Lightning Fast Intel Power Meets 4K Ultra HD Touchscreen in the Toshiba Satellite Radius 12

People often say one should never bring their work home, but as a professional and a father of 5, sometimes I don’t have that luxury. Recently, I found myself in need of a new laptop, and I needed something that would not only allow me to keep in contact with my kids while traveling, but would also keep up with things at work while I’m at home. So after visiting my local Best Buy and getting advice from the Blue Shirt Crew, the Toshiba Satellite Radius 12 seemed to fit my needs perfectly.

What I Needed
I’m a writer and editor. I work for a nationwide company, and I sometimes need to travel to attend important meetings and conferences. Sometimes I work out of my local office, and sometimes I work at home. My work life – and my family life – are incredibly hectic. I knew that I needed a versatile, yet rugged laptop that had enough power to allow me to do all of the multitasking I need. My requirements included:

• Windows 10 – Windows is Microsoft’s best operating system to date, and while I could upgrade for free from a Windows 8 or 8.1 machine, I wanted to save myself the time and trouble.
• Touchscreen – Touchscreens make things so much simpler, especially when it comes to Skype. All I have to do is touch the screen to move the window. I also wanted a high resolution screen with a beautiful definition for Skyping with my kids at the end of the day.
• Processing Power – Many laptops come with integrated APUs that sound great on paper, but fail to perform. I knew I wanted the latest Intel technology – the Core i7.
• Lots of RAM – I’m a multitasker, both in real life and on my computer. I need plenty of RAM to allow me to run Excel, Microsoft Word, Skype, and other applications all at the same time without slowing down.
• Great Speakers – Since many of my conversations with my kids take place via my laptop, I wanted an excellent speaker system on board.
• Compact and Lightweight – As someone who travels frequently, I can attest that lighter luggage is better luggage. I didn’t want a huge, heavy laptop that I had to lug around everywhere.

Why I Chose the Toshiba Satellite 12
There are plenty of choices in laptops out there today, and many of them are just as stylish as they are functional. I knew right away that the Toshiba Satellite 12 was the right choice for my needs, though. It comes with Windows 10 preinstalled, and it offers all of the following:

• 12.5″ 4K Ultra HD Touchscreen – Not only does it offer ultra HD, but it is also made of Gorilla Glass. This makes the screen shatter-resistant, even if one of my little ones happens to drop it.
• 6th Generation Intel Core i7 – The latest tech from Intel gives me dual core, four-way processing and a turbo boost when I need it. This is perfect for my multitasking needs.
• Solid State Drive – The solid state drive has no moving parts. It’s quieter, it’s cooler, and it draws less on the battery. It also loads applications almost instantly, which is excellent since I’m an instant gratification sort of person.

• 360-Degree Viewing – This laptop has five different viewing modes, which is perfect for any situation imaginable. I can prop it up when I Skype with my kids, I can set it to presentation mode when I’m proposing a new project to a client, and I can even use it like a tablet when all I need is the touchscreen.
• 8GB RAM – The 8GB of RAM is more than enough to power all of my applications and then some.
• Harman Kardon Speakers – These are some of the best speakers I’ve ever heard in a laptop. The virtual surround sound is unreal, and it makes me feel like my kids (or clients) are in the room with me.
• Unbelievable Size and Weight – The Toshiba Satellite 12 is just over half an inch thick and weighs just under three pounds. It’s one of the thinnest and lightest machines I could find, but it does not feel cheap in any way.
• Backlit Keyboard – As a writer and editor, working on the fly is in my blood. The backlit keyboard helps me find my way, even in the dark.

Things to Consider
Despite all of the outstanding technology, there are a few things about this laptop that you might want to know before you buy it. These were not drawbacks for me in any way, but they may be for other buyers.

• 256GB HDD – In terms of today’s hard drives, 256GB is relatively small. However, the sacrifice is worth it to me since the solid state drive is so much faster and gives me extended battery life. I carry a slim external HDD in my bag for storing music and movies; I reserve the SSD for system files and documents.
• No Optical Drive – The Toshiba Satellite 12 has no optical drive. Once again, this was sacrificed to provide one of the thinnest, most lightweight laptops on the market today. It does feature USB ports for thumb drives.

For the money, the Toshiba Satellite 12 gives me everything I wanted along with a few extra perks. Not only can I stay in contact with my kids while I’m away on business, but I have plenty of processing power at my disposal for running many applications at the same time.