I haven’t had the chance to take a close look at the Toshiba Kirabook before so when I saw it on the Microsoft booth at CeBIT this week I took the chance to have a closer look. Wow, it’s a smart looking bit of kit.
I love the shape of the Kirabook and that 2560×1440 touchscreen is punchy and sharp. The trackpad appears to be good and the thought of Haswell, with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD appeals. WiFi AC is included but there’s no GPS and no NFC, something I’m getting used to now with the tap-and-send feature.
The keyboard felt good but not quite as good as the Samsung ATIV Book 9, Lenovo Thinkpad and Dell Latitude alternatives.
There’s a reasonable 51Wh battery inside which should give you 8 hours of WiFi-on usage. Finally, think about the weight. 1.36KG (3 lbs) is very good for a touchscreen 13-incher.
Pricing for this starts at around $1450 in the USA. (Amazon offer right now) which isn’t cheap but if you’re looking at alternatives, make sure you price in the 256GB drive, 8GB RAM and a two-year warranty.
