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Although Toshiba labels the Satellite Pro L630 as a business ultra-portable, it wouldn’t look out of place in either the home or the office. The black textured chassis feels solid, despite the plastic construction.
Unlike most business-oriented laptops, the 13.3in display has a glossy finish, but it handles reflections quite well. The 1,366×768 resolution looked crisp, although the maximum brightness was surprisingly low. Colours were accurately reproduced, although they weren’t especially vibrant – a side effect of the low brightness. Contrast was acceptable and video playback was smooth. The two speakers placed above the keyboard point upwards, so sound is slightly muffled unless you’re sat directly in front of the laptop. Quality was average, although volume was decent.
The L630 proved itself comfortable for everyday use. The keyboard uses traditional flat keys which are evenly spaced and large enough for even the biggest hands. Typing was comfortable, and very few keys have been reduced to fit the chassis.
The touchpad is a decent size, although the plastic surface felt slightly resistant to finger movement. The buttons are located directly below it at the edge of the wrist rest, but they had great tactile response and felt solid.
The Core i3 370M is a great mobile processor, with plenty of power. We were pleased to see 4GB of RAM, too. An overall score of 77 in our benchmarks is very good and this laptop should cope with most tasks well. Battery life was average, at four and a half hours. While the fan stayed quiet during regular use, it became noticeable when the processor was pushed hard. Temperatures stayed low after several hours, only really getting warm on the underside of the chassis.
As with other Toshiba laptops we’ve seen recently, there’s a useful software suite, which monitors the system from behind the scenes. An accelerometer keeps track of movement, protecting the hard disk if it senses an incoming impact, while the user-friendly backup software can be used to rescue the operating system in the event of a crash.
At 2.2kg, the L630 is heavy for an ultra-portable, despite the small 13in dimensions. While lightweight laptops aimed at the mainstream don’t often feature DVD drives, they are much more common in business-oriented models such as this one, and it’s a welcome sight. All-round connectivity was also good: there are three USB ports, one of which doubles as an eSATA port, and a card reader.
Overall the Satellite Pro L630 is a great laptop. Especially good is Toshiba’s warranty. It may be short, but if the L630 fails within the year, you’ll get a repair or replacement and your money back. This, along with the decent performance and attractive styling make it a great choice if you need a laptop that’s just light enough to take on the move.
