TechRadar Verdict
Incredibly comfortable, well made, powerful and offering a stunning display, it's difficult to find a better multimedia machine
Pros
- +
Excellent multimedia credentials
Stunning display
Comfortable to use
Cons
- -
Expensive
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Toshiba's Qosmio was the first laptop range to provide more than just mobile computing. These multimedia systems offered to replace your TV, stereo, DVD player and computer. The Qosmio G40 (£2300 inc. VAT) is the latest iteration, and promises to be the hub for all your home entertainment needs.
One of its most impressive features is the 17-inch Super-TFT display. It has a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels (WUXGA), which is the highest available on a laptop. The resulting images are pin-sharp, and photos and movies look great.
Sharp images
You'll also be able to watch films in Full HD, which gives a particularly crisp image. To take advantage of this, Toshiba has fitted a HD DVD R drive. In addition to playing HD content, the G40 can burn data to blank HD DVD discs, with up to 15GB of storage on offer per disc.
A hybrid digital/analogue TV tuner is integrated into the chassis, and you'll be able to watch and record TV programmes using the pre-installed Windows Media Center software. Two 200GB hard drives provide ample storage space for recorded programmes.
A range of buttons let you control TV and DVD functions, and there's a large volume dial on the left-hand side of the chassis. A remote control is included.
The display is flanked by speakers made by audio company Harman Kardon, and the sound quality is suitably impressive.
You'll also be able to play the latest games on this machine, thanks to a mid-range Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics card. We found games ran smoothly, although resolution settings had to be turned down on some of the latest titles.
As expected of a high-end laptop, build quality is impressive. Only the rather flimsy optical drive lets the Toshiba down. The keyboard is excellent, with comfortable and well-spaced keys. They're firmly attached and move with a precise action. However, it's a shame there's no dedicated numeric keypad. In its place, you'll find a control dial, which lets you navigate documents and webpages.
Everyday performance was never less than impressive, aided by a high-end Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 processor. Backed by 2048MB of memory, the G40-108 scored highly in our benchmarks and ran applications with ease. Despite the impressive specification, the chassis remained cool to the touch, even after long periods of use.
If you're in the market for a high-end laptop, the Qosmio G40-108 is one of the best machines you'll find. Sure, you'll pay for the privilege, but it offers exceptional comfort, and the display is simply stunning.
