Dynabook Portégé X30L-G: So light, you might even forget about its terrible keyboard

What makes a good business laptop? Historically, corporate IT buyers have had to choose between portability, versatility, and sheer power. You might get one or two, but the likelihood of finding a device smack-bang in the middle of that Venn diagram was vanishingly small. The Dynabook Portégé X30L-G is one of those laptops …

[Shadow Systems]

It's got an ethernet jack?

Shut up & take my monkey!

*Flings gobs of cash at you*

You damn-near have to buy a portable workstation to find that particular port any longer, so to find one on an UT&L version? Woot!

The USB-A ports mean I wouldn't need a docking station nor type-changer-plug to connect external HDD's, the occaisional need for the portable BR drive, or a proper keyboard.

Now all I need to know is if it runs $ObscureOS worth a damn. =-)P

[Dave 126]

Re: It's got an ethernet jack?

And with the USB C port, it only takes one cable to connected it to power, ethernet, decent keyboard and BR drive when you return to your home desk.

This also means the machine remains usuable should the barrel power port ever fail (though Toshiba, along with Apple, used to the most reliable laptop brands some years ago, according to an independent group that used a coupe of different methodologies to reach their conclusions. Apple's ratings may have been affected by their recent keyboard adventures, I daresay)

[Gordon 10]

So its 2020

And manufacturers are still flogging laptops without 8hrs battery life. No thanks. Hungry CPU and weedy battery do not a happy combo make.

For £1.4k you can get a decent MBA or MBP that will have a better keyboard, battery and trackpad and run 99% of windows tasks just as well as that this think. , AND it will depreciate less.

(Only mentioning Apple because the review did, other laptops are available)

[Phil O'Sophical]

Re: So its 2020

And manufacturers are still flogging laptops without 8hrs battery life. No thanks.

I'd rather have a swappable option, like my current Lenovo. Lightweight battery with 3hrs life for general portable use, with a bigger battery that I can swap in when I'm in an all-day meeting or long journey and where the extra weight isn't an issue.

[Adam JC]

But... how will we all run Windows on Apple's new ARM-based Mac's? :-(

[Dave 126]

Not desperately power hungry

"On the plus side, the extra processing power in the six-core i7 doesn’t impact battery life as much as you might expect. I averaged about six hours and 20 minutes between charges while using the machine for my everyday work of browsing the web, writing, email, Slack, and other productivity tools. That’s not especially great, but it’s also not far off from what I get with the quad-core chips found in many other 13-inch laptops."

- https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2019/12/6/20997044/dell-xps-13-2019-review-six-core-intel-comet-lake-10th-gen-test-price-specs-features

This a review of a laptop with the same 14nm chip as this Dynabook. They note that it is good for multitasked tasks such as compiling, but that people doing transcoding or Photoshop would get better performance from a 4 core Intel 10nm chip with better Iris integrated graphics

[Anonymous Coward]

That keyboard

A single height enter key is just American standard. With a proper UK layout, that wouldn't be an issue.

Nor would the key-travel distance be a problem for me either. I prefer slimline keyboards over mechanical behemoths that require busloads of school children to jump up and down on a key for it to register a "tap".

The things I look for in a laptop keyboard are:

Proper UK key layout.

Power button away from the rest of the keys.

Right-Ctrl on the end of the row (and not jammed in the middle next to the space bar).

Decent cursor key cluster.

And things I would like (but rarely find):

Horizontal spaces between escape and function-keys, and function keys grouped into fours.

Vertical space between the function-keys and the main keyboard proper.

[Fuzz]

Re: That keyboard

I can confirm the keyboard is rubbish. Yes the UK version does have a fullsize enter key but in order to fit the enter key in the [] ' # keys have shrunk half the width of the letter keys. The left shift key ends up being only the same size as the left ctrl to fit the \ in next to the Z. The other keys are the same as the US layout so you get a horrible right shift with the page up/down squashed in next to it. When you type on the keyboard the whole thing flexes in the middle. Compared to the XPS 13 it's awful.

Also a UK keyboard layout is no longer a guarantee of a full sized enter key, HP have started selling UK laptops with a US style enter, take a look at the Envy X360.

[Gordon 10]

Re: That keyboard

Can I be the first to say EEEWWWWW

[Anonymous Coward]

Never mind the Terrible keyboard

What about the terrible customer service. #willneverbuytoshagain

[TonyJ]

Re: Never mind the Terrible keyboard

That is such a shame to hear.

I repaired Toshiba laptops through the mid to late 90's and they were simply head and shoulders better made than any competitor.

And on top of that, they had a superb customer-focused ethos.

As well as a sense of humour - as I was accredited, I used to get the TSA - Toshiba Service Advisories. They came out usually monthly, if my crusty memory serves me correctly.

In each pack you would get a set of A5 cards to put into your TSA folder. Some replaced older ones, some were new etc.

I still remember their "left handed" laptop advert. The TSA ID was something like APRFOO01, it was obviously just a reversed photograph (the keys were backwards!) and yet they still apparently got inundated with calls.

[Anonymous Coward]

"...a capable machine for the road warrior..."

Does that species exist any more?

Now we have the Cafê Confabulator, the At Home Hero, the Zoom Zombie, and the Masked Twat.

(The last one needs a bit of work).

[Androgynous Cupboard]

Re: "...a capable machine for the road warrior..."

> the Masked Twat.

Coincidentally, also the name of the next Marvel blockbuster.

[elkster88]

Re: "...a capable machine for the road warrior..."

Those are all good- I just want to know what to call those cunts in airports who talk loudly on their phone set to speakerphone, held a good 2 feet from their face, thereby forcing us to hear both sides of their conversation, instead of holding it up to their ear so we only have to hear from one of the participants.

Admittedly that twat would still be bellowing his side of the conversation. Why is it that some folk can't just talk at a normal level and trust that their device's microphone actually works? And why can't they get a set of earbuds, a headset, or something else that doesn't subject all and sundry to their inane drivel? Hanging's too good, &c.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "...a capable machine for the road warrior..."

"I just want to know what to call those cunts in airports who talk loudly on their phone"

Loud Cunts.

[Beeblebrox]

Cunts in airports

Let them get on with it - who wants to go through airports anyway these days? Apart from cunts?

[Glen 1]

Re: "...a capable machine for the road warrior..."

"Masked Twat.

(The last one needs a bit of work)."

Unmasked Twat

FTFY

See also: seatbelts, condoms, hardhats etc

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: "...a capable machine for the road warrior..."

See also: seatbelts, condoms, hardhats etc

All of which protect the wearer, which most masks do not. If you're not sick a basic mask is pointless, if you are sick then stay at home.

[Dave 126]

Re: "...a capable machine for the road warrior..."

You can be contagious without showing symptoms - so wear a mask.

[Zola]

Buy an Intel CPU based product?

Choose the more expensive, less efficient, exploit riddled and guaranteed-to-be-even-slower in 12 months variety of x86-64 CPU?

Are you having a laugh?!

[Anonymous Coward]

Are those cpu scores right?

“ 823 and 3178 on the GeekBench 5 single-core and multi-score tests ”

Seems really low to me.

The older a12z doesn’t look that far off when emulating OS X.

The Apple DTK is essentially a Mac Mini powered by the A12Z Bionic SoC and running macOS 11 Big Sur Developer Beta. The DTK seems to have achieved a single-core score of 833 and a multi-core score of 2,582.

And is faster running native ipad os

“The A12Z Bionic in the iPad Pro 12.9 scores about 1,117 and 4,712 in single and multi-core tests, respectively.“

https://www.notebookcheck.net/First-A12Z-Bionic-DTK-Geekbench-5-benchmarks-show-Apple-s-transition-holds-immense-promise-only-a-28-in-drop-seen-in-single-core-score-compared-to-the-MacBook-Air-2020.477595.0.html

Looks like intel has a lot of catching up to do.

What would this thing be like with an AMD part in it?

[Anonymous Coward]

What about light weight, a 14 inch screen, a 12 or 14 hour battery......

......less than 10 watts, less than three pounds......no moving parts.......

*

.....letting your friendly remote server do the heavy lifting?

*

....Oh and save over £1000 -- when you buy a nice Acer Swift 1 (Intel N5000 edition).

*

Recommended procedure....and in daily use here at Linux Central.

[DJV]

"You barely feel it on your lap."

You'll probably barely notice someone swipe it from your lap in the café when chatting to the (socially distanced) person 6 feet away from you on your left.

FTFY

[glussier]

At this price point, a backlit keyboard should be standard.

[RM Myers]

You're in luck

According to their website, a backlit keyboard IS standard.

[TeeCee]

Re: You're in luck

It's also mentioned in the article.