Toshiba Portege A600 / A605

portability, usability

100% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

portability, performance, battery, design, price

durability, screen, keyboard, reliability

69% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

Great screen Solid battery life

Mono speaker, poor sound

This machine isn't for multimedia fiends or gamers. But if you need a small computer than can still handle a lot of office work and open programs at once, and if an optical drive is a necessity, then the A605 will serve you well, with outstanding...

Weighs in at 3lbs, even with built-in optical drive ; Good battery life ; Cool operation ; Very small power adapter

Slow charging rate while the notebook is powered on and charging at the same time ; Flexible chassis

One stand-out feature of the A605 is the super small 45W power adapter. It is great for traveling, since it doesn't add that much weight to your bag, and if you get a different power cord for it, takes up very little space. The downside to such a small...

Several Colors to choose from; Bluetooth and UMTS; Numerous safety measurements for personal data; Long runtime in battery mode; Optical drive can be deactivated

Lack of case stability on the upper as well as the bottom side; Disappointing loudspeakers; Fan noise under permanent load

If you put emphasis on the colorful design of the compact subnotebooks, then more likely different models from Sony or Dell.

12.1 inch screen with 1280 x 800 resolutionSupports 720p & 1080p resolution5.27 hrs battery life at normal usageLightweight case almost too flimsy

Inability to upgrade notebook

If you are always on the go and you need a notebook that can meet your...

Great price, loads of features, well-rounded capabilities

Unimpressive fit and finish; middle-of-the-pack performance

Neither the R600 nor the A605 are the best-performing ultraportables we’ve tested. That honor goes to HP’s 2530p and Lenovo’s X200s (both also reviewed in August), which featured 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo procs. The R600 overcame this deficit with its...

Small size though not ultra thin. Good performance running most applications and has good gaming power for a machine in this class. Downgradeable to Windows XP. Good Wi-Fi range and good battery life.

Hard drive is too finicky about movement seems slow despite the SATA interface. The face recognition software doesn't work well. Display is just OK.

With the growing popularity of netbooks, casual laptop users who need to check their email and browser the Net will find the slower Atom processor machines running either Linux or Windows XP adequate for the job. But "full notebooks" are better for...

Between the pad's buttons is nestled a fingerprint scanner, a feature found on most business and even many consumer laptops, though we'd recommend using it in conjunction with - rather than instead of - a password.

High speed HSDPA ; Impressive battery life ; Good usability ; Large keyboard

Low power ; Basic connectivity

You get a decent enough spec on this compact machine for the price

Battery life, light weight, small size

Poor performance, flimsy build

If you’re seeking a very light laptop with impressive connectivity and a battery life that enables all-day use, then the Portégé A600-122 is worth a look. It also offers a comfortable keyboard and a screen that can be viewed in most lighting conditions.

Good battery life ; Fast CPU ; Exquisite keyboard ; 3G

Slow hard drive ; Long boot time ; Too much software ; Price

It has been a pleasure reviewing this subnote from Toshiba. It illustrates that even though it might seem silly buying a subnote now that netbooks can be acquired so cheaply, you do get more for your money.