schatz@cs.arizona.edu (Bruce Schatz) (01/13/90)
Has anyone seen (or bought) one of these yet? It's not a version of the T1000 but a repackaging for the American market of the Dynabook (!) J3100SS. It's got a backlit screen and a single 1.44MB disk along with 1MB memory and a 80C86 processor. Any comments appreciated, especially on the screen, keyboard, and battery. I'm looking for a laptop for paper writing and email reading on the road (no programming needed; as light as possible; want compatibility with Microsoft Word on my office Macintosh IIcx). Thanks.
wcalvin@well.UUCP (William Calvin) (01/15/90)
Ever notice how little that a laptop manual says about battery
life? They must have gotten frustrated with claims. The Toshiba 1000SE
manual (and the reviewers so far) suggest about 2 hours with 10% disk
use. So I measured. That's indeed conservative.
Without economizing (9.76 MHz, backlit constantly, typical disk):
120' to empty on the "gas gauge," another 40' to the red-light and
alarm, then less than 10' to shutdown (which uses RESUME mode,
thereby saving your HardRAM and working memory for about 12hr more
on the backup battery). So nearly 3 hours of hard use.
Economy conditions (4.77MHz, 3' screen shutoff, typical disk):
180' to empty, 60' to the red light and beep, 9' more to shutdown-
with-save (and that's without disk access, so if you're saving to
disk, don't count on even 5'). So that's nearly 4 hours.
This is with running WordPerfect off the 1.44MB A: drive, not out of
Expanded memory or virtual disk. Addition of a 2MB RAMcard ought to cut
down on diskpower consumption while raising the refresh-memory
contribution (which, unlike the disk use, ought to be sensitive to
slowing the 80C86 down to 4.77 MHz).
The manual says that the backup battery will maintain the memory
for another 12 hours after the battery back is fully discharged. And
the clock and configuration settings for a month more. When recharging,
the battery LED is amber, turning green when fully charged (it's visible
with the lid either open or closed, as are all the indicator LEDs).
They claim 4 hours to recharge if the computer is off, 11 hours if
you're charging on the side while computing. The gas gauge adjusts
nicely; don't know why it reads empty only 2/3 of the way to the serious
warning (I'll try Battery Watch II as soon as it arrives).
Though I get 8-9 hours on my T1100+ (4000 amp-hr battery rating),
the over-the-pole flight is not the usual away-from-the-AC-outlet
condition. Toshiba seems to have designed the T1000SE to keep the
battery weight down, aiming for the more typical laptop user who is
going to take notes during a luncheon meeting, while visiting the
library, or maybe on the train-bus home. Users whose commutes are
longer than 2 hours (that's NYC-Chicago or Seattle-LAX) will buy ($79) a
light-weight (10 oz.) extra battery; if my times above are any
indication of prolonged use, I ought to be able to achieve my typical
8 hour times with just one extra battery pack -- despite the backlit. I
think they've gotten smarter about power management in the last three
years since the T1100+!
Of course, given the chances of being delayed in the departure
lounge with no AC outlets near a comfortable chair, everyone ought to
carry a spare battery pack. The separate power supply is notably
lighter than the 1100's, senses 100-240 volts and automatically adjusts
its output (label says 12VDC@0.83A but open-circuit is more like 17 and
the battery label says 7.2VDC and 1700 amp-hr). I always pack the power
supply in carry-on; with the T1000SE's, I ought to be able to tap into
those 230VAC floor-polisher outlets! By looking hard, I've found 115VAC
outlets in Austin, DFW, and ORD.
So the typical travel weight for computer, power supply, extra
battery pack, and a box of disks is about 8 pounds. About 7 pounds less
than that of the T1100+ collection with a 230-115VAC voltage converter.
Nice. Nice. Nice. Not only are my eyes going to thank Toshiba,
but my back as well (I use a student-size daypack with padded rear,
rather than a briefcase).
William H. Calvin wcalvin@well.sf.ca.us
Univ. of Washington wcalvin@uwalocke.bitnet
Biology NJ-15 wcalvin@locke.hs.washington.edu
Seattle WA 98195 206/328-1192 206/543-1648wcalvin@well.UUCP (William Calvin) (01/15/90)
The Toshiba 1000SE is easily as good as the reviews in BYTE and PC
MAG. Another step beyond the 1200s in nice little features.
Great display. AutoResume is wonderful. MSDOS 3.3 is in ROM as a
220k "drive C:" and it will save a CONFIG.SYS file in special RAM
(same as for the Clock). There is a 100-pin connector for an
expansion bus; surely a decent portable-and-fast accessory hard
disk will evolve.
Comes with 1Meg RAM, 384k of which is available for RAM
disk, etc. The 1MB memory card lists for $699 ($439 through the
educational discount program) and the 2MB version for $1199 ($749
educ.); extra battery pack $79. 2400baud internal modem to be
announced by third-party vendor? The list price of $1699 drops to
about $999 on the educational discount, but that discount may be
going up, be applicable only to early dealer orders.
The University Book Store in Seattle has been selling them
like hotcakes. bds@lzaz.ATT.COM (Bruce Szablak) (01/16/90)
If so, in what modes. Is the expansion slot compatible with other Toshiba laptops? A quick rundown on the external connectivity would be nice. Thanks!
dlow@hpspcoi.HP.COM (Danny Low) (01/16/90)
>Has anyone seen (or bought) one of these yet? >It's not a version of the T1000 but a repackaging for the American market >of the Dynabook (!) J3100SS. It's got a backlit screen and a single 1.44MB >disk along with 1MB memory and a 80C86 processor. >Any comments appreciated, especially on the screen, keyboard, and battery. >I'm looking for a laptop for paper writing and email reading on the road >(no programming needed; as light as possible; want compatibility with >Microsoft Word on my office Macintosh IIcx). Thanks. I recently had an opportunity to do a side by side comparison of the T1000SE and the Compaq LTE. First the T1000SE screen is as readable as any regular CRT screen. Possibily better as I saw less reflection on the LCD screen. The Compaq screen was rather mediocre in my opinion. It's a full inch shallower than the T1000 but otherwise has the same form factor and weight. The keyboard is cramp but no more so than any other small portable and it has a good touch for typing. At $1199 it's fully competitive with the Radio Shack 1100 and is virtually the same form factor. Given its much better screen the Toshiba T1000SE is clearly THE portable to buy if you do not need a hard disk. Danny Low "Question Authority and the Authorities will question You" Valley of Hearts Delight, Silicon Valley HP SPCD dlow%hpspcoi@hplabs.hp.com ...!hplabs!hpspcoi!dlow
russ@cbnewsh.ATT.COM (russell.p.sharples) (01/17/90)
From article <8540001@hpspcoi.HP.COM>, by dlow@hpspcoi.HP.COM (Danny Low): >>Has anyone seen (or bought) one of these yet? >>It's not a version of the T1000 but a repackaging for the American market >>of the Dynabook (!) J3100SS. It's got a backlit screen and a single 1.44MB >>disk along with 1MB memory and a 80C86 processor. What are the dimentions of the T1000SE? The COMPAQ really is 8.5x11x1.9". This will take up less than half my briefcase. Will the T1000SE fit in an 8.5x11" space? Is the aspect ratio of the screens the same? Russ Sharples homxc!rps DISCLAIMER: The above is my own opinion and NOT that of AT&T. It is the result of highly irregular analysis methods!
wcalvin@well.UUCP (William Calvin) (01/19/90)
T1000SE dimensions: 12.4" wide by 10.2" deep by 1.78" thick. 5.9lbs plus a AC power adaptor weighing only 10.5oz and taking 100-240VAC. AutoResume used on low battery shutdown; so long as you get it more power in the next 12 hours, you resume right where you left off, losing nothing.
IO00818@MAINE.BITNET (Willie) (11/08/90)
Please give me info about the Toshiba t1000SE, WHILE in use, I know
all the specs and everything like that.
Thanks, Willie
***WE SHOULD HAVE ELECTED JOE BRENNEN ***