The Toshiba Libretto U100 is built for road warriors and gadget hounds who feel that even four or five pounds of computer gear is just too much to carry between airport gates or meeting rooms. Though it's been continuously sold in Japan, the U100 is the first Libretto in six years to be sold in the United States--and it's among the smallest and lightest notebooks available anywhere. Looking like a Lilliputian version of a typical laptop, this two-pound wonder is deceptively powerful and can compete with larger and heavier systems, but its tiny screen and keys present a challenge when it comes to getting work done for long stretches. We laud the effort to downsize the notebook, but the Libretto U100 shows that less can be--well, less. At $1,999 (as of July 2005), we think less-expensive designs that weigh a few ounces more and have grown-up keyboards and screens, such as the Dell Latitude X1 or even the U100's sibling Toshiba Portege R200, will prove much more useful.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Sturdy yet elegant, the black, white, and silver Libretto U100 features an internal aluminum frame, a magnesium base, and a brushed-aluminum and plastic lid that are designed to take a beating. Petite and light, the U100 is about as small as a notebook gets these days. Larger than the NEC MobilePro 900 handheld PC but smaller and lighter than just about any notebook on the market, the U100's dimensions (1.3 inches thick, 8.3 inches wide, and 6.5 inches deep) mean that it can easily slip into a jacket pocket or a briefcase pouch and go anywhere you go. At 2.2 pounds, it's also a few ounces lighter than the Dell Latitude X1 and nearly a pound less than the Sony VAIO VGN-T250, although both of these systems have larger screens and keyboards. With the tiny AC adapter and power cord, the U100 hits the road at an enviable 2.9 pounds.
Size is both the U100's greatest strength and its biggest shortcoming. The 7.2-inch wide-screen display, with a 1,280x768 native resolution, looks tiny compared to the 10.6-inch and 12.1-inch panels on the VAIO T250 and the Latitude X1, respectively. We found that icons and fonts were difficult to read. The notebook's rectangular 13.9mm keys make typos unavoidable during any kind of extended use. The keyboard is fine for quick memos or e-mail, but don't expect to type long documents on it. On the other hand, we love that the fingerprint reader allows access to the system, consolidates passwords, and doubles as a scroll key to augment the system's pointing stick. Unfortunately, the laptop lacks the Trusted Platform Module that many corporations are starting to require.
With such a small case, the Toshiba Libretto U100 has room for only a headphone jack, two USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, and a VGA connection (although the latter requires the included adapter), as well as a Type II PC Card slot. The machine lacks an S-Video port and a microphone jack. The U100 makes the connection with 56Kbps modem and 100Mbps Ethernet ports and the one-two wireless punch of Bluetooth and an Atheros Super G 802.11b/g Wi-Fi card. In our anecdotal tests, the Libretto U100 was able to stay online 175 feet from our Wi-Fi base station, nearly twice as far as the typical notebook. If you want an optical drive, you're out of luck--unless you spend an extra $100 for the one-pound DVD Dock, which houses a multiformat DVD burner. Unfortunately for movie watchers, the quarter-size speakers below the screen can't get loud enough and sound hollow, even with the SRS TruSurround turned on. To truly appreciate the system's stereo sound, you'll have to connect headphones or external speakers through the headphone jack.
The Toshiba Libretto U100 runs on a full version of Microsoft Windows XP Professional. Like most business-minded systems, it ships without a costly productivity suite, though the basic Microsoft Works 8.0 is preloaded on the system. Also in the software bundle are Toshiba's excellent utilities, including programs for setting power levels and zooming in on a portion of the screen (especially helpful given the U100's small dimensions), along with Microsoft Office OneNote and a 30-day trial of McAfee VirusScan, among other programs.
The Libretto U100 relies on a mix of old and new technology, including an ultra-low-voltage 1.2GHz Pentium M processor and a superslim 60GB hard drive. But the hard drive spins at a slow 4,200rpm, and the system uses Intel's previous-generation 855GME chipset and graphics accelerator. Our test system came with 512MB of 333MHz memory chips; it can expand up to only 1GB of RAM, which will be an immediate turn-off to some corporate buyers. Those components packed a performance punch on CNET Labs' mobile benchmarks. The little Libretto U100 finished a scant 3 percent behind both the Dell Latitude X1 and the Sony VAIO VGN-T250--though the Dell has a slower, 1.1GHz processor. We feel certain that the U100 will not let down workers in the field, considering that its battery pack lasted 4 hours, 48 minutes in our drain tests. Though that's more than an hour short of the VAIO VGN-T250's amazing 6 hours, 25 minutes, it's much better than the Latitude X1's 3-hour battery life. Those wanting a full day of work can either adjust the power management settings or get a second battery for $149.99.
Oddly, for a machine aimed at corporate roamers, the U100 comes with a skimpy one-year warranty with mail-in service. You can extend it to a more appropriate three years for a sensible $149; three years with onsite service costs $249. Toshiba's support Web site continues to provide just about everything you'll need to help keep the Libretto U100 running smoothly. Along with setup tips, diagnostics, and a variety of downloads, there's a great chat room to figure out what's going on inside the computer and fix it. The company's 24-hour, toll-free hotline is augmented with staff who answer questions via e-mail.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 | BAPCo MobileMark 2002 performance rating | Â Â |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
| BAPCo MobileMark 2002 battery life in minutes | Â Â |
Find out more about how we test Windows notebooks.
System configurations:
Dell Latitude X1
Windows XP Professional; 1.1GHz Intel Pentium M 733; 512MB DDR SDRAM 400MHz; Intel 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express 128MB; Toshiba MK6006GAH 60GB 4,200rpm
Sony VAIO VGN-T250
Windows XP Professional; 1.2GHz Intel Pentium M 730; 512MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz; Intel 855GME Graphics Controller up to 64MB; Toshiba MK6006GAH 60GB 4,200rpm
Toshiba Libretto U100
Windows XP Professional; 1.2GHz Intel Pentium M 753; 512MB DDR SDRAM PC2700 333MHz; Intel 855GM (up to 64MB); Toshiba MK6006GAH 60GB 4,200rpm