Toshiba Portege M400 review: Toshiba Portege M400

The follow-up to Toshiba's prior-generation Portege M200, the new Portege M400 is the first convertible tablet PC to offer Intel's Core Duo processor as an option. The system combines its new CPU with some nice convertible-tablet standards, such as a swiveling 12.1-inch display and a swappable optical drive. Still, though the Portege M400 costs less than several competing tablets, it also delivers slower performance and shorter battery life than many of its rivals. If you need a tablet form factor at a low price, the $1,699 Portege M400 may fit the bill. Otherwise, we recommend you check out the bigger Fujitsu LifeBook T4020 for superior performance (the configuration we tested cost $2,149, though lower-end models cost $1,499) or the Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet (prices start at $1,599) for extralong battery life.

The 4.8-pound Portege M400 measures 11.6 inches wide, 9.8 inches deep, and 1.6 inches thick--making it a bit bulkier than other convertible tables with 12.1-inch displays, such as the 4.8-pound Fujitsu LifeBook T4020 and the 3.6-pound Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet. Though the Portege M400's AC adapter tacks on another pound, the total package is still light enough for semifrequent travel and short stints of clipboard-style note-taking.

Like most convertible tablets, the Portege M400's screen swivels between landscape and portrait modes, automatically switching its orientation in midswivel. The display appears bright and clear both indoors and outside. Its standard 1,024x768 native resolution doesn't provide minute graphics detail or tons of screen real estate but makes for big, readable text. Two preset buttons alongside the screen serve to manually change the display's orientation and call up Windows Task Manager, while two other buttons can be programmed to launch the applications of your choice. Finally, a biometric fingerprint sensor sits in the screen's corner, providing an easy and secure way to log on to Windows and access other password-protected content.

The Portege M400's keyboard is on the smaller side, but we were able to type for an hour or two without cramping our hands. The touch pad and mouse buttons are also small, even for a tablet, yet tolerable. We experienced no problems with the included stylus, though its plastic construction seems a bit cheap; we did appreciate the handy "eraser" on its end, which works just like a pencil eraser on your digital notes. As with most tablets, the M400 has a built-in microphone for on-the-fly dictation and recording. Two integrated speakers reside in the far upper corners above the keyboard, where their mediocre sound is partially obscured by the lid, whether it's in laptop or tablet mode. A convenient wheel on the front edge helps you adjust the volume.

You'll discover a pretty typical mix of ports, jacks, and slots on the Portege M400. The list includes FireWire, VGA, and three USB 2.0 ports; headphone and microphone jacks; and one Type II PC Card slot, as well as a 5-in-1 flash media card slot. The M400 can connect to networks via 56K modem, Ethernet, or 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi. The tablet also offers a hot-swappable bay for an optical drive; our unit included a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive. Windows XP Tablet Edition 2005 comes preloaded on the Toshiba Portege M400, along with a nice assortment of additional software, such as Microsoft Office OneNote 2003, for stylus note-taking; the Microsoft Works mini-productivity suite; Toshiba's EasyGuard security and utilities suite, which includes a Trusted Platform Module and hard-drive protection capabilities; and various applications for disc playing and burning.

We tested the $1,699 Toshiba Portege M400-S933, which sells for hundreds less than competing tablets with lesser specs. The unit includes a 1.66GHz Intel Core Solo processor; a standard 512MB of memory running at a fast 667MHz; a respectably sized 80GB hard drive spinning at an average 5,400rpm; and integrated Intel 950 graphics. Both the $1,949 Fujitsu LifeBook T4020 and $1,899 Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet offer older Pentium M processors and smaller hard drives.

Nevertheless, even with its new Core Solo processor, the Portege M400 didn't pull off superspeedy scores in CNET Labs' mobile benchmarks. Though the tablet beat the slow ThinkPad X41 Tablet, it fell behind most of the other Pentium M tablets we've tested. You're not likely to notice the difference when performing basic mobile tasks such as note-taking, e-mail, and word processing; though if you're interested in running more high-powered apps, we recommend the LifeBook T4020 or (if you can handle the extra weight) the $2,049 Toshiba Tecra M4. In our Labs' battery drain trials, the Portege M400 lasted for 4 hours, 20 minutes--not bad, but not great compared to the HP Compaq tc4200, which cut out just 4 minutes shy of 5 hours, and the ThinkPad X41, which lasted for 5 hours, 25 minutes, thanks to its considerably larger battery. Though the Portege M400 doesn't offer an option for a high-capacity primary battery, you can purchase a secondary battery for $199.

Toshiba backs the Portege M400 with a one-year warranty with return-to-depot service, though customers can extend their time up to four years through one of the company's reasonably priced warranty upgrade options. Around-the-clock, toll-free phone support is available for the life of your warranty. The Toshiba support Web site offers the requisite downloads and FAQ information, along with a helpful user forum operated by the Windows Users Group Network.

System configurations:
Fujitsu LifeBook T4020
Windows XP Tablet 2005; 1.73GHz Intel Pentium M LV 740; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM; Intel 915GM/GMS 96MB; Fujitsu MHT2060BH 60GB 4,200rpm
HP Compaq tc4200
Windows XP Tablet 2005; 1.8GHz Intel Pentium M 745; 512MB DDR SDRAM; Intel 915GM 128MB; Toshiba MK6026GAX 60GB 5,400rpm
Lenovo ThinkPad X41 Tablet
Windows XP Tablet 2005; 1.5GHz Intel Pentium M 758; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM; Intel 915GM/GMS 96MB; Hitachi Travelstar C4K60 40GB 4,200rpm
Toshiba Portege M400-S933
Windows XP Tablet 2005; 1.66GHz Intel Core Solo T1300; 512MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; Intel 945GMExpress 128MB; Toshiba MK8032GSX 80GB 5,400rpm

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