Just like the original version, the Toshiba Chromebook 2 has more than a little whiff of the MacBook Air about it – albeit it with a little less finesse. It's finished in silver plastic, shot through with a subtle faux-metal sparkle, and it has emerged a touch slimmer and more svelte in 2015. Toshiba has primped and preened the overall design to make it look even more like a sub-£300 Ultrabook and, what’s more, the weight has dropped from 1.5kg to 1.35kg, which puts it even more squarely in ultraportable territory.
It’s quite the looker by Chromebook standards then, but Toshiba has clearly designed the Chromebook 2 to be more than just pretty. For instance, the textured off-white underside is a nice touch, as it stops the Chromebook 2 from slipping around on your lap, and since the lid is also covered with a grippy finish, you can carry it around in one hand without fear of dropping it. And where the previous model suffered from a little flex and creak in its plastic shell, and a spongy keyboard panel, the new model feels far more solid and tautly constructed. In fact, our only slight qualm is the super-flexible display – we’d recommend protecting it with a laptop sleeve or padded bag on your travels.
Sit in front of the Chromebook 2 and, but for the give-away presence of Chrome OS, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were sitting in front of a far pricier machine. The Scrabble-tile keyboard did feel a little too light at first, but unlike the previous model there’s no flex or wobble in the keyboard surround, and the short-travel keys have a pleasingly crisp, positive action which grew on us the longer we spent with it. Factor in the big, wide buttonless touchpad beneath, and the Toshiba doesn’t put a foot wrong.
Toshiba Chromebook 2 review: features and connectivity
Toshiba has included everything you’d expect from a premium Chromebook. Bluetooth 4 and 802.11ac are present and correct, for starters, and the array of physical connections includes a full-sized HDMI output, 3.5mm headset jack and an SD card reader. There’s also one USB 2 port, and one high-speed USB 3 port which, as it supports Toshiba’s Sleep-and-Charge technology, means you can top up your USB devices even when the Chromebook 2 is switched off.
There's a 0.9MP webcam, which does a reasonable job. It provides video quality that’s good enough for video chats, but struggles with bright conditions. We had to angle it away from office lighting and bright windows to stop it from darkening images and obscuring our face completely.
The Skullcandy-branded speakers are dreadful, sadly. There’s not even the slightest whisper of bass or midrange, with the lower registers disappearing almost completely, and vocals were left sounding raspy and lightweight. Make sure to plug some headphones in, whenever you can.
Release Information
| Release date | 9/2/2014 |
| Release price | $329 |
Design
| Width | 12.6 in |
| Depth | 8.4 in |
| Thickness | 0.76 in |
| Weight | 2.95 lb |
| Form factor | Mid-size |
| Type | Budget |
| Color | Silver |
Display
| Screen size | 13.3 in |
| Brightness | 350 cd/m2 |
| Display technology | TFT |
| Backlit type | LED |
| Resolution | 1920x1080 |
| Maximum resolution | 1080P |
Software
| Operating system | Chrome OS |
Processor
| Speed | 2.58 GHz |
| Cores | 2 Cores |
| Model | Celeron N2840 |
| Manufacturer | Intel |
Graphics
| VRAM | 1 GB |
| Type | Discrete |
| Manufacturer | Intel |
| Model | HD Graphics |
Memory
| RAM | 4 GB |
| RAM speed | 1600 MHz |
| Maximum RAM supported | 4 GB |
| RAM type | DDR3L |
Storage
| Memory card reader | Yes |
| Size | 16 GB |
| Storage type | SSD |
| Memory card reader support | SD, MicroSD, Memory Stick |
Camera
| HD webcam | Yes |
| Video resolution | 720P |
Ports
| USB 3.0 | 1 |
| USB 2.0 | 1 |
| HDMI | 1 |
| Headphone jack | 1 |
| Microphone jack | 1 |
Connectivity
| Ethernet | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Bluetooth version | 4 |
| Wi-Fi compatibility | AC 7260 |
Battery
| Type | Lithium polymer |
| Use time | 9 hrs |
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire