Toshiba Satellite U845-S406 review: Toshiba Satellite U845-S406

The time has come for more reasonably priced ultrabooks, and it seems like every Windows laptop manufacturer has one coming out this back-to-school season. Between the Dell Inspiron 14z, Asus Zenbook UX32A, Lenovo IdeaPad U310, and Sony Vaio T, ultrathin laptops have emerged bearing traditional hard drives and ultrabook-grade CPUs at prices as low as $700. Toshiba's first ultrabook to be classified as such was the Portege Z835; this year, its line has fragmented with the addition of the Satellite U845, a thicker 14-inch laptop that trades off price for size.

7.4

Toshiba Satellite U845-S406

The Good

A clean-looking design, backlit keyboard, good battery life, and no shortage of ports make the <b>Toshiba Satellite U845</b> a solid ultrabook.

The Bad

Nothing really stands out, the price is high for what it offers, and the keyboard and touch pad don't feel very comfortable.

The Bottom Line

The Toshiba Satellite U845 is a serviceable but generic-feeling 14-inch ultrabook that, in a quest to become more affordable, has fallen into a grey zone: not all that compact, not all that rich in features.

Or does it? The entry price for the Satellite U845 is as low as $699 with an Intel Core i3 processor, but our review version has an MSRP of $879. Laptops like the Inspiron 14z, IdeaPad U310, and Sony Vaio T are all less expensive for similar specs. Depending on where you buy the Satellite U845-S406, it can currently cost as little as $779, but that's still not bargain-basement: in fact, it's middle-of-the-pack for "budget" ultrabooks. Note: this isn't the same laptop as the Satellite U845W, a similarly named ultrabook with an ultrawide 21:9 screen and a different chassis design, but it has the same processor and specs under the hood, just in a more normal and generic design.

The Satellite U845-S406 does have a backlit keyboard and all the basic ports (Ethernet, HDMI, USB 3.0, SD card slot), plus a slightly larger-than-average 14-inch screen, but it weighs more than a Toshiba Portege R935 (the CPU-upgraded update to the Portege R835 CNET has reviewed), even though the Portege R935 also includes an optical drive and a faster processor. Even more oddly, some models of the new Portege are more affordable.

Simply put, Toshiba has too many laptops, but that's an argument for a different day. The Satellite U845-S406 offers what amounts to, for mid-2012, a solid, standard set of ultrabook specs and features, but in a rather generically designed package, and not at a standout price. It doesn't stand out from its peers. I'd try to get one for as little as possible and pay down for the entry-level model. This type of laptop should cost $750, not $879.