With the Dynabook SX, Toshiba takes an utterly conventional approach to a category of notebooks that is entrusted with defying convention.

The Dynabook SX is a textbook case of beauty being more than skin deep. It is an ultralight that is excellent at first glance but suffers upon detailed inspection. Once you get over the flashy exterior and diminutive size, the poor battery performance, annoyingly hard to push trackpad buttons, and a generally hollow-feeling shell might make you wish they kept this product in Japan.

While Dynamism has come through again in preparing a hot Japanese notebook for U.S. consumers, Toshiba made an average notebook barely worth the effort.