Review: Toshiba Tecra A11 laptop

The Toshiba Tecra A11 is intended as a desktop substitute for business users, and is designed with an emphasis on performance and features rather than portability. Despite this, it is not excessively weighty at 2.5kg, but its short battery life means the system can scarcely be used much while away from mains power.

Available since February, the Tecra A11 models have a 15.6in widescreen display with Intel Core i3 and Core i5 processors, optical drive as standard, plus a whole range of I/O ports and business features such as fingerprint scanner, smartcard reader and Trusted Platform Module security chip.

Our review unit was the Tecra A11-11H, which has a dual-core 2.4GHz Core i5 M520 processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory (expandable to 8GB) and a 250GB Sata hard drive, with a built-in DVD Super Multi drive that can record as well as read DVD and CD media.

Windows 7 Professional is supplied as the operating system, with downgrade rights to Windows XP Professional if required.

Display
We found the Tecra's main appeal is the large 15.6in display with its 1,366x768 resolution that makes for comfortable viewing of spreadsheets and web pages, while its size also means there is plenty of space to rest your palms while using the keyboard. This resolution is a bit low for a screen of this size, but users can obtain resolutions up to 2,048x1,536 on an external display.

In terms of performance, the 2.4GHz Core i5 processor, which looks like four CPUs to the system because of Intel's Hyperthreading technology, seemed to make little difference in normal use. That was until we tried an action such as opening a graphics-heavy PDF, which the Tecra took in its stride, while another PC we viewed it on struggled to display it, especially when scrolling up and down.

The Windows Experience Index in Windows 7 rated the Tecra at just 3.9, but this result is pegged back by the performance of the Intel graphics built into the processor itself, with the processor, memory and disk subsystems all showing high scores of 5.1 and above.

Battery life
Another point worth noting is the relatively poor battery life of this model. Toshiba quotes a life of four hours and 40 minutes from the 55Wh lithium ion battery, but we found that it lasted no longer than one hour and 23 minutes in our tests using the Battery Eater Pro benchmark.

This suggests that, while the Tecra A11 is a good overall workhorse machine, it should be regarded as a portable computer for lugging between sites where there is mains power, rather than to be used much on batteries while travelling.

Input/output
One thing the Tecra A11 has in its favour is a comprehensive selection of I/O. As well as 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless interfaces, there is a gigabit Ethernet port at the rear of the case along with VGA out and a serial port, something rarely seen on new PCs these days.

3G mobile broadband will also be an option on the Tecra A11 in the future, according to Toshiba, but this is not currently supported.

There are also four USB ports, one of which is a combo port that doubles as an eSata connector for external hard disks, plus a mini DisplayPort output for digital video, as well as standard audio jack sockets.

On top of all this, there is an ExpressCard slot for expansion at the left of the case, plus a Flash reader slot at the front supporting SD Card, Memory Stick, MS Pro and xD card formats. A smartcard reader is on the right hand edge, enabling applications such as secure log-in.

A docking connector on the underside of the case is for Toshiba's Express Port Replicator 2, while two removable covers provide access to the hard drive and memory slots. The hard drive is a standard 2.5in Sata model, making it relatively easy to swap out, while there are two Sodimm slots, one of which was free on our review unit.

Keyboard
The Tecra's keyboard is excellent, with full-size keys throughout save for the top row of function keys. Another feature we liked is the provision of a standard touchpad and an Accupoint pointing device, a small pressure-sensitive pad about the size of a pencil eraser that sits in the middle of the keyboard.

Some users prefer the latter device, as it lets you steer the mouse pointer without moving your hands from the keyboard, and because the touchpad is easily brushed by your hand when typing. Both devices are enabled by default, but either can be turned off in the touchpad properties icon in the notification area.

Software
As with other Toshiba models we have seen, the Tecra A11 has numerous utilities that load when the system boots. We counted no fewer than 15 in the system notification area on the taskbar, including McAfee Security Centre, Intel's Rapid Storage Technology tool, and Toshiba's own Tempro performance tuning tool, PC Health Monitor, Eco Utility, HDD Protecton and Fingerprint Utility for log-on.

Other software installed includes a 60-day trial copy of Microsoft Office, which now requires a live internet connection to work, Toshiba ReelTime for finding recently accessed files, Toshiba Assist for technical help, and a tool for the built-in webcam, which supports resolutions up to 1,280x800 pixels.

Tecra A11-11H: Intel 2.4GHz Core i5 M520, 2GB DDR3 memory (8GB max), 250GB hard drive, 15.6in 1,366 x 768 display, DVD Super Multi drive, Windows 7 Professional, 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth