Customer Ratings: 
List Price: $1,799.99
Sale Price: $1,499.99
Today's Bonus: 17% Off
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program When it comes to laptops, I'm at a point in my career when I am no longer willing to compromise in terms of performance and style. That mindset costs me a little more in terms of the purchase price of a new machine, but when I consider that I usually keep a laptop a minimum of two years, then the premium I pay for a truly state-of-the-art laptop like the Toshiba KIRAbook 13 is about $1 a day more than a model with weaker specs and FAR less style. To me, that's the definition of "affordable luxury" and given how many hours of use my laptop gets, it's well worth it.
I had an opportunity to test both KIRAbook 13 touchscreen models--the i5 and the i7--before deciding which one to go with. On paper, the differences are negligible. The KIRAbook 13 i5 has a 3rd gen Intel i5 processor and the regular version of Windows 8. The KIRAbook 13 i7 has a 3rd gen Intel i7 processor and Windows 8 Pro. If you're not hung up on processor specs, or need the few incremental features of Windows 8 Pro, then save yourself $200 and go with the quite-capable i5 model.
My testing involved a number of real-world scenarios that relied on the software tools I use on a daily basis--the Microsoft Office 2013 suite, the Adobe CS6 suite (InDesign, Illustrator, Lightroom 4, and Photoshop primarily), and various other programs that are RAM and storage hogs. I also did a lot of testing of media files like streaming video, downloaded 1080p video files, super-high-resolution graphics files, and streaming radio and music. The media tests gave me a good idea of graphics throughput and the ability of the large 256Gb SSD to perform when massive amounts of data were being written to the disk. The final set of tests were benchmark tests designed to see how well the hardware performed in real life vs. rated speeds published by the manufacturers of specific components.
I'm not a big fan of wordy, highly technical performance reviews like the ones you might find on Tom's Hardware, so here's what I learned in plain English:
Processor performance: The i7 is definitely faster in terms of the benchmark scores, but the real-world difference is negligible unless you're using industrial strength software like Photoshop or InDesign. Those programs are going to tax any processor, and you will definitely notice a meaningful speed boost when you're driving the i7 KIRAbook. For me, that kind of performance bump alone is worth the extra $200.
SSD performance: Incredible. The KIRAbook throughput is faster than any SSD-based machine I have used, and is as good as anything on the market. Boot time is awesome, as is awake from sleep (one word: instantaneous).
Graphics performance: Also incredible. The Toshiba KIRAbook has the highest resolution display of ANY Windows laptop and it is absolutely STUNNING! Anybody who works with spreadsheets or programs with tons of toolbars (like the Adobe CS6 applications) will LOVE the expansive real estate you get with that display. Watching a movie is a joy, as well, and I would offer that once you've experienced a 1080p movie on the KIRAbook display, you will absolutely hate having to watch one on any other laptop.
In terms of head-to-head testing, the machines are nearly identical in every meaningful way. The i7 is faster in certain applications, and Windows 8 Pro does have legitimate incremental value for power users and those who work in corporate environments. Aside from that, the two machines are identical twins.
For me, the real test wasn't i7 machine vs. i5 machine, it was Toshiba KIRAbook vs. the competition. I have a background in graphic design and product development, and how a machine looks and feels is as important as what's under the hood--sometimes more so. Toshiba really nailed the design of the KIRAbook. Sure, it's as light as a feather compared to most laptops AND ultrabooks, but I'm not as concerned about engineering feats as I am about what the machine feels like in my hands, and how it looks on a conference room table next to my colleagues' machines. In this regard, the KIRAbook kicked a**. No matter where I used one of these laptops, people would come up and want to see it and try it--particularly that Retina-quality touchscreen. I love it when a device I own elicits a response like that, and I can assure you that that alone is worth the extra $1 a day it will cost you to own the sexiest computing device on the market.
The Toshiba KIRAbook 13 i5 and i7 models are BOTH fantastic performers and genuine head turners. Want one? Go for it!
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Human nature being what it is, there must be lots of people out there like me: I resist change. Therefore, the night before I was to receive this laptop in the mail, I lay awake for a few hours worrying about how hard it would be to let go of the comfort of my old laptop. Obviously, I had already made the decision to upgrade, but I worried nonetheless. Would I like the touchscreen? Would my older eyes be able to deal with the smaller screen? Will the Norton security software (already installed) work with my internet connectivity problems at my home location? What about Windows 8? And, until I opened up the box and took a look at this beautiful piece of equipment, I continued to baulk. Obviously, from what I've already admitted and questioned, you can tell I'm not a computer wiz. I'm not afraid of computers and things electronic, but you could say I'm not totally aware of the most current electronic technology available and how to use it. So, if you are like me, keep on reading--I'll try to convince you that this is the laptop to buy. If you are looking for a review with a lot of technical commentary, you might want to save yourself some time and pass this one by.
Bottom line is this: I'm very glad I upgraded to this laptop. All of my fears have faded away. The more I use it, the more I love it, love it, love it. Can you see me hopping up and down in excitement, with a big grin on my face?
The touchscreen on this baby is so helpful and very easy to use. It is user-friendly and your common-sense responses will aid you. I can fly to the bottom of a page in a blink of an eye. I can move things around, and twist them. Immediately, I can enlarge the screen to see small type or a tiny item in a picture. The touchscreen is responsive and accurate. If can be used in conjunction with a mouse (And that is what I'm doing now, until I gain more confidence and experience.).
The size of the screen is not an issue because the touchscreen has the zoom feature. Because of the zoom feature, this screen size actually works better than a larger screen.
Besides the touchscreen, I also find the backlit keyboard to be immensely helpful. How did I ever do without it? If I only consider the touchscreen and back-lighted keyboard: I will never go back to my old laptop again, except to transfer files.
The sharpness and brightness of the screen is amazing. The control panel allows for even more adjusting if necessary. The clarity and the contrast seems to allow my eyes to focus on even smaller size type that on my old laptop.
The sound is rich and full; almost as good as what is produced by a pair of Bose speakers. Great for listening to music. Be aware that the speakers are on the sloped underside of the laptop, which means that it should be kept on a flat surface. It is not recommended that you use it on a bed or cushion or on you lap. If you must use it on a soft surface you should probably get yourself a riser.
A few words on the Intel i5 processor: What is the difference between i5 and i7? From what I've researched online, a "normal" user will very seldom, if ever, need to tap into the extra power the i7 provides. So far, I've not noticed any difference between the speed of the i5 and the i7. If you do a lot of sophisticated, detailed work with a lot of data, or use an intricate or elaborate software program, or if you just want to buy the best there is, you might go the extra $200 or so for the i7. (For instance, if I wanted to install a Primavera software product on a laptop, I would choose the i7. Engineers and Designers might also consider the i7 if they have thoughts about taking work home.) The i7 also allows you to connect your personal computer to your work or school network, and it runs Windows Pro (which is a $80 upgrade at this time). Otherwise this i5 model should be way more than adequate.
The graphics card is also top-of-the-line.
Last, but definitely not least, the Platinum Service and Support is TLC for a person like me--someone not quite up to speed on the latest technology. I can get quick, expert help whenever I need it. It kind of feels like having an AMEX black card...
One extra FYI: If you don't want to, or can't, part with your CDs and DVDs, you will need to purchase an external drive.
Like I said before: The more I use this laptop, the more I love it. Even in a relatively short period of time, I already feel that it is part of me. Who could ask for more? I can't.
Best Deals for Toshiba KIRAbook 13 i5 Touchscreen Laptop
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I find this ultra-portable to be excellent in overall performance, with good headset sound, adequate internal speakers, a very good display with touch capabilities, and a great keyboard, but to be a bit on the expensive side and with only average battery life.
Design:
The device is larger on the end farthest from the user, with a wedge shape that allows full sized USB and HDMI ports. The left side has the power input, two USB 3.0 ports, a charging indicator light, and the HDMI port. The right side has a single USB port, the headset port, and a slot that holds an SD card. The keyboard area has the touchpad, an illuminated power button, and a small WiFi indicator light. The front and rear have nothing at all. The bottom has dual speakers, a couple of small feet so that the dual speakers can be heard, and a cooling fan.
Setup:
The setup is very simple; Toshiba includes a small booklet, plus some cards that show how to navigate in Windows 8 with either touch or a mouse. For those with more questions, it comes with Platinum setup service that has phone assistance. The only issue I had is that the device really expects you to have WiFi to set up; this is part of Microsoft's implementation of Windows 8, where you really are expected to log in on line. That isn't a problem for home users, but for business use don't expect to be able to plug in a TCP/IP-to-USB device until after set up is complete. Toshiba highly recommends completely finishing all setup actions before installing add-ons. I used the WiFi router built into my phone.
Use:
This laptop is truly outstanding for Windows 8 computing. The touch screen is sensitive (but not too much so), and everything moves quickly and snappily. Typing is great; there is no sag to the keyboard at all, the touch indicators on the F and J keys are well done, and the keys feel nice when touch typing. Due to the extremely high resolution on a 13.3 inch screen, some of the toolbars in various programs are fairly small. Fortunately, Toshiba provides a utility that changes the size of the menu text, and that helps a lot. But on some programs (like Firefox), the toolbar icons will be small. This won't be a problem on Windows 8 applications; only desktop programs.
Battery Time:
A lot of the battery time depends on the computer settings and how it is used. For my test I used the default settings, which include just under 50% screen brightness. I made use of the computer for word processing primarily, so the screen was on pretty much continuously. In this use the battery lasts about 4.5 hours. Note that the default mode has full speed on the processor, memory, and SSD (so there are some savings available to increase time). On "eco" mode I would expect about 6 hours based on the energy savings created by that mode. Conversely, if you crank up the screen brightness and play games or videos, I would expect only about 3.5 hours. I plan to use this for business, and this level of battery is fine. It would also be sufficient for most college classes on a typical day, but one might need that charger at the library for the evening studies. It should be noted that the time estimates are not accurate (they assume about 6 hours of time on a full battery). Perhaps those estimates will get better. I'll update the review if these battery times change.
Pro:
+ Good overall performance numbers. The Windows Experience Index is 5.6 due to the graphics card. Other scores: Processor 6.9, RAM 7.4, gaming graphics 6.3, hard disk 8 (a perfect score!).
+ Cool and quiet operation.
+ Beautiful 2560 X 1440 screen. It does a great job of showing pictures and movies. The text is very crisp. I had to use the Toshiba utility to increase the text sizes in order to make the screen text readable (it is very small by default) Windows indicates the increase is 200% of normal.
+ Very snappy in MS Office 2013, using the trial version that comes ready to be activated.
+ It includes a free 2 year subscription to Norton Internet Security, Norton Anti-Theft, and 25 Gb of online storage.
+ Includes copies of Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 (photos) and Adobe Premiere Elements 11 (videos). Both are desktop applications.
+ Windows 8 software: Skype, Vimeo (video sharing), Netflix, and Huluplus.
+ Three USB 3.0 ports.
+ Brushed aluminum body beautiful and sturdy.
+ USB drives can be set to provide power when the computer is asleep (for charging phones and etc).
+ Full sized HDMI output, excellent for porting the video out to a TV.
+ The device includes a 2 year "Platinum" warranty with 24/7 technical support, set-up assistance, annual tune-up, and gloal emergency assistance. It even comes with a credit card sized warranty card.
+ Backlit keyboard for dark computing. It turns on and off with FN+Z.
+ Excellent for typing, with a good touch and an almost full sized keyboard.
+ Snappy 256 Gb SSD. The drive is excellent, and that amount of storage should suffice for most business users. The SD card slot can provide up to 128Gb more via SDXC cards. Due to the backup partitions and installed applications, there is about 185 Gb of space actually available listed by Windows.
+ Eco-mode capability, which reduces energy use by 40% or so, and can be adjusted.
+ Toshiba includes a special battery mode that will not charge the battery past 80%. This is intended to provide longer battery life, especially for those who keep the laptop connected to the power adapter a lot.
+ The webcam includes video stabilization.
+ Audio customized by harman/kardon. As noted elsewhere, it is great with headphones, but only adequate for internal speakers.
+ The touchpad emulates the Windows 8 swipe actions. For example, one can swipe in from the right of the touchpad to bring up the charms menu. It is a bit difficult to close items with the touchpad, but it is simple to do charms or the task manager. Well done.
+ The included charger is a mini brick, and the brick part itself is the smallest I've seen. This is great for storage.
Con:
The internal speakers are a bit tinny. Headset output is excellent.
There seem to be an inordinate amount of Toshiba utilities (12 programs are shown in the control panel).
The laptop comes with a program called PC Health Monitor installed it collects lots of data and sends it to Toshiba. The only way to disable it is by uninstalling. However nothing is listed by that name in the control panel "Remove Programs". At least the manual makes it clear that it is collecting lots of information. I believe this information is used to help Toshiba find better ways to improve their laptops, but it does raise some privacy issues.
One cannot make a backup media from the internal SD card slot (this may be a Windows 8 issue).
Touching the screen does not really work unless near the base of the screenthe entire display moves backwards. So swiping down is often a two handed (or wobbly) affair.
The laptop is expensive. One can find ultra portables for less money but probably not as nice in the little details of construction.
For an ultra portable device (at at this price point), a GPS module might have been useful.
The camera is only .9 megapixels. It is adequate for video conferencing and not much more.
I think they would have done better to put the speakers on the top of the device rather than underneath. They cannot be heard well except on a hard surface.
The estimated battery remaining is very optimistic. I found that if the computer went to sleep, the calculation started creeping upwards (obviously the computer adds in the time, even though the device was not awake). It seemed to settle somewhat after a few minutes, but I would not trust the estimate for accuracy. This is in line with other computers I have seen running Windows 8.
Value for the Price:
This model uses the I5 processor, which provides a balance of good speed and power consumption. There is an I7 version for an additional amount if one really needs more speed, but I found this one to be quite sufficient for my computing needs. However, in many ways the touch screen is really unnecessary. I did not find myself touching the screen (except when I first used it, for the novelty). For a device with no "tablet" mode, there really isn't much point to a touch screen. The keyboard is always present, and the touchpad is closer to the hands when typing than reaching up to use the touch screen and it is more accurate. Microsoft produced what is basically a tablet and phone operating system in Windows 8, and this ultraportable shows up the fact that touch is not really useful in a device with a full time keyboard. (I'm not attempting to criticize or review Windows 8, and Toshiba was basically forced to include this OS, but it is relevant to the decision on which laptop to buy). In my opinion, if you really want the great characteristics of this model, you would be better served by ordering the same model without the touch screen. It is hundreds of dollars cheaper and I don't think most users will find the touch screen that useful. I installed Classic Shell, which restores the start menu and bypasses the Windows 8 menus, because at this point I will be using mostly desktop applications anyway. With this sort of add on installed, it is basically the same as Windows 7 unless one pops back into the Windows 8 menus.
Summary: A beautiful screen and silky smooth computing experience. If you can afford the cost and your computing needs fit into this battery life, this is a wonderful ultra portable. But check out the non touch screen model as well before buying. Highly recommended.
Honest reviews on Toshiba KIRAbook 13 i5 Touchscreen Laptop
I have had this laptop for 2 days now.
The good is:
1) Screen is amazing.
2) Light and sturdy (no flex)
3) Great keyboard
4) Fast, even with the i5
5) Very responsive touchpad and touchscreen
The bad:
1) The wifi has no signal areas of my house where other devices (Ipad, Dell laptop, Iphone) have 3-4 bars. For example, I can watch online videos on my patio with the IPad while the Kirabook shows no connection.
Here is the response from their tech support and I quote: "This is not normal behavior for the wifi reception to behave like. I would recommend reinstalling the drivers for the wifi." I did and of course it made no difference. Hopefully this can get resolved.
2) The scaling in some programs and windows is screwed up with the high screen resolution. For example, the Adobe programs that came with the laptop have really small menus that are impossible to read for me.
Battery life is mediocre at best. I got < 4 hours out of my first 3 charges. Maybe it will improve.
3) Only HDMI port. No mini display or VGA. Need to carry adapter for all presentations.
4) Looooong charging time.
Update: I have used this laptop now for ~ 2 weeks. The battery life for normal usage is between 3.5 and 4 hours. Even with the lowest screen brightness and when just typing/Outlook 2013 I cannot get more than 4 hours. With music listening on the side, its 3 hours.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Toshiba KIRAbook 13 i5 Touchscreen Laptop
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I have a Mac Book Pro I use for programming iOS and Windows applications and an Alienware 18x I use for running all my virtual environments to program and do proof of concepts with SharePoint, BizTalk, and other server run applications. By the time I am done with my laptops and need a new one although they are still fairly high end machines, I have beaten them to near death. Those are the laptops my wife would inherit.
This time she finally got a new one. A new one that is smoking fast, light to carry, and has a touch screen. She has an iPad so she likes being able to touch the screen and have it react to her touch instead of just leaving a smudge.
She likes the Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 and Adobe Premiere Elements 11 software that came with it and is already using it to create a scrapbook of our trip to Bonaire.
She loves the start up speed and the battery life has been great.
The one and only thing she does not like is Windows 8. Like most people that have used it she finds it confusing and would like to see the scrolling start menu gone. Other than that she loves it.
All in all this is a great laptop for the price!!!
