Toshiba U940T review

At the end of the month, Microsoft will launch Windows 8 and with it will come an onslaught of convertible hybrid Ultrabook laptop tablet devices. One of these is the Toshiba U940T.

In its closed position the U940T looks like a regular tablet, albeit a large one at 1.45kg in weight and 20mm in size. You can use Windows 8 via the 12.5in touchscreen which has a decent resolution of 1366 x 768 for its size and great viewing angles because it's an in-plane switching (IPS) panel.

When you need more than just the touchscreen, the U940T transforms into a makeshift laptop via a clever mechanism. The screen slides away from you revealing a keyboard when you can angle the screen upwards in laptop-style. It works in a similar way to Sony's Vaio Duo 11 but has the advantage of being able to adjust the angle of the screen.

Unlike Sony's offering, the U940T keyboard has a wrist rest and the keys are larger but not backlit. Since the sliding mechanism doesn't take up much space, there's also room for a multi-touch trackpad. It's not as big a one you would find on a normal laptop but it does the job and you have the option of plugging in a USB mouse.

Toshiba's U940T is a bit cheaper than Sony's rival at £899 which gets you a Core i3 processor and a 128GB SSD. There will also be a higher specification model with Windows 8 Pro.

Physical ports are few and far between with HDMI, two USB 3.0 ports, an SD card reader and a headphone jack. In addition there are front and rear facing cameras.

Toshiba U940T in tablet mode

Toshiba U940T keyboard and trackpad appear

Toshiba U940T in laptop mode

Toshiba U940T mechanism

Toshiba U940T ports

Toshiba U940T in regular desktop mode