Driver Toshiba Qosmio E10

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Driver Toshiba Qosmio E10

Qosmio E10

Review Qosmio E10 from pcpro

Toshiba makes some bold claims for the Qosmio E10, with the name itself apparently representing 'my personal universe'. It's not a notebook, the company says, but a home-entertainment hub.
With an analog TV tuner built in, it's no surprise that this system uses Windows XP Media Center Edition. It also has an unusual array of connectors for hooking up other devices, with the aim of nestling into your existing home-entertainment setup. These include S-Video in and out, as well as composite video input and scart, enabling the Qosmio's screen to double up as a display for another device. A D-shaped 14-pin socket is supplied with two adaptor cables - scart to plug into a TV, and composite video/audio input for recording.
One of Qosmio's key attractions is instant-on, whereby a Linux application plays live TV, music and DVD movies without booting into Windows. We like the nine-second startup and the fact that you can display external video inputs in this mode, but it's severely hampered by not supporting MP3 files or the remote control (which needs a clunky USB adaptor).
Widescreen would seem to be the natural choice for a media-based system, but this model boasts only a 4:3 aspect ratio 15in TFT. It suits the analog TV tuner, but limits the Qosmio's appeal as a DVD player, with the hefty 3.61kg bulk also ruling out its use on the road. Thankfully, a Qosmio with a 15.4in widescreen is expected by the end of the year.
When you do use the E10's panel, you'll be impressed by the clarity and brightness. Toshiba has used a combination of hardware and software christened the 'QosmioEngine' to process the output from the graphics adaptor. As well as reducing noise and increasing sharpness, it also claims to correct time-based errors such as ghosting. The Clear Super View TFT gives a glossy appearance with vibrant colours and, with two florescent tubes, it's astonishingly bright (rated at 600cd/m2). It's certainly great for TV and DVD viewing, but you'll have to be careful with positioning since the surface also shows strong reflections.