Eriku’s World

Technologies , Foods and My General Life

Speakers

The fine harman/kardon speakers wisely selected by Toshiba are very impressive indeed. Placed underneath the not-so-pretty metal grills (which traps dusts), the harman/ kardon speakers generate spectacular sound effects of good and clear quality. The effects of the speakers are tangible, even to the most oblivious people. Unlike previous harman/kardon speakers (i.e. Toshiba M100), the loudspeakers in the Qosmio F60 can be adjusted to very high volumes indeed, with only slight compromise on sound quality. These loudspeakers definitely live up to Qosmio’s name; buyers will surely be appalled by what these speakers can do.











Battery Life


Unfortunately, there isn’t much to expect from a 15 incher with a 6-cell battery. The wider screen is more power consuming and the small capacity of the 6-cell battery doesn’t help much either. No 9-cell batteries are available for the Qosmio f60 at the moment. Under the Eco- Utility mode (dimmest brightness), the Qosmio F60 managed to squeeze out 2 hours of normal usage (web browsing). The Eco- Utility showed an average power consumption of 20-25W when Eco- mode is switched on.



Conclusion




The Toshiba Qosmio F60 packs quite a lot of punch for a notebook of  such a niche. If you are looking for a mid-level multimedia notebook with extremely sleek looks, then the Toshiba Qosmio F60 may be worth considering as it certainly lived up to its name as an impressive multimedia notebook. However, the presence of a large numbers of rival notebooks with similar or better specifications may actually decrease the amount of potential buyers where many would probably opt for cheaper alternatives. 

Lastly, i would like to thanks Dr. Tan Ji for providing me photos and also helping me to complete this review ! He had spent endless time to help me and i hope you all will enjoy and appreciate our review! Thank you.  


Touchpad

Touchpad The touchpad is located slightly to the left of the entire palm rest and can be turned on/off via a touchpad button at the top of the touchpad. The activation of the touchpad will be accompanied by a bar of white light which basically indicates the proximity of the touchpad, especially useful when in the dark. The touchpad surface is rough yet providing a pleasant feel as well as grip. In general, touchpad navigation is very sensitive and accurate, provided that you don’t have sweaty palms. Vertical and horizontal scroll areas are not indicated but they do exist. The touchpad buttons come with a shinny chrome-look that is both stylish and effective. However, they do accumulate fingerprints with time. No fingerprint reader is available for the Toshiba Qosmio F60, much to the delight of users (like me) who often gets electrically shocked by it. The function of the fingerprint reader is gradually being replaced by Toshiba’s SmartFace technology.












Performance


Preloaded Software


There is quite a number of software provided by Toshiba for the Qosmio F60. Most programs are universally utilized for all ranges of Toshiba notebooks. However, only a handful of the software actually comes in handy in our daily lives. These include the Toshiba Eco Utility, Toshiba SmartFace Technology, Toshiba Reel Time, Toshiba HDD Protection, Toshiba Bulletin Board and the Toshiba PC Health Monitor.The Toshiba Eco Utility, indicated by the green glowing Earth symbol, is basically a convenient tool that measures the amount of power utilized during usage and is therefore, particularly useful during battery usage. The program actually estimates the amount of power saved/carbon emissions reduced via the user’s power consumption rates. We can all do our part in saving power which we do not need for a greener, better tomorrow. A rather green application by Toshiba [Thumbs up] 


The Toshiba SmartFace Technology slightly resembles the DELL’s FastAccess, which attempts to recognize the user’s facial features to enable successful log ins. Not much is known on how this particular software recognizes an individual’s face, but it is very accurate indeed. The SmartFace Technology can be accessed and activated via the webcam controls (switched on by navigating the mouse pointer to the farthest left). All one needs is to create an account and allow the program to scan his/her face. Upon completion, the SmartFace Technology will be initiated each time during the 1st Windows7 menu. As promising as it may seemed, the SmartFace Technology does have






major disadvantage- slow loading. Even with the moderately superior i5-520M of the Qosmio F60, it would still take a short while to load during the 1st Windows menu. (Slow as in slower than the time taken to swipe a finger or type a password.) So, the SmartFace Technology is still not that convenient at the moment, but it will eventually be better in the future with way shorter load times.
Toshiba Reel Time, one of the most convenient tools by Toshiba, generally allows the user to refer to recently used documents with ease, which can be rather good (or bad if fallen to the wrong hands).
Toshiba HDD Protection basically retracts the HDD into a safe, protected position upon any detection of intense vibrations or falls. A program that should never be disabled.
Toshiba Bulletin Board enables the user to place notes and pictures on a board-like picture as well as customizing shortcuts. The program will also report updates from Toshiba, if any. This application is basically less popular due to the availability of the Sticky Notes (Gadgets) by Windows 7.
Last, but not least, the Toshiba PC Health Monitor constantly checks on the functionality and performance of critical computer parts i.e. power consumption, battery health, HDD status, CPU temperature and fan speed. This will enable easier diagnostics should problems occur with the notebook.



Heat 
In order to address heat issues associated with previous Toshiba models, the Qosmio F60 sees a huge change in terms of the heat dissipation system. Apart from the standard heat sink at the left side of the laptop, large numbers of air vents are placed at the bottom surface of the notebook for better aeration and cooling. The effects of these heat removal mechanisms are apparent; the Qosmio F60 remains cool under normal usage. Of course, the heat increases significantly during intense gaming and strenuous tasks, still, the heat is tolerable compared to other notebooks. Usage of a decent cooler pad is still recommended for better performances and experiences. Although the Qosmio F60 is slightly cooler than its counterparts, the increased numbers of heat sinks are not without their flaws; internal hardware is more prone to short- circuiting upon contacting liquid substances which enter through those sinks. Hence, care must be taken. The fan of the Qosmio F60 is surprisingly quiet and will often go unnoticed during usage, be it normal web-surfing or intense gaming sessions. 

A few simple temperature measurements were taken using SpeedFan 4.0:

Normal usage- web surfing. No notebook cooler. Desktop desk surface. Non- air- conditioned room.





Gaming- Batman Arkham Asylum (1280x768) Very high details setting. No notebook cooler. Desktop desk surface. Non- air- conditioned room.  









Temperatures decreased approximately 2-4°C with the usage of the Cooler Master NotePal U2.





Continue to part 3: http://erikuworld.blogspot.com/2010/05/qosmio-f60-review-part-3.html








The Qosmio F60 aims to impress. Did it?
 

Quintessentially Qosmio
The Qosmio series is generally regarded as Toshiba’s best high- performance desktop replacement laptops, offering laptops of high quality and performance, especially in terms of multimedia applications.  The latest addition to the Qosmio family is the Toshiba Qosmio F60. Launched during the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2010, the Qosmio F60 had only one aim, which is to impress.
Priced within the range of RM3,799 to RM4,799 (as of 14.4.2010, depending on configurations) in Malaysia, the Qosmio F60 is currently the cheapest within the family, yet promising decent and up-to-date specifications. The substantially cheaper pricing of the Qosmio F60 significantly increases its affordability compared to other Qosmio units. Apart from the competitive pricing, Toshiba has also gone through great lengths in redefining the perspectives on Qosmio units with the Qosmio F60. Sized at a moderate 15.6”, thickness of about 1 inch and with the weight of approximately 2.9Kg, the Qosmio F60 offers more portability than its brothers, yet still retaining the awesome looks and performances unique to all Qosmio units. Armed with an Intel Core i3/i5 Processors and NVIDIA GeForce GT330M, coupled with high quality harman/kardon speakers, the Qosmio F60 will most definitely satisfy multimedia requirements with relative ease. Currently, the 2 variants of Toshiba Qosmio F60 available in Malaysia are the Qosmio F60-S530 and the Qosmio F60- BD531 as illustrated in the brochure below:

The Qosmio F60 brochure can be downloaded from the official Toshiba webpage: http://web.toshiba-asia.com/product/brochure/QosmioF60.pdf

The subject of this particular review is the Qosmio F60-BD531                               































































Chassis




The dimensions of the Qosmio F60 are 387.6 x 266.8 x 29.1/34.8mm respectively, with a weight claim of 2.7kg, which is a rather doubtful statement. The built material utilized for the Qosmio F60 is generally plastic, with extra touches of aluminum for increased support and sturdiness. The overall stability of the laptop is impressive, with only slight exhibition of bending under strong selective pressure. The   weakest portion of the Qosmio F60 lies at the optical drive, which has a higher tendency to bend under stress.


































A majority of the surfaces of the Qosmio F60 assume 

a highly- glossy finish which, despite its stylish and 
never-old looks; show a relatively high affinity
 towards fingerprints and dust particles. Brilliant
 red plastic components with a matte-like 
appearance are used to beef up the built quality
 as well as the looks of the Qosmio F60. The Qosmio
 F60 only comes in one color, which is indeed, a
 rather brilliant Fusion Red Finish, especially
 on the lid of the notebook. Highly reflective and
 awfully attractive with the classy “Qosmio” imprint,the lid is susceptible to scratches, fingerprintsdusts and not to mention thefts. A plastic screen is
included upon purchase for the protection of the
lid. The monitor can be adjusted easily, with the 
hinges not being too tight or too loose. Similar to 
most laptops with larger screens, the monitor tends 
to “shake” upon intense vibrations, which is generally acceptable due to its larger size and heavier weight. 

All in all, the workmanship of the Qosmio F60 is very impressive with no significant flaws. Parts are nicely and appropriately assembled together with no signs of deterioration any time soon. For those who are thinking twice about the glossy design, you will get a nylon cloth for free to wipe away all your worries











Keyboard




The 15.6 size of the Qosmio F60 allows ample  of space for the allocation of an extra Numpad which can really become in handy especially for work-related purposes. Keyboard buttons are flat and display English letterings, which may require some getting used to for those who are accustomed to German letterings. Typing on the keyboard feels very pleasant ; however, the slight inclinations of the keyboard buttons may tend to collect dust in time. Additionally, the glossy material used for the buttons may become oily after prolonged usage. Even so, don't forget about free cloth mentioned earlier~ Similar to all Toshiba notebooks, the Qosmio F60 also comes with Fn keys for adjusting brightness, wireless setting, touchpad etc.


A quick glance on the upper right portion of the keyboard would reveal strikingly attractive feather touch buttons which, as the names suggest, are buttons which respond to touches. The buttons provide control over the Eco Utility mode ( Toshiba's power saving program) , WiFi, Toshiba's Bulletin Board , Stop/Play functions, mute settings as well as volume controls. All buttons glow in white, except for the Eco Utility button which lights up in a brilliant dark green. The feather touch buttons are indeed very responsive and produce a classic " beep " sound upon pressing.


Continue to Part 2 : http://erikuworld.blogspot.com/2010/05/qosmio-f60-review-part-2.html

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