Full featured Notebook, quality problems
Written: Mar 17 '04 (Updated Jan 24 '05)
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Pros: Full featured notebook from reliable manufacturer at great price, powerful enough to be your desktop
Cons: Lack of SD slot, no choice in using alternative OS.
The Bottom Line: Disappointed with ongoing service problem. I bought this based on Toshiba's reputation for quality, but it has not held up.
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| beagdad's Full Review: Toshiba Satellite A45-S1501 (PSA40U-0F0Q46) PC Not... |
I am editing this review after 7 months of service. I still think the computer is good overall, but I have had a major problem which has left me without the computer for nearly two months.
It appears there is a device failure on boot up, which causes the computer to freeze. Nothing short of holding the power down can unfreeze it.
When the problem first surfaced, after four months of flawless service, it was merely inconvenient. After a few weeks, the computer would only boot up intermittently, and then freeze after a couple hours of use.
Finally, it will not boot at all. I sent the computer to Toshiba, where they swapped out the hard drive and upgraded the BIOS. Upon return, the computer performed as before, so they obviously did not test it. It is back to the repair facility now. The first time it was back, admittedly during the end of the year holidays, was three weeks.
One other detail. I bought this computer directly from Toshiba. I was told there was a $100.00 rebate. I called in to their rebate center, they took all the information, and told me I would be getting a check in "three to four weeks" . I then got a notice that I did not qualify. I spent two months trying to get the rebate, and never did get it.
I bought the Toshiba Satellite A45-S150 PC Notebook after extensively checking out the competition. I work as a computer consultant, so I am familiar with most of the current offerings. This is a full featured notebook that compares well with its competition, and has an excellent price. In addition, Toshiba has been in the notebook game from the beginning, so their products are proven to be reliable.
I had checked other manufacturers, especially Dell, HP/Compaq, and Gateway. This notebook beat all of them for features and price. A comparably featured Dell cost 30% more. Although I regularly deal with Dell for my customers, I found that there was really no incentive to get a Dell, and that the "Starts At" price had very little relation to the price of the computer when speced out to be useful.
This computer has enough power to let you use it in place of a desktop. You can easily read the specs, but the combination of a Pentium 4 2.4M, 512Mb RAM, 60 Gb HDD, and built in wireless with MS XP Pro makes it a very viable machine if you plan to use this as your main computer. At $1429.00, and then $100.00 rebate, it was a great deal.
The screen is bright, and I find that a 15 inch screen gives an edge over 14" screens, especially when you must look at it all day. The keyboard is well laid out and functional, and has excellent feel.
The computer comes with and Atheros AR5001X wireless NIC, which works flawlessly with our Linksys Wireless Access Points. The Atheros is 802.11G, our Linksys equipment is 802.11B, but they work well together.
A few things have been disappointing:
The biggest disappointment was that the original spec called for the A45-S1501 to have an SD slot, which it does not have. I use this computer to load maps for my GPS, so I must lug around a card reader to load the maps.
Toshiba makes it very clear that you must buy a Microsoft operating system, and that you have no choice in the matter. I have been using Linux (Red Hat) servers and workstations, and was thinking of using this laptop as one of them. Seems like there is a Microsoft tax if you want to buy a Toshiba. The same is true, so far as I know, of the other manufacturers cited.
The speakers are Toshiba's SRS Surround titanium speakers, which have excellent sound, but are still not the quality of good desktop speakers.
To sum up: a full featured notebook at a great price
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 1429.00
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
beagdad
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Reviews written: 7
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