Combining an extremely compact frame with excellent battery life and more power than you might expect, the Toshiba Satellite T235-S1350RD is an excellent choice for an ultra-portable laptop. Home and business users alike will appreciate its large hard drive capacity and extra features like an integrated webcam and HDMI port.

With the majority of ultra-portable laptops, it seems as if major compromises were made to achieve portability. With the T235-S1350RD, this does not seem to be the case. Sure, its Pentium processor has less power than some machines on the market, but the lower power consumption helps deliver better battery life, and its performance is still excellent.

The 13.3″ display sports a resolution of 1366 x 768, at an aspect ratio of 16:9, which is perfect for watching television shows and movies. The display is a TruBrite TFT LED backlit display for better battery life and a brighter screen. The integrated graphics engine is capable of outputting HD video with smooth playback performance. The machine includes 4GB of DDR3 memory, which is surprising for its low price, but a welcome addition.

Also surprising is the inclusion of Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit edition. The 64-bit edition can make the best use of the 4GB of memory included in the laptop, but it is still somewhat surprising to see it included in an ultra-portable machine.

There are a few nice extras included as well. Wireless 802.11n networking is supported out of the box, as well as a webcam and microphone, perfect for Skype calls and video chat. An HDMI port is included for connecting directly to an HDTV. One aspect that may be disappointing to some users is the lack of any optical drive. The unit does not include a CD or DVD drive of any kind. This is largely to reduce unnecessary weight and power consumption, but some users will have to add an external drive.

Overall, the Toshiba T235-S1350RD makes an excellent choice for an ultra-portable laptop. Its bright display is wonderful to look at, and it has more power under the hood than one would expect for its size and price.