Product Reviews

We're often a bit mystified when companies claim to have built a 'business laptop'. What exactly do they mean? Does it fill out spreadsheets by itself? Very often the qualification seems to be that it looks a bit dull, or maybe we should we say 'respectable'.

According to Toshiba, the Satellite Pro U200 represents a perfect compromise between features, performance and security - making it ideal for both home and business use. And for once it looks as if the business features might actually be interesting.

Shock proof, spill proof

The U200 didn't do badly in our battery test, lasting for just over three and half hours. Even better, it ran for three hours and 10 minutes in our DVD movie test - long enough for most Hollywood epics.

We were, however, less convinced by what Toshiba calls its "ultra-strong, magnesium alloy chassis". It didn't feel much tougher than the plastic most other laptops are made of. Toshiba's "special shock absorbing design" was more convincing. We tried dropping the Satellite a couple of times and it didn't shut down, crash or lose any of our work. We also spilled some water on the "spill proof" keyboard, again with no ill effects.

The other 'business' feature that Toshiba seems keen to shout about is the U200's fingerprint security system. Basically, you scan your fingerprints into the system

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using a small scanner that's built into the laptop. When you want to log on to Windows, you can choose either to type in your password or swipe your fingerprint over the scanner. This is all very James Bond and good fun, but it isn't adding an extra layer of security. Anyone who has your Windows password can still use the laptop.

On the bright side, the U200 is really light - and at just 1.8kg, you'll hardly notice it's in your bag. That said, you'll hardly notice it at any time. Toshiba may have included lots of innovative business features, but they've also got the 'dull' angle covered too and the U200 looks like a refugee from the mid-90s. Surely it can't be that hard to make a serious-looking laptop that's also stylish?

All work and no play...

The U200 isn't just about work though, which becomes apparent when you look at its screen. This laptop has a very nice, shiny, high contrast 12.1in display. Our DVD looked lovely, bright and crisp, with deep, dark blacks and vivid colours. The speakers were also nice and loud.

The Satellite U200 also did well in our benchmark tests. It was 18% faster than our benchmark PC (a powerful Athlon 64 desktop PC) which means that the Toshiba will breeze through even the most demanding jobs, such as video or photo editing. You won't be able to play games on it though - its graphics chip wasn't even powerful enough to run our 3D gaming benchmark.

This is a competent, reasonable value laptop. Some of the features that Toshiba shouts about aren't as exciting as we're supposed to think they are, but it's powerful, has a good battery life and is well made. This isn't enough to get it an award though, mainly because we've seen laptops with similar features that are better looking and cost less. The Sony VGN-FE11H that won our April issue group test, for example, costs £100 less, has an almost identical specification, a bigger screen and it looks much, much nicer.