A Laptop Good Enough for a Desk
I usually carry a laptop computer when I travel on business. But working with a portable personal computer never has been as easy or as pleasant as using my desktop system.
In addition to being a lot faster than my laptop, my desktop PC has a high-capacity hard disk, an excellent display screen, plenty of memory and a fast central processing chip. The laptop that I’ve used for the past couple of years, although adequate, lacks a hard disk, has a screen that is hard to read under some conditions and runs a lot slower than my desktop machine.
Recently, however, I discovered a laptop PC that’s good enough to use even when I’m not on the road. The Toshiba T1600 is one of the new breed of high-end laptop systems. It’s a lot more expensive than your run-of-the-mill laptop, but this is a no-compromise machine whose speed, hard disk space and memory rivals that of many desktop computers.
The 12-pound portable is built around the Intel 80C286 central processing chip. That’s a less power-hungry version of the chip that IBM used, in 1984, when it introduced the PC AT. The 286 chip is still widely used in medium-range personal computers, including several models in IBM’s PS/2 line, but the Toshiba machine is about 20% faster than IBM’s 286 desktop machines.
A basic Toshiba T1600 unit, which has a suggested retail price of $5,000, comes with a megabyte of memory, a fast 20-megabyte internal hard disk drive and a 1.44-megabyte internal floppy drive. It also comes with one removable rechargeable battery and there is room for a second battery.
The amount of time a battery will run without recharging depends on how the machine is used. Frequent access to the hard disk, for example, is a heavy drain on the battery. To conserve power, you can configure the machine to automatically turn off the display or hard disk drive after a specified period of inactivity. In one session when I left on both the display and hard disk, my two batteries ran a total of slightly more than two hours.
When the batteries start to run down, the machine warns you with two flashing red lights and a persistent beep. Extra batteries are available for $129.
The detachable liquid crystal screen displays crisp dark blue characters against an eye-pleasing light blue background. The screen is “backlit,” illuminated from the rear, so that that it is readable even in dimly lit rooms. It’s also easy to read in bright sunlight, as I discovered during an afternoon of back-yard computing in the midst of a recent heat wave.
T1600 uses the same 3 1/2-inch diskettes as the IBM PS/2 machines. There is also a place to plug in an optional 5 1/4-inch external disk drive for those who need to copy files from desktopmachines that are not equipped with 3 1/2-inch drives. The machine comes with a socket, or port, for a parallel printer as well as two serial ports to accommodate a modem, a mouse, a serial printer or a cable to transfer data between the laptop and a desktop machine. There is also a place to plug in an optional numerical key pad.
In addition, there is a slot to plug in a Toshiba internal modem as well as an expansion slot for other expansion cards that Toshiba may later release. Like most laptops, the T1600 does not accept the industry standard add-in cards, but you can buy an optional five-slot IBM XT compatible expansion chassis with the required interface card for $1,200. Expansion cards are used to add equipment such as fax modems, local area network cards or Compact Disc interface boards.
The unit can hold up to five megabytes of memory. That means that it should be able to run Microsoft’s OS/2 operating system as well as any current or future version of the MS-DOS operating system.
Toshiba has a very responsive technical support staff that can be reached via a toll-free call. On three occasions, I was able to get through within a couple of minutes. Many companies offer toll-free advice, but too often users wind up listening to a busy signal or to a receptionist who promises that a technician will call back within a day or two.
The machine is expensive, but if you’re looking for a way to justify spending the money, consider that you can use it at the office, at home and on the road. By carrying your PC around with you, you not only save the cost of an extra computer, but you can legally use the same copy of each of your software programs wherever you work with your laptop. Although widely violated, software license agreements usually specify that users must purchase a separate copy of a program for each machine on which they use the software.
A major advantage of carrying a full-featured machine between home and office is that you have only one set of data. That’s important if you use your computer to keep track of your schedule, expenses and personal contacts.
Computer File welcomes readers’ comments but regrets that the authors cannot respond individually to letters. Write to Lawrence J. Magid, P.O. Box 620477, Woodside, Calif. 94062, or contact the L. Magid account on the MCI electronic mail system.
THE SPECS: TOSHIBA T1600
Features: The Toshiba T1600 is a 12-pound, battery-operated laptop personal computer with an Intel 80C286 central processing chip, 20-megabyte internal hard disk, 1.44-megabyte 3 1/2-inch floppy disk drive, 1 megabyte of random access memory, MS-DOS 3.3, an easy-to-read “supertwist” EGA display. It can accommodate an external color or monochrome EGA monitor.
The machine comes with ports for a parallel printer, two serial devices such as a modem or a mouse, an expansion slot for a Toshiba modem and a second expansion slot for another Toshiba add-in device (neither compatible with the industry standard expansion cards, but an external IBM XT-compatible expansion chassis is available), a plug for an external EGA monitor, a plug for an optional 5 1/4-inch external floppy disk drive and a plug for an optional external numerical key pad.
Manufacturer: Toshiba Information Systems/ Computer Systems Division; 9740 Irvine Blvd.; Irvine, Calif. 92718. Phone: (714) 583-3000 or, for brochures and nearest dealer, (800) 457-7777. Suggested retail price of basic unit: $5,000.
