Toshiba Tecra R950 review

The Tecra R950 is a new addition to Toshiba's corporate laptop line, updating the brand with the latest Ivy Bridge version of Intel's Core vPro processors. It is a laptop designed for comfort and convenience without compromising portability too much while on the road.

Announced in June and available now, the R950 is a mainstream business laptop, and so is larger and heavier than the current vogue for ultraportable or ultrabook models, featuring a 15.6in display with a 16:9 ratio and weighing in at 2.49kg.

To set against that, the Tecra R950 is equipped with an array of ports and connectivity options, and also includes features not practical on smaller laptops, such as a built-in DVD drive and numeric keypad, removable battery. It also offers easy access to the memory and hard drive for maintenance.

As a corporate laptop, the Tecra is also enabled for security and management tools such as Intel's Anti-Theft technology, and includes a fingerprint scanner, trusted platform module (TPM) security chip, and a built-in smartcard reader.

Toshiba will also make Smart Client Manager software available to buyers of its business laptops. Based on IBM's Tivoli suite, this provides centralised power control, patch management and security tools, the latter preventing laptops from booting up when away from the corporate network unless a special USB authentication key is presented.

This will be available at no cost to Toshiba users, and is set for availability within weeks.

Although relatively large, with a footprint of 379x252mm, the Tecra R950 is relatively slim with a height of no more than 25.4mm at its thickest point when closed. But it is the weight of nearly 2.5kg that could put off some potential purchasers of this model, especially as lighter laptops (such as Toshiba's own Portégé Z830) are becoming more capable.

For the size, users get a Core i5-3320M dual-core processor with 4GB memory (expandable to 8GB), plus a 500GB, 7,200rpm Sata hard drive and a DVD Super Multi drive which can handle writable optical media as well as read DVDs and CDs.

As you would expect for a modern business laptop, the Tecra also has connectivity options including 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, gigabit Ethernet and a mobile broadband modem featuring HSPA+ download speeds up to 21Mbit/s.

One thing the Tecra R950 has going for it is build quality, with a reassuringly sturdy feel thanks to the mix of high strength composite materials used in its construction. The case itself is also decorated on all its upper surfaces with a pattern of fine ridges, giving it a nice tactile feel.