I'm actually quite shocked that someone is testing this machine during English-language hours. We sold a few dozen Dynabooks back in '22-'23, and the customer feedback was quite good. Of course, as an all-in flipper, I stopped selling them once the cheap deals dried up. Dynabook is, of course, the former Toshiba PC, and now its capital is backed by Sharp (Foxconn). This means that in terms of investment relationships, it's very close to Acer and MSI (although I have no proof). It's a perfect match that a Dynabook ended up in the hands of Allen Ngo for a write-up. The old guard is gradually withering away like leaves in the wind; Mr. Ngo must be one of the few NBC editors who has seen the last of the Toshiba Z-series.
But after all that preamble, I still have to say it: this year, we're putting all our money on the HP Elitebook X G1i. This isn't just because the price is much more competitive than the Dynabook (even though our channel price for the Dyna is nowhere near $2200 USD, it's still more expensive than the HP). It's also because, in our assessment, we feel that Dynabook is just being lazy. There are so many things they could have done better. As a legacy brand being re-marketed (TOSHIBA-PC doesn't exactly have a positive reputation anymore, and while the Dynabook trademark was registered in Japan in 1989, very few people in overseas markets know the brand), they're essentially starting over as a new company. Typically, you need to be better than the mainstream products to achieve market penetration. Although Mr. James Robinson (CEO of Dynabook Americas) emphasizes that Dynabook's QC and failure rate are the lowest among all North American competitors, it's questionable how many people are willing to believe that (sales figures can also tell part of the story).
Alright, here are the 5 points where we find this machine comical:
A $2200 USD machine using a Phison E18 SSD? Bro, are you robbing people? For performance efficiency, they absolutely should have used a Samsung PM9A1a. Even if they wanted to save money, they could have used mature models like the SN740, PC811, or BG6. Yet, they chose a drive with standard Gen4 performance but less-than-stellar efficiency. This makes it hard to justify against the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 with its PCB01 drive.
It's still using that garbage 1920x1200 BOE screen. Sure, it might be excusable for power-saving reasons, but as a Taiwanese-funded company now, can't Dynabook afford a panel from AU Optronics (the screen in the HP X G1i), or use its own Sharp IGZO? The Fujitsu WU1-K1 and the Dyna X40LM both used this screen, and their color, brightness, and minimum brightness are all better. A minimum brightness of 23.7 cd/m2 is definitely going to get complaints. Buyers of $2200 machines can be very picky.
A single fan, which definitely means a 20W TDP. We noticed this issue with the Dynabook X40LM. LNL's performance isn't strong, true, but there's no need to limit it with such a low power release, right? A Cinebench R23 score of 7900cb means it can't even beat a VAIO F16 (i7-1355U). This level of performance feels like only the Panasonic CF-FC6 is worse.
What the hell is with the SD card slot speed? Fujitsu is already using UHS-II, and this is UHS-I? That's really pinching pennies.
For a price of $2200 USD, bro, ask yourself: as a new entrant, how are you going to compete with the big three? The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 is no slouch this year and is just as light. Who isn't more formidable, from Dell's Pro 13/14 Premium to HP's 1040 G11 and the subsequent X G1i? "Oh, but you're only 961 grams?" HP has the AMD Aero 7. Even when it comes to corporate procurement, the silver-tongued salespeople from those companies will tear you to shreds.
In short, it has no chance at $2200. It has a chance if the actual price is $1000 less. Otherwise, no matter how many K-O-Ls hype it up, nobody will want it.
Thanks for sharing! The Dynabook Portégé Z40L-N sounds like a great option for those needing a lightweight 14-inch subnotebook. Impressive that it combines reduced weight with the latest Intel Lunar Lake CPUs and Curve Rush easy serviceability. Definitely worth checking out for frequent travelers or students.
The Portege Z40L-N is several hundred grams lighter than many well-known 14-inch subnotebooks while still offering the latest Intel Lunar Lake processors and relatively easy serviceability.
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