The Satellite M30 series is the most pro-business Satellite yet.
Toshiba has launched a new wide-screen, thin-and-light Satellite notebook, for consumers or small to medium-size businesses. In addition to its good looks, the 2.8kg Satellite M30 series is also at the vanguard for Toshiba on the software side: from now on, all Toshiba notebooks and tablet PCs will include Microsoft's OneNote 2003, a nifty notetaking application that's a member of the new Microsoft Office System 2003 suite.
Upside: The Satellite M30 represents a strategy shift for Toshiba. Previous Satellites were bulky and blue, and they screamed "consumer notebook only." But the Satellite M30 series is the most pro-business Satellite yet, with a sleek profile--it's the thinnest Satellite to date--and a silvery hue. It also features a 15.4-inch wide-aspect display, a 1.4GHz Pentium M, a 40GB hard drive, built-in wireless networking, and an Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 graphics accelerator with 32MB of video memory. The new Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003 is also an option, while OneNote 2003 is standard. Toshiba seems enamored with the latter, touting its organizational benefits to students and others.
Downside: We've long griped about Toshiba's keyboard, which perilously places the text-eating Insert key right next to the spacebar. Also, at 2.8kg, the notebook is still quite bulky for students and anyone travelling to lug around.
Outlook: The Satellite M30 series' striking design, ample features, and decent price suggest it may be a hit. Check back for a full review.
2%
4%
If the M30 is such a pro-business notebook, why can't I buy it from my local computer reseller? I don't particularly want to purchase one from Myers or Harvey Norman