To this end, Toshiba has packed the Qosmio with just about every feature you could imagine – although "packed" is a relative term, as the Qosmio G10, with its titanic 17in widescreen TFT, is far from compact. Weighing in at over 4kg, the Qosmio is also definitely more on the luggable side of the mobility fence.
Design
The Qosmio sports Toshiba's trademark black and silver stylings, and while it will look a little odd when placed next to your TV in the living room, it won't hurt the eye. Toshiba has clearly demonstrated its long experience in making portable computers in some of the more subtle design decisions of the Qosmio. For example, there are USB ports on the back as well as both sides of the unit, meaning you can attach peripherals easily regardless of where they're located. There's also a row of shortcut buttons above the keyboard that control the Media Center functions such as switching to TV, along with Stop, Pause, and input/output selectors.
The only slight disappointment with the design is the lack of a full-size keyboard, given the amount of room left around the sides of the unit. Given that, the keyboard is comfortable and responsive, and the track pad has the nifty inclusion of vertical scroll buttons that give you the functionality of a mouse wheel.
Features
When it comes to features, the Qosmio has it all. The first thing you'll notice when you fire it up is the incredible brightness and clarity of the 17in widescreen TFT. Twin lamps are the secret behind the brightness, and while they'll suck the power when running on batteries, that's more or less irrelevant as you'll likely have it plugged in to the mains most of the time anyway.
Although a 17in widescreen is only equivalent to a 43cm TV, it's high brightness and crisp picture make it suitable as the main screen in a small room, although you'll want to plug it in to your television for the most effect. To this end, the Qosmio is well equipped with outputs, including S-Video and component.
Audio output is also well catered for, with the headphone port also doubling as a S/PDIF digital output. That's not to say the built in sound is inadequate. Harmon Kardon provide the stereo speakers, and while the volume is not enough to fill a room, they excel in a close environment.
Of course, as a Media Center, the Qosmio has a built in TV tuner, and comes with a compact remote control. The Qosmio can also output HD TV, although the built in tuner is analogue at this stage.
A NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5700 handles the graphics output, and along with 128MB of video RAM, it's even powerful enough to handle the latest games at decent resolutions and frame rate.
Storage is also well catered for, with dual 80GB hard disks complementing one of the most fully featured DVD burners ever to appear in a notebook. The DVD Super Multi drive can handle CD-R and -RW as well as DVD-R, +R, -RW, +RW, RAM and even dual layer DVD+R. A 5-in-1 card reader rounds things out.
The Qosmio comes with plenty of connectivity options, from a V.92 modem, to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well as a 10/100 Ethernet port. The wireless transmitter can also be turned off care of a small switch on the left side in areas where you don't want your notebook to be radiating, such as when in the air or in environments with interference from other wireless networks.
In the case of a reinstall of the system, things are made substantially easier through the use of a recovery DVD. Just slip it in, and it will format and restore the unit to its factory configuration, including pre-installing drivers and Toshiba's extensive range of software utilities. These utilities add extra functionality, such as power saving options, extra controls for Media Center features, enhancements for the touch pad, diagnostics and more. The do clutter up your System Tray, so you may want to disable or uninstall the ones you don't use, but they are handy to have around.
Performance
Inside the unit throbs a Pentium M 755, running at 2GHz, supported by a whopping 1GB of PC2700 DDR RAM – so the Qosmio is no slouch. It barely batted an eyelid during any tasks, whether conventional applications or Media Center functions.
As a single piece of technology, the Qosmio is very impressive. Besides the head turning abilities lent by the huge screen and massive size, it's been intelligently designed and extremely well equipped. As a Media Center, it's not going to be the ideal configuration for everyone, and will really only appeal to those who seek a notebook for both work and pleasure. Besides this strange role, the only other potential drawback of the Qosmio is the price. At nearly AU$6,000, it's no small investment. Given you could buy a decent Centrino (or soon, Sonoma) notebook AND a small dedicated Media Center PC for this price, it's only going to appeal to those with the pockets to afford a technology showcase such as this. Besides that, if you can afford it, then you won't be disappointed.
debrob291
17/04/2008, 11:59 AM
rating
8/10
Fantastic computer
Pros: Has absolutely everything built into it you could need for home and business and after 3 years of ownership my F10 is still way ahead of most new computers!
Cons: HEAVY! This computer is more of a desk-top laptop and at the price its much better left at home covered under extra insurance - would be expensive if it got stolen! Oh and parts are expensive - I have done a motherboard, hard-drive and powercable and could have bought a new cheap laptop for the cost of repairs and replacements!
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juggey
26/02/2007, 08:33 AM
rating
10/10
Great pice of engineering fantastic lap top
Pros: Big screen, Big h.d lots of features
Cons: pricey but very cool.
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leshick
28/11/2006, 01:15 PM
rating
10/10
Have had for almost two years and love it, display problem fixed with inhome service , few problems if any, again love it..
Pros: Has everything top end laptop should have
Cons: little heavy, but what the hell
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bert33
11/11/2006, 07:12 AM
rating
8/10
very good lappy ..abit on the heavy side great screen size 17" and harman cardon speakers..
Pros: media center and speakers sound ease of use....
Cons: set up tv but cant get it right thru cable set top box as sound it doubled and repeated everytime very annoyoying..plus just out of warrenty and motherboard went caput..lucky took out toshs warrenty 2years for 99.00 as pc world wanted 399.00 at point of sale had it back all good in 4days like any make if no problems a very good lappy...
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asimn786
10/11/2006, 02:14 PM
rating
2/10
I bought G10 in july 2005 Last month its mother board crashed.My one year international warranty is finish.And now when i took it to repair it they asked me to pay £500..Now i cant afford to pay that much amount..I am looking if someone can repair this mother board for me..Never buy toshibe G10-106..otherwise you have to suffer like me...New one i bought for £14500...and i thought its expensive and looks good it will work and last for more then 6 - 8 years...but its crap...
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Rhys Fairall
20/10/2006, 12:45 PM
rating
2/10
Fantastic Computer for the couple of weeks it lasts inbetween repairs.
Pros: Powerhouse, great screen, full of features.
Cons: Not exactly what i'd call reliable. I've read other reviews from people saying motherboard has been replaced several times. Let me tell you I know how you feel. Everything and I mean everything has been replaced in my G10 at least once and its still playing up. I want them to replace it now. I'm sick of them failing to repair it. Only had it sence april this year (2006)!!!
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simonl
17/10/2006, 06:40 PM
rating
8/10
I've very little to complain about
Pros: Has no problems managing resource intensive applications for work and play. The screen appears bigger than it is and the sound quality is good from the inbuilt speakers. TV function works well. No major problems as far as a functioning platform and got what I paid for.
Cons: Remote works when it wants to, supplied cables are at wrong end of expected usage (AV in, rather than out), no cig lighter power pack yet (not really intended for super portability though), annoying built in Toshiba functions. Heavy.
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mousepotato
04/10/2006, 05:12 AM
rating
2/10
great machine WHEN it works
have been without pc for 4 months still at toshiba repair..3 times the motherboard was replaced since purchase march 2005..thank god for extended warranty..they have parts on 'back order' and i am told might never actually get them in..where does that leave me? i got a verbal should shake..and as told perhaps i should buy another laptop.. no customer support..repair dept will not answer the phone or respond to messages left..requested a replacement pc..request has gone unheeded..promised a customer relations supervisor would call..still waiting..it has been weeks..in the mean time..public library pc's are all i have to use..STAY AWAY FROM TOSHIBA..no customer support..even for their high end pc's
Pros: large screen
great sound
fast
Cons: bad design..motherboard failures..a 'beta' machine if ever there was one
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Puff
25/09/2006, 01:21 AM
rating
9/10
The Perfect MCE/ Multimedia Notebook
Pros: A superb machiene. had no trouble with it - very fast and powerful and its excellent for work a leisure purposes esp with MCE 2005 built in. Watch live TV, DVD, recorded TV, music, pictures, Online spotlight, and come with a remote control. And top class speackers built in that rival other high end sound systems. More to tell but can't fit it all here!
Cons: Weight. Not very travel friendly and its large to lug around, esp if you're planning to take its power cable and other accesories along for the ride.
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Laptop Hunter
06/08/2006, 05:14 PM
rating
6/10
I think people should buy the F25, has all the features and will work with Windows Vista OS
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