Power Laptop
Written: Jun 01 '01 (Updated Jun 01 '01)
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Pros: Great Screen, Great Sound, Lots of storage, all you need inside
Cons: I bought too soon, before the dvd/cdrw drive was added.
The Bottom Line: Solid performer, reliable, comfortable, plenty of software, and great music controls.
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| navmaster's Full Review: Toshiba Satellite 2805-S401 (PS280U-FQQL0H) PC Not... |
I bought this laptop at the end of last year when it was first released, if fact the salesman at Comp-Usa didn't even know the product was in his store.
I have traveled with this laptop and really like the fact that all the features are built in. You don't have to lug around an extra drive, or an ethernet card or a modem card. They are all built in. The screen resolution is fantastic and the keyboard is comfortable.
I have found that the battery life is not what is claimed, but they never are. I run this machine on A/C power most of the time anyway. You can adjust the settings in power management to allow for more battery life if required.
I think Toshiba provides a better software package than any other company. Included with the machine is Lotus Smart Suite, Windows ME (Don't believe all the horror stories, ME is fine with an OEM install, make sure you activate the go back features in ME and take snapshots). The best thing about the software package is that you get to choose and order additional software titles that you want from a large list on Toshiba's website.
For a music addict like myself, the exterior controls for the CD player and windows media player are great. You can listen to your tunes in the airport while the laptop is still in your shoulder bag (with headphones of course). I find the speakers to be good in a quiet room, but don't get carried away and believe that they are equal to external speakers. I currently have over 6 gig of tunes on this machine, no CD's to lug, and better than radio!
I was comparing this unit to the Dell 8000 laptop. I am sure that the Dell would have been a great unit, but I needed immediate delivery. This unit was available on the shelf at my local Comp-USA (they were unaware that a stock of these units was available in the back of the store however, so look on their website for the stock availability at your local store). Additionally; the price differential was a factor. The Toshiba cost over a thousand dollars less than a Dell 8000 and nearly matched the Dell in features.
My previous laptop was a Toshiba and has been very reliable, when service was required, Toshiba handled it swiftly. Buyer tip: Purchase the extended warranty protection from Toshiba, the warranty from Comp-USA is not as good of a deal. Comp-Usa will just send the machine out to Toshiba anyway and you can do that. You will save a couple of hundred dollars too! P.S. I don't advise that you purchase the "in home" service plan. It's a laptop, it would be very rare that any service company is going to authorize a service tech to come to you, when you can send the machine fedex to them faster and with less cost.
I give this product a very high rating and think that most users will be pleased with it's performance. I have recommended it to my friends and will continue to do so.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2,150
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 701-800
Screen Size: 15
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20
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Epinions.com ID:
navmaster
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Location: Clearwater Florida
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
38 Year Old Male US Merchant Marine Officer.
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