Customer Reviews

Toshiba Portege R205-S209 12.1" Laptop (Intel Pentium M Processor 753, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW Combo Drive)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

To start with, I was thrilled to try this new computer out (got it at work, so thankfully i didn't spend a dime of my money on it). To begin with, the battery life is abysmal. It begins operating at 1/2 power within a half hour and then after about an hour of looking at the rapidly dimming screen, it's pretty much lights out. Lets just say, this can be frustrating when trying to finish a report or some other project on the road.

The computer does look good and when I first got it, was taken aback by how light and sleek it looks. however, the look is overshadowed by the performance.

My newest problems began when i began copying songs from CDs for my ipod. After awhile, the computer mysteriously began shutting down - and after troublshooting for awhile I discovered the only way to get it to reboot was to remove the battery pack and then put it back on (??) After going through all that, I discovered the USB ports no longer work. I went to the device driver (where the computer is supposed to detect parts that aren't working to reset them) and of course, the computer kept telling me that all devices were fine. Meanwhile, i was getting little warnings telling me that the USB ports were not working.

I'm a pretty advanced computer user and have used a dozen or so different computers over the past 12 or so years, and I have to say, this is one of the worst. When I get back to work, I'll see if they have any suggestions, but for now, I'm not even going to take it out of the bag. Too many problems for this new of a computer.

I don't understand all of the negatives here. I have used mine all day everyday and it has worked fine. It is so sleek and cute that you can comfortably carry it around with you. It plays DVDs fine and the battery used to last 4 hours (It's now down to one hour) Great for wireless web surfing and as a travel computer.

If you want portable, this is it! Most other (standard) laptops are huge monsters weighing twice what this one weighs. Even the power brick is much smaller and lighter than most others ... I refuse to carry anything heavier, and it also looks good! It also compares favorably in design and size to the very best ultra-portable laptops available today.

The keyboard has a good typing layout IMHO, and excellent tactile feel. The supplied USB CDRW/DVD is small and compact. Using a bluetooth mouse means keeping both USB ports free for other uses if necessary. Operation is very quiet in general, although the fan does occasionally become noisier when extra cooling is required. The fingerprint reader is addictive, enabling Windows logon as well as website passwords and login IDs to be memorized. There are a few other nice touches such as the touchpad quick launch feature (quicker access to certain features without returning to the desktop and/or Start menu), the wireless "mapping" utility (for identifying available wireless networks, including bluetooth devices), and movement detection (which causes the hard drive heads to be "parked" in a safe location to avoid accidental damage).

The screen is adequate, without being anything to get excited about (no improvement from a previous Portégé bought way back in 2002). Standard office applications and Internet browsing work well IMO, although I did add an extra memory module just to be safe. My previous Portégé laptops have been extremely reliable, over periods of more than 5 years of intensive use.

In fact, my only major complaint is that, since I like to travel without the battery, to eliminate extra weight, this design does not allow the machine to be used normally without the battery in place: Two of the three feet under the front palm rest are actually on the battery itself, so removing it leaves the front area in mid air, and unstable for normal use.

Still, very highly recommended as a travel laptop. Perhaps not a good power user's desktop replacement, but definitely sufficient IMHO for normal usage that includes office applications, e-Mail and Internet. It does what I expected it to, and does it with excellence, style and true ultra-portability, not just movability.

Toshiba Portege R205-S209 12.1" Laptop (Intel Pentium M Processor 753, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW ComboDrive)

I had this laptop for over 4 months and I used to have is twin, the 205-S2062 (that was stolen after 1 year and a half of great work).
I carry it everywhere. it is soooo light and thin. Works fine, not incredibly fast, but excellent for basic computing/wireless/internet. I use it for work and I do Powerpoint presentations all the time.
This model comes with and external DVD- CDRW, very light and small, that you will use only to install applications (who ever uses the Cd rom?).
I bought a 1gb Ram for about 30$ and now it is 1.25GB ram and very fast.
Excellent!

This laptop is the slowest I have ever had, and my older pc with half the components run circles around this over priced version. Every software program I have (all MS Office, Outlook, IE, Adobe, etc.) runs extremely slow. The battery life is a joke. Forget using it for Music or Video. The only positive is the slim design, light weight, and screen brightness. If you do not install anything on here, and just use the factory programs, then it will probably work for you. However, in my experience everything runs extremely slow and frequently locks up and crashes. Frustrating and extremely disatisfied with this purchase.

I will avoid Toshiba at all costs the next time around.

not worthy purchasing it with that high price....we can get good configurations for that price with more features