TOSHIBA PORTEGE Z30T

The Toshiba Portege Z30t had a minor specs refresh with an exterior that’s largely the same as its predecessor. The Z30t is also the only 13.3-inch model in our shootout compared to the 14-inch displays on the rest of the competition. While this puts it at a slight disadvantage in terms of screen real estate, it does make it more portable.

The display has good viewing angles and vivid colors, and the smaller screen still boasts a Full HD resolution, which actually gives it a higher pixel-per-inch count, if sharpness is what you’re looking for. If portability is the most important factor for you, the Z30t will surely stand out, tipping the scales at just 1.2kg. It is so light that we could have easily mistaken it for a dummy model. The smaller dimensions and lighter body also means that the Z30t will fit inside slimmer bags, something a lady user will certainly appreciate.

Under the hood, it packs a decent fourthgeneration Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, Intel HD Graphics 4400 and 256GB SSD storage. It houses an outstanding 52Wh Lithium Ion battery promising extended battery life, with Toshiba claiming up to 10 hours.

The Portege Z30t comes with a decently spaced chiclet-style keyboard with a blue pointing stick residing among the square keys. The keyboard provides good feedback and the layout is pretty similar to the others, except for the dedicated PrtSc button.

Like the Dell Latitude E7440, there are left and right click buttons immediately below the spacebar to facilitate easy navigation using the pointing stick. There are two raised lines on the trackpad that guide you to the clicking areas at the bottom. South of the trackpad is a horizontal silver piece housing the fingerprint reader and three indicator lights - battery/charging, power on/off and read/write. We feel that the indicator lights are at an odd position as, instead of residing near the screen where users will look most often, they are near your chest, and might even be obstructed from view if you are a lefty.