of portable computers have decided to give a new life to the slider, equipping the retractable mechanism laptop-transformer. Among them is Toshiba Satellite U920t, a hybrid of tablet and laptop in the original form factor.
Design and construction
When folded, the device is a regular tablet. Well, maybe with a slightly atypical diagonal screen size, which is 12.5 inches, and also â not too thin the body. When necessary, the tablet turns into a compact notebook: the top cover of the slider opens and locks in a vertical position.
The mechanism, which is used in the design of the gadget, may seem too complicated, but it looks much more reliable than some other similar solutions. The slides and the spoke that provides sliding cover, metal, they are securely fixed and even with considerable effort does not sag. Of course, you can only judge the reliability of a particular machine after a few months of active use, but, at first glance, the U920t makes a good impression.
As for the case itself, it is made of plastic gray. Certain areas of the phone are coated with rubber, including the area around the touchpad, for example. Fingerprints are barely visible on the surface, so you donât have to wipe it down every day.
When open, the gadget is unlike most other laptops. The manufacturerâs logo on the lid has moved modestly to the lower left corner, and a substantial portion of the space is taken up by the slider mechanism. Those who prefer to use image devices with a nice glossy lid and large logos in the center may find the U920t not too representative, but fans of functional gadgets should be satisfied.
The display and controls
The U920t display is based on an IPS matrix, which guarantees both good color rendering and optimal viewing angles. This is an important feature for a mobile computer, which often has to be twirled in your hands. The screen is bright enough and you can use the device even in bright sunlight.
The display resolution is 1366Ă768, aspect ratio â 16:9. This gadget doesnât boast a high pixel density, so for demanding visuals might not like the way the picture looks when you watch good quality movies, but for everyday use and gaming this resolution is more than enough.
The touch screen supports up to five touches at the same time, responds clearly and works without delays.
The U920t keyboard is quite compact, which is due to the design of the device itself. Key strokes are soft and solid and short, like all ultrabooks, but not too much. The buttons are small, but get used to them is not difficult, especially because all of them except the buttons âInsâ âDelâ âHomeâ âPGUpâ âPGDnâ and âEndâ are located in the usual place. The only significant difference between the keyboard U920t is that the functional multimedia keys are assigned by default as multimedia keys.
The device is equipped with LED backlight, which turns on automatically by a light sensor. You can turn it off or make it work all the time.
The touchpad on this device is very small, but it is almost unnecessary â the screen is still a touch screen. Its surface is slightly rough, it reacts perfectly to the touch of even slightly wet fingers. The keys that duplicate the right and left mouse buttons are also touch-sensitive, you can only feel them blindly because of the small projecting strips that separate the touchpad plane from the buttons.
Interfaces, modules, camera
The Toshiba Satellite U920t offers you two USB 3 ports.0 one located on the left side, the second on the back and one HDMI output. No Ethernet port, but you can use Wi-Fi or a mobile USB modem to connect the device to the Internet.
The Intel Centrino 2230 module is responsible for wireless connectivity, and it supports Wi-Fi 802.0 standard.11n and Bluetooth 4.0. In addition, the device works with Intel WiDi technology and is equipped with a GPS receiver. To work with SD MMC memory cards there is also a built-in card reader, and, of course, did not do without a standard audio jack 3.5 mm.
As should be a tablet, U920t has two cameras â the front with 1 MP and the main, 3-megapixel. It should be noted that when the slider is folded, the rear camera is hidden, so before you take a picture, the device must be slightly apart.
Performance
The Toshiba Satellite U920t is powerful enough for a tablet: Itâs powered by 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5-3317U, 4GB RAM and Intel HD Graphics 4000 graphics. The chip supports Turbo Boost 2 technology.0 and is capable of boosting clock speeds up to 2.6 GHz with a single core. The disk subsystem is an SSD 128 GB, which can be slightly expanded with memory cards. Powered by Windows 8 operating system.
This new laptop has all the features you need: it can be used for playing games, watching videos, surfing the web, showing presentations and much more.
Conclusions
Toshiba Satellite U920t priced at 45 thousand. The new Latitude mobile PC is well worth the money. Transformer hybrid that weighs only 1.5 kg is not a bad compromise if itâs hard to choose between a laptop or a tablet. The sliding slider form factor is easy to use and transport, and the sliding mechanism gives the impression of being sturdy and durable. The screen is bright and big enough to give you more options to work and play.
Overall, if you close your eyes to some minor flaws, the U920t is one of the best in the hybrid slider form factor class.
Toshiba Satellite U920t notebook: gliding softly over the virtual waves of the web
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