Toshiba Satellite A105-S361 15.4" Laptop (Intel Pentium M Processor 760 (Centrino), 1024 MB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Drive)

by Toshiba

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 14.2 x 10.5 x 1.4 inches ; 6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 11 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000DN84B6
• Item model number: PSAA0U-01C002
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 3, 2006

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Easily mobile at just 6 pounds, the Toshiba Satellite A105-S361 makes it easy to get your work done with a large, bright 15.4-inch screen (which is also great for watching DVD movies when you need a break). This affordable notebook PC also features a battery-sipping 2.0 GHz Pentium M 760 (Centrino) processor, an extra-large 120 GB hard drive, 1024 MB of installed RAM (2 GB maximum), dual-layer multiformat DVD drive that also burns CDs, integrated 54g wireless connectivity, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 video card with up to 128 MB of shared video RAM, both USB 2.0 and FireWire connectivity, multi-format memory card reader, and Windows XP Home edition operating system.

The Basics

• Hard Drive: A welcome size for road warriors, the 120 GB hard drive is definitely above average in size for notebook PCs--great for storing a digital medial library or graphics-intensive presentations--and faster than average at 5400 RPM. This Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive also quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data--akin to FireWire and USB 2.0.
  
• Processor: The 2.0 GHz Pentium M 760 (Centrino) processor is near the top of the speed spectrum for this processor class (October 2005). It is well equipped for office productivity software tasks, from complex spreadsheets to databases. The Pentium M processor is designed specifically for low-power mobile usage, and it features the latest in power-saving technologies--ensuring you push your battery and productivity to the max. It also has a large 2 MB L2 cache--which will help speed up your system's performance--and a 533 MHz front-side bus (FSB).
  
• Memory: The 1024 MB of built-in memory (PC4200, DDR2 SDRAM) is a good start for power users, and it offers a very fast 533 MHz speed. It has two memory slots, enabling you to add more power to handle graphics-intensive presentations and multiple open business productivity applications.
  
• CD/DVD Drive: The double-layer DVD drive is compatible with a wide range of formats, including both DVD+RW and DVD-RW discs, CD-RW discs, and dual-layer (DL) DVD+/-R discs, which can hold up to 8.5 GB of data--great for backing up your MP3 collection or your most important documents. It features the following speeds: 4x DVD+R DL, 2x DVD-R DL, 4x for both DVD+R/RW, 8x DVD-R, 2x DVD-RW, 5x DVD-RAM, and 24x/10x for CD-R/RW. It reads DVD-ROM discs at 8x and CD-ROMs at 24x.
  
• Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a standard 85-key keyboard and electro-static two-button touchpad. It also offers a launch button for the Express CD/DVD media player and control buttons (play, stop, next, previous).

Screen, Graphics and Sound
The A105-S361 has a 15.4-inch TFT screen with a widescreen 1280 x 800-pixel resolution. It also provides TruBrite technology, which makes images brighter and more vivid thanks to its anti-glare feature. Video and graphics are powered by the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900, which uses Intel Dynamic Video Memory Technology (DVMT) and provides up to 128 MB of shared video memory. It also features an integrated audio card with headphone and microphone jacks and two built-in Harman Kardon speakers.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
The A105-S361 has an integrated Intel Pro/Wireless Network Connection 2200BG LAN, which supports both 802.11b and 802.11g (54g) wireless connections in your office, home, and at Wi-Fi hotspots. You get a good offering of connectivity options, including FireWire:

• 4 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
• 1 VGA monitor port
• 1 S-Video out
• 1 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type II, PCMCIA R2.01, PC Card16, CardBus)
• 1 headphone jack, 1 microphone jack
• 5-in-1 memory card reader, compatible with Secure Digital (SD), MultiMedia (MMC), Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, and XD Picture Card

It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Gigabit Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Preloaded System and Software
This system comes with the Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 operating system with Advanced Security Technologies, which helps to reduce unwanted downloads and pop-ups while surfing the Web. It also comes preloaded with Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office OneNote 2003, McAfee AntiVirus, InterVideo WinDVD and WinDVD Creator, Sonic Solutions RecordNow.

Dimensions and Weight
This notebook measures 14.2 x 10.5 x 1.45 (WxDxH) and weighs 6 pounds.

Power
It's powered by a 6-cell rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which has a battery life of up to 3 hours (depending on usage). It has a 4-hour full charging time with the notebook off, and 12 hours with the computer active.

What's in the Box
This package contains the A105-S361 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a one-year limited hardware warranty.

Product Description

Includes: lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, & Microsoft Windows XP Home. Toshiba Satellite A105-S361 Notebook Computer - This notebook computer features impressive multimedia capabilities. The built-in Double Layer DVD SuperMulti drive gives you the ability to write to a host of different DVD formats. Double Layer +/-R are ones that can hold up to 8.5GB per disc. An ideal choice for large data backups and making your own DVD movies. You can also watch DVDs in style with the 15.4" widescreen LCD featuring TruBrite technology. In addition, you get a large 120GB hard drive, built-in support for wireless networking, and much more. Double Layer DVD SuperMulti Drive - supports 11 different formats, including Double Layer DVD-R/+R 15.4 Widescreen TruBrite LCD Native Resolution - 1280x800 Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 graphics with up to 128MB of shared memory (memory is shared with the main system's RAM) Built-in Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG 802.11b/g Wi-Fi Wireless Networking Support Built-in 56k Fax Modem Battery Life - up to 2 hr. 59 min. Ports - RGB VGA Out, S-Video Out, 1 Firewire, 4 USB 2.0, 1 Ethernet, Headphone Out, & Microphone In Unit Dimensions - 14.2 x 10.5 x 1.45 Unit Weight - 6 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Specs on this laptop, but Toshiba has lost my future business., February 21, 2006

By 

M. Seifi "isthisthingon" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toshiba Satellite A105-S361 15.4" Laptop (Intel Pentium M Processor 760 (Centrino), 1024 MB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Drive) (Personal Computers)

PROS:

_____________________

Fast and Huge Hard Drive, 120GB 5400 SATA Hard Drive

Fast 2.0 GHz Centrino CPU

1GB RAM

Under 1500 Price Tag

CONS:

_____________________

The casing on this laptop is extremely terrible, when you lay your left palm on the unit to start typing it SQEAKS, this is a design flaw, as the guy from at the store confirmed, all the units have this problem. The guy even suggested that I buy some super glue and super glue the BRAND NEW unit's case to make it stop from SQUEAKING. Oh My God! I just paid a bundle for this thing! You've got to be kidding me.

The Keyboard is really terrible. I keep missing letters, Again this is part of the cheap Chinese factory design. In writing this review i had to go back 3 times due to missed letters. It's so sad that Toshiba has tried to obviously cut costs in their casing and Keyboard costs, which makes an otherwise superior product feel and look sub par and clunky.

The battery life is short, but that is given to you in the specs. Brighter screen and crappy stock battery included is the reason for that.

Lastly, my first unit out of the box did not turn on. I called Toshiba support. They picked up on the second ring! That is a great response time. However the actual help was not all that great. The guy told me to charge the laptop for 12 hours, even though I kept telling him no lights turn on at all. I return the unit and got a new one which works fine now.

Toshiba does NOT give you a WINDOWS operating system CD. They give you a DVD with an image of the system, including over 100 software titles that slow down your computer and are mostly shareware anyway. I was furious to find this out. I was sold a Windows XP operating system without actually getting it. So you have to install the image and then uninstall all the junk. Again Toshiba should stop ripping off its customers and give them what they paid for. All other OEMs do!

The media buttons on the left are pretty much useless. They are very really hard and uncomfortable to push and are locked into loading Windows media player and you can't change them. There is no Mute button. Now that would have been good to have.

Overall if you want an economy notebook with lots of power, then buy this machine. But personally regret buying this laptop and I would not buy Toshiba again for the reasons listed above. My next notebook will most likely be a Sony. They cost more but you get what you pay for. I found out the hard way.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worst Machine, May 20, 2006

By 

Rizwan Ahmed (Buffalo,NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toshiba Satellite A105-S361 15.4" Laptop (Intel Pentium M Processor 760 (Centrino), 1024 MB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Drive) (Personal Computers)

Brand new computer had video card issues causing it to hang. CD drive sounds like a 18 Wheeler truck. I returned this headache after two days of use and bought a sony vaio , happy ever since. I will never buy a toshiba product again. So far I have used HP, Sony, Dell and toshiba laptops, and unfortunately toshibas are the worst quality laptops after dell. I am not stereo type and I know alot of people who have numerous problems with toshiba.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Toshiba A105-S361, September 28, 2006

By 

Nikhil Bhatnagar - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Toshiba Satellite A105-S361 15.4" Laptop (Intel Pentium M Processor 760 (Centrino), 1024 MB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Drive) (Personal Computers)

So I've owned this laptop for about 3 months now. Its a nice laptop for its price, with a fast processor and plenty of really fast memory. The problem: I should have waited for the Core Duo's... although this laptop is fast enough for most thing I do, it lacks when it comes to gaming. nVidia's integrated video memory is one of the drawbacks of this system. Why not ship with a separate nVidia/ATI card?

This laptop also lacks bluetooth, not a huge deal but it would be nice if it was included.

Other that those things, this laptop is a workhorse and performs most daily functions very well. There is plenty of hard drive space (once you remove all the free trials that come bundled when you buy this laptop).

It is also a beautiful laptop, with a low profile and a wiiiddde format screen (15.4"). All in all, well worth the money.