First impressions of Toshiba’s new 14-inch Ultrabook prototype

By Nick Mokey January 10, 2012

Having arrived early to the Ultrabook party with the Z830 series this fall, Toshiba moved on to bigger notebooks at CES 2012 with a new 14-inch model, which debuted Monday.

Unlike Toshiba’s 13-incher, which wore a Portege badge, the 14-inch will actually come branded as a Satellite – the company’s banner for less portable, more full-featured notebooks. Designers also gave it a smoother, less angular design, and swapped magnesium alloy for aluminum, which is slightly heavier but had a nice durable feel and surprisingly effective anti-smudge coating. At 0.78 inches deep, it’s also a bit thicker than the Portege Z830, which measures in at 0.63 inches.

Following in the steps of many Ultrabook competitors – and MacBook Air imitators – Toshiba also expanded the touchpad and switched to a buttonless design, which felt spacious but might need a bit more tweaking before it works as seamlessly as others we’ve tried.

The 14-inch Ultrabook will debut in May or June, but Toshiba hasn’t yet announced pricing information.

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