Showing posts with label i5. Show all posts
Showing posts with label i5. Show all posts

Tuesday, 13 January 2015

Posted by Cratchety Ol Joe | File under : , , , , , , , , ,
While I have purchased a new bit of tech, it's not for myself... I decided to treat my better half to an Asus Transformer - complete with chicklet keys (she can keep 'em...)

Asus T1001 transformer
I've accurately measured there is enough room for 4 lanes of traffic between the keys.
It was a relative bargain in the pre-christmas sales and being that I'm not using it I have no problem in purchasing something which has the keyboard equivalent to a bag of walkers crisps...

Sadly I've come into 2015 still lacking a new laptop for myself and believe me, my little Toshiba is thrashing it's death throws, the hdd had all but packed up, was promptly removed and a linux drive rammed in as a measure to just keep the damn thing going.

And it's certainly not looking like I'm going to find a laptop (in my budget) that meets my demands for non-idiotic keys.

Every time I've looked recently the Toshiba models are once again proving to be the only modestly priced hardware that has 'normal' keyboards...

Currently - if I could make up an excuse to make a purchase and not have to contemplate things like having to buy food, Id probably vote for one of these:

Toshiba Satellite PRO C50-A-1KJ



Toshiba Satellite PRO C50-A-1KJ, laptop
image yoinked from: expertreviews.co.uk


Basically no change from my previous target ... hmm I'm seeing a trend emerge here... Anyways:
It runs a not completely pointless intel i5 4200M and regardless of what's under the hood... just look at those keys, begging to be typed on (or more likely have the W,A,S,D thrashed to an inch of their little buttony lives)

Sadly it currently ships for about £600 give or take the price of a bag of chips ... and right now that's not the kind of cash I have to spare (sad panda mode engaged) strangely this price has also risen by some notable amount since I last was 'looking' (see my previous post).

I'm really struggling to find anything made by any other manufacturer that retains 'classic' scissor keys, but if you've spotted one, or even own a 'modern' laptop that has non-scrabble-tile keyboard drop me a line!


Tuesday, 27 May 2014

Posted by Cratchety Ol Joe | File under : , , , , , ,
After a few months of not a lot, and I'm still hunting for a new laptop, currently if I'm going to part with my hard-earned then it looks like a revisit to Toshiba Satellite series.

More specifically the C50 series model which is available in many CPU flavours ranging from 'student' ( read also: "Celeron processor") laptops to quasi-capable desktop alternatives in either AMD or Intel flavour, the one I'm been eyeing up is powered by the Intel i5-4200m which is a capable chip and doesn't break the bank with most offerings at around £500.

 Toshiba c50

Above: notice the non ravine based key layout, no interstate highways between the keys!

some details on this for those that give a damn:


Product Specifications

  • Product Description
    • Toshiba Satellite Pro C50-A-1KJ - 15.6" - Core i5 4200M - Windows 7 Pro 64-bit (+Win8.1 Pro) - 4 GB RAM - 500 GB HDD
  • System Type
    • Notebook
  • Operating System
    • Windows 7 Pro 64-bit  (+Win8.1 Pro)
  • Processor
    • Intel Core i5 (4th Gen) 4200M / 2.5 GHz ( 3.1 GHz ) / 3 MB Cache
  • Memory
    • 4 GB DDR3L
  • Storage
    • 500 GB HDD / 5400 rpm
  • Optical Drive
    • DVD SuperMulti
  • Display
    • 15.6" LED backlight 1366 x 768 / HD
  • Graphics
    • Intel HD Graphics 4600
  • Networking
    • 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0 LE , Gigabit Ethernet
  • Battery
    • Up to 4.5 hours
  • Colour
    • Matt black with hairline pattern, black keyboard
  • Dimensions (WxDxH)
    • 38 cm x 24.2 cm x 3.335 cm
  • Weight
    • 2.3 kg
  • Localisation
    • United Kingdom

Sunday, 2 March 2014

Posted by Cratchety Ol Joe | File under : , , , , , , , ,
I mentioned before I use a Toshiba currently, and while I'm VERY happy with the keyboard, the laptop is falling behind in capability, now only really any use for internet browsing, word processing and the occasional movie (even the woefully low powered AMD E-350 can spit out fluid 1080p on an external monitor - aka my 42" telly...)

The Toshiba in question is the Satellite Pro C660d which was released more than a few moons ago, And it seems that though all my searching I've come full circle as I'm now looking at the:

- Toshiba Satellite Pro C50-A-1K9
http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Toshiba_Satellite_Pro_C50-A-1K9_Core_i5_6GB_500GB_Windows_7_Pro_Laptop_with_PSCGBE-00U029EN/version.asp

as the image below shows, it sports the same 'flat-bevelled' keys as the one I currently have.
I've found these keys to be comfortable fast and easy to type on, and for what little time I was using my laptop for gaming the keys are responsive with a small amount of travel but tactile enough to type by touch alone.

Every other manufacturer that I've looked at seems not to supply any such 'normal' style keys any more, excluding one model from Dell, in their highly overpriced gaming line - Alienware

So far in the months I've been searching the Toshiba is possibly my only option, but I noted that other than the Satellite range (aimed more at business use) their other laptops all feature the grand-canyon-esque chicklet keys.

Soon, I fear there may simply be no option for me but to forgo use of a laptop and stick with a desktop for my needs, hardly a good solution should I need to be on the move.

The search continues...