Reviews

Toshiba Tecra A11 review: First look

We take a quick look at what the Toshiba Tecra A11 laptop has to offer in this first look review.

13 Feb 2010

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If that's not to your taste another security feature is on offer in the form of the Face Recognition software that Toshiba has provided that works with the webcam in the display bezel. Other software highlights include the Toshiba Bulletin board software, which delivers easy access to post-it style notes , photos and music. We're not entirely convinced of its usefulness at this point and our initial feeling is that it's designed more with multi-touch screens in mind.

In terms of connections there are two USB ports on the left and two on the right, where you'll also find headphone and microphone sockets and a DVD-Writer. The USB ports will enable you to charge external devices even when the machine is in sleep mode.

At the front you'll find five indicator lights, an SD card slot and a switch to turn wireless on or off.

Above the keyboard you'll find the power button and four shortcut keys two for volume, one for outputting direct to external devices, which saves having to hunt and use the shift/F5 keys, and one that fires up Toshiba's custom Eco-utility, which provides details on power usage and enables you to tweak it if you're feeling particularly green minded.

A machine this size is likely to be used as a desktop replacement and therefore the keyboard quality is crucial. It sounded a little rattley to our ears, but we couldn't fault the travel action and we were typing at speed immediately.

Verdict

Overall, we found ourselves pretty impressed with the Toshiba Tecra A11 and we look forward to getting hold of a review sample to see if we still feel the same way or if there are any significant flaws.