Very good quality machine
Written: Apr 08 '05
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Pros: Nice looking case, nice port covers, very solid, nicest keyboard ever, volume control dial.
Cons: No DVD drive, only 1 USB port, no LAN port.
The Bottom Line: This is a very good machine, generally speaking: good speed for most operations, strong case, nice keyboard; I definitely recommend it over other brands.
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| milesfarmer's Full Review: Toshiba Tecra 550CDT PC Notebook |
I owned a Tecra 550 for a while, and I just liked it so much, I wanted to share my experience with you guys.
When I got my laptop, it came with only 64MB of RAM. It worked fine like that, but we decided we would put some more memory in it, so we did. I ended up with 160MB of RAM, which improved its performance quite a bit.
As I read in the other review, the 12" LCD screen is gorgeous, with sharp colors and big enough for daily needs.
The keyboard is the most comfortable one I've ever used, better than any laptop or external keyboard. It's a full sized keyboard, so you don't have to shrink your fingers, or adapt them to new key positions.
For what I know, the Tecra line of the Toshiba family is one of the highest quality this company (or any other one)makes. It has good quality materials (hard plastic case), and is a solid machine generally speaking. It won't brake down without a good reason to do so.
One thing I loved about this laptop was the fact that it has covers for nearly all the ports (serial, parallel, USB, etc), so dust can't easily get in there. They are like, plastic doors, but it's not toasted plastic, so they don't brake easily.
The Tecra 550 model has two fold-down legs to keep the back part higher than the front one. This is to help keep the computer cool (of course it has a very effective fan too).
One thing that made me change my laptop was the lack of a DVD drive, but that's a personal preference that you may not mind about. Another thing is that it has only 1 USB port, but that can be fixed with a port replicator. You can get up to 4 USB ports that way.
Regarding the LAN port, it doesn't have one, so if you want your 550 to be part of a network, you have to get a network adaptor, which is a PC Card (has room for two of them).
Well, I guess I have pretty much described the Tecra 550 now. Whether or not this laptop is convenient for you depends on what your needs for a laptop are. If you want DVD playback, wireless internet connection and other fancy features, then you need some more modern equipment. But if you need a laptop for email, text editing, music listening and basic needs, with moderate speed and compact size and great stability, this is the one to get! Good luck!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): about 500
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Don''t Know
Processor speed: 201-300
Screen Size: 12 inches
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: CD-ROM
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Epinions.com ID:
milesfarmer
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Reviews written: 3
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