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Toshiba Tecra M6-EZ6611Dual-core power and a built-in optical drive make this ultraportable notebook a solid choice for business travelers. Price: $1,494
By Jamie Bsales 
The Toshiba Tecra M6 ($1,494 direct) is a nicely equipped ultraportable for business travelers who want a lightweight notebook that won’t break their budget. Unlike competing systems, such as the Dell Latitude D420 and the Lenovo ThinkPad X series, the M6 has a built-in optical drive (a multiformat DVD burner in this configuration). That brings the weight to just above four pounds (versus three-plus pounds for the others), but road warriors who prefer not to have to keep track of a media slice probably won’t mind the M6’s extra heft.
The machine’s magnesium alloy shell feels solid in the hand, and the boxy, dark-silver-and-black design, though conservative, is handsome. Business users will find a full complement of ports on the M6: three USB ports (two on the right edge, one on the left), a Type II PC Card slot, a 6-in-1 memory card reader, and a FireWire port (though its placement on the front edge means a connected cable will snake toward you). We appreciate the handy Wi-Fi toggle switch and volume wheel on the right edge, as well as the Presentation button, which automatically adjusts settings (VGA-out enabled, sleep mode off, and so on) for presenters. The 12.1-inch widescreen has a glossy TruBrite treatment rather than a matte finish, which makes colors pop but could also mean glare under typical office lighting. But we can’t fault the panel’s bright, crisp images, and it did a good job displaying DVD video. Text at the panel’s native 1280 x 800-pixel resolution is on the small side, however. The M6’s spill-resistant keyboard is slightly smaller than full size, and key plunge is a bit shallow; the Latitude and ThinkPad ultraportable keyboards feel better overall. The M6’s included touchpad is the traditional 4:3 aspect ratio (not 16:9 to match the wide display), and its buttons are a bit small. Toshiba includes the latest security features (TPM, fingerprint reader, optional CompuTrace laptop-recovery service), and the 80GB hard drive is both shock-mounted and guarded by an active protection system that parks the heads should the machine take a tumble. The only feature a road warrior might miss is integrated mobile broadband; you’ll have to use a PC Card if you want wireless other than the included 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi and optional Bluetooth. Performance for day-to-day computing chores was impressive for an ultraportable. The 1.66-GHz Intel Core Duo T2300E processor and other components delivered a very good score of 221 on MobileMark 2005. But battery life from the included six-cell battery was on the low side for this class of machine, at just 3 hours and 13 minutes. Wireless throughput on our tests (7.1 Mbps at 15 feet, 6.6 at 50 feet) was about 33 percent below what we’re used to seeing. As expected, the integrated Intel GMA 950 graphics engine turned in a lackluster score of 1,257 on our 3DMark03 trials, which is typical for an ultraportable. The M6 includes a decent software bundle. You’ll find Toshiba’s management and recovery utilities, as well as Microsoft OneNote for taking and organizing notes, Microsoft Works 8.5 for very basic productivity chores, and CD/DVD creation and playback software by InterVideo and Sonic Solutions. The standard one-year warranty covers parts and labor and includes 24/7 phone tech support. Those looking for a powerful, feature-rich ultraportable that costs well south of two grand will appreciate the Tecra M6. We wish it had mobile broadband as an option and lasted a bit longer on a charge, but otherwise this is a solid 12.1-inch business notebook. Toshiba Tecra M6-EZ6611 Specifications
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