Toshiba's Radius 12: a convertible notebook with 12.5" UHD screen

Being the middle child isn't always good – just ask Jan Brady, awkwardly wedged between high school hottie Marcia (aka "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia") and cute-as-a-button Cindy.

But Toshiba's Radius 12 seeks to turn that uncomfortable middle ground into a 'just right' scenario as it slides into the laptop maker's Radius family of convertible notebooks.

If the 11.6 inch screen of the Radius 11 is on the small side for Office-style productivity apps (wide spreadsheets in particular) but the larger Radius 14 with its 14 inch panel adds too much heft to your carry-on, the Radius 12 could be just your thing.

The touchscreen is a happy medium of 12.5 inches, although it blasts out 4K 'Ultra HD' – the same super-high resolution as the latest flat-screen TV sets – for dazzling colour and clarity.

A less expensive model is available with a standard Full HD panel, but in both cases the screen sports a wide viewing angle, is tuned to high brightness for easy use outdoors and coated with scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass.

The Radius 12 is definitely travel-friendly, with a slim 15.4mm profile which tips the scales at just 1.32kg; battery life is rated at up to eight hours.

One of the three USB ports is the versatile new Type-C design first seen on the new Apple MacBook, although there are two conventional USB 3.0 jacks so you won't be forced to dig deep for cost-extra dongles.

Toshiba tags the Radius 12 as a '5-in-1', which we feel is a tad cheeky when Intel promotes the '2-in-1' concept as a notebook whose screen detaches to become a tablet (such as Toshiba's highly-regarded Portege Z20t).

Intel promotes the '2-in-1' concept as a notebook whose screen detaches to become a tablet, such as Toshiba's highly-regarded Portege Z20t – but the Radius is more a 'convertible' with a flexible hinge so that the screen can twist, tilt and pivot, but remains fixed to the keyboard.

Toshiba thus counts each of the Radius 14's Transformer-like modes towards the final tally of its 'multi-mode convertible Ultrabook.'

Speaking of Intel, the company's latest 6th Gen Core processors provide both brains and brawn, while Windows 10 comes pre-loaded to serve up features such as Cortana voice command (which gets a dedicated button on the keyboard) and 'facial authentication' for password-free but highly secure long-in.

How much does all this goodness cost? The starting price is $2,399 for the Full HD screen, Intel Core i7 powerplant and 256GB SSD; spec'd with a 4K screen and 512GB SSD, the sticker nudges north to $2,799.

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David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.