Customer Reviews

Toshiba Satellite A305-S6908 15.4-Inch Laptop

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have a very similar model (A305-S6898) of this laptop for just under two months and I love it! I purchased mine at Best Buy on sale for $100.00 more (was normally $879.00) and would jump for it again at the same price. At $679.00 I don't see how you could go wrong. It has handled everything I have thrown at it (though for up to the minute high intensity 3D games I imagine it would get fairly hot and not keep up with a $4000.00 powerhouse - see video comment below).

Pros: Beautifully designed; sturdy; no flimsiness of the screen or keyboard; much better speakers than most laptops (though if you really love music I would still use high quality external speakers); multitasks with no problem; a very crisp, bright display with no glare; the Draft-N Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) picks up my network anywhere in the house - plus my next door neighbor's network and a house two houses down the street, though at low quality. The computer speaks quality of design like many Toshiba computers.

I cannot really talk about video fairly as my laptop has an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 video card, not the Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated chip. With 1750 MB total available memory in the integrated chip, I doubt you would see much difference. I also don't use the built-in webcam or mic for voice & video calling, again no comment.

Cons: Like everyone says in reviews of this laptop - that smooth, high-gloss, sleek surface picks up fingerprints when you just walk by. It does not bother me much and I kind of like rubbing it down with the enclosed jeweler's cloth. Not much different than polishing your first new car, but some people will go crazy over the prints.

The one thing that does bother me is the up/down (right-side edge) - left/right (bottom edge) scrolling feature of the touch pad. I invariably touch these edges by accident and find my web page or word document has scrolled five pages down and across. Though probably not a feature of just this laptop, this is my first encounter with this feature and I have not yet found a way to shut it off.

I don't find that the unit gets hot at all. Really it stays fairly cool except in one area - the touch-pad. That area seems to collect a fair amount of heat. You can always us a mouse if it bothers you. Unlike the other review, my in-line charger gets warm, but not hot.

All that said, this is overall a desktop replacement unit. It is well built and slightly heavy. An hour directly on my lap does begin to become uncomfortable. Like said before, it sucks juice. But I really don't carry it many places without the charger, so for me it is not much of an issue. I love this laptop.

A word of warning, not about the machine, but Windows 64-bit version of Vista Home Premium. The 64-bit is for better performance and to use all of that 4 GB RAM. Nice. But 64-bit does not always play nice with 32-bit programs (right now about 85% to 90% of the programs out there). The 64-bit version will become more popular as time goes on (like the old 16-bit going to 32-bit), but right now only a few firewalls, anti-virus and other select programs can handle 64-bit. If you know what to do, you can sometimes coax some 32-bit programs to work and some work fine anyway, but beware just transferring your current programs from your 32-bit computer to this one. You will probably need a few extra dollars for newer versions or different programs.

It's really a great laptop for the deal. It's amazing gorgeous, very good performance for applications like music, HD movies and much more. Of course that the HD movies will be play at 720p Resolution.
Overall an Eye candy laptop.
So, a general overview part by part:
- Keyboard:
The keyboard of the laptop is very soft, nice type on the keys, very comfortable only the madness of the fingerprints.
- Screen & Video :
Can't be better, the bright of the screen is just amazing, clear text and clear movies. For games, can perform well if the game doesn't require too much power; remember is an integrated graphic card but it can be manage to use the memory. (Actually a cons if you will use it for gaming)
- Hard Disk:
Decent space for an all day use laptop, 250 GB will be enough, of course you better get an external drive for back up and data like movies... 5400 RPM must be good but 7200 will be better(Don't forget the price)
- Memory:
WOW... 4 GB PC-6400 means, 800 MHZ, it will move FAST.
- Operative System:
Windows Vista 64 bits to can use the full 4 GB of memory...

- USB Port and other Ports:
With this laptop you will have 3 usb ports 2.0 and an external e-Sata port... Wonderful, it doubles the speed of an usb 2.0.

- Processor:
It blast the performance with the intel core 2 duo T6400 running at 2.0 GHZ, very fast for the task in this days.

- Webcam:
1.3 Mpixel of a web cam will be very good for chatting and video conference.

- Real cons:
Like I said before like 100 times, is a finger print madness. No Bluetooth and no dedicated graphic.
If you can survive without those, it will be an Amazing Laptop...

I have only had this computer for about a week. I love it so far. I had ordered a dell laptop, pretty comparable & am sending that laptop back. As for the Toshiba Satellite, I was tickled right upon taking it out of the box. It is a beautiful laptop. Shiny & when the unit powers up.It's sweet! I have used it for a week. So far so good. The biggest complaint is the battery life is horrid. I have to plug it up constantly to use it. I have an upcoming trip. Not sure how i am going to use the gas guzzler on the 10hr flight. Yet, I still love it. The keyboard is ergonomically comfortable. Oh yeah, because the unit is so shiny & polished. Fingerprints are a huge issue. CSI could lift a ton of prints off of this thing. I find my self polishing it now. but again I really like the product, especially for the price point. I got it on the prime & it came just a few days later. Again, I am really tickled about the quality of the product for the pricepoint. As for the unit getting got. It really doesn't. it gets warm. i find the plug in charger gets really hot. My husband dropped the charger after picking it up & being shocked to see how hot it was. The speakers are pretty decent. The screen is nice & bright. I have a feeling that is what sucks so much juice. I have to figure out how to turn it down. Aside from that this unit is good stuff.

This is my 4th Satellite in the past 15 years. I bought this one to replace a Vaio that died.

What's to say about various brands of laptops now? It runs Vista well, the speakers sound terrific considering their size. The shiny finish is awful, and the keys are also shiny, causing constant reflection. Those of us in office work know better about reflective surfaces and eye strain. The wide screen is nice, though much more 'directional' than my '06 Sony was. The USB ports on the sides are maddening--get in the way constantly.

I plan to use this one for another year or two, but honestly can't think of a single feature that makes it stand out from the field. I bought it because it was on clearance at the right price. Plus, on my past Toshiba laptops, their customer support was superb. Haven't needed it in the month I've had this one.

My husband and I searched for a couple of months for a reasonably priced computer that would meet all of our needs. After reading so many reviews and asking around at the Geek Squad and other sources. We decided this computer would be best, and so far, it is. I highly recommend this computer and if you need any more information, I would go talk to someone who repairs computers (like the Geek Squad) and ask them which computers they don't see in very often, and they will most likely mention the Toshiba Satellite. Of all the computers out there like gateway and Hp have high incident of losing keys and being easily broken. So, after factoring together internal ability with durability, we chose the Toshiba and we are very happy with our choice.

I manage several rental properties and needed computing on the go. We always try to get the most features for the price and this laptop seemed to meet our needs.

We thought vista would be slow or problematic but was happy to find that the laptop performs well. All of our programs loaded without any issues.

One of the nicest things about this laptop is that is look's beautiful. Whenever I pull it out of it's bag, people are really impressed with it. This probably won't matter to most people but for an in-person professional, it really helps the image. :-)

I bought this laptop recently. First thing I noticed is that it is a polished shiny surface, not brushed like most laptops. Please be ready to have smudges and fingerprints all over this machine.

Also, like a fool, I was confused into thinking the i.Link 4-pin FireWire port was a 6-pin FireWire port when reading the description of the laptop. So, my TB external drive will have to use one of the 4 USB ports instead of a 6-pin FireWire port.

Additionally, there are no ports of any kind on the back, they are all located on the left and right side of the laptop. Just a head's up if you plan on using them all, wires will be spilling out on the sides.

Runs on one of the millions versions of Vista, but I haven't had any trouble. Its a good machine for the everyday personal use I will get out of it.

I am pretty picky when it comes to making a big purchase and I like to shop around for the best deal to get a great product w/good features at the right price. I did a lot of comparison shopping between brands and stores. This had more ram/memory than the ones in the store w/better features at a cheaper price. I have a friend who worked for Gateway for about 20 years and this is what he suggested to buy. Another of my friends purchased a Toshiba satellite about 6 months ago and she loves hers as well. She bought the one with the "pretty" swirl on the front so she paid almost $300 more than me. It is easy to use and has great graphics. I really like the way the keys are set up. My one and only complaint at this point would be how easy it is to get finger prints all over it. (Which I knew about that from reading other people's reviews.)
But glad I chose this laptop.

After comparing this Toshiba with other brands with exact specs I came to the conslusion that this was the best value-for-money laptop available on the market. Other top rated brands with the exact specs cost at least $200 - $300 more.

Some of my thoughts so far after 1 week of purchasing are:

Pros:

- Best value for money - a Dell or HP with the same configuration will cost approx. $800 - $900
- Fast and reliable - the computer is fast, with very little disruptions
- Vista Premium runs smoothly - I haven't experienced any of the issues reported by other users of Vista Premium
- Fast wireless - the wireless connection is very good; I am dowloading music and surfing the net without any issues
- Nice finish - the glossy 'fusion finish' is very sleek and attractive; gives the laptop a high-end, classy look
- Nice speakers - not very loud...but better than most others I have come across
- Toshiba software - Toshiba has loaded some useful software programs like their CD making, multimedia player and other useful, low-space/memory utility applications which are nice alternatives to the mainstream applications

Downside:

- Finger prints - as pointed-out by mort reviewers the fingerprints can really mess-up the unit; but after a few days I got over this
- Face Recognition - it just doesn't work; I took 2 days to finally register my face and then when trying to log-on it does not receognize my face; typing-in your password is way much simpler and faster - useless feature if you ask me; more of a marketing feature to push you over the edge in making a decision to buy the product
- Webcam - very poor quality camera; you need to be in an extremely well-lit environment to properly see yourself on the cam


My overall rating:

For the price, computing power and suave looks I give the Toshiba A305-s6908 a 8.5 out of 10. Good for persons looking for an everyday use laptop for basic functionality. I can see why it is the #1 seller on Amazon. I have no regrets purchasing so far.

I am in Iraq and needed a laptop this one was a good price and has everything i wanted, i can talk to my wife and with the built in webcam it is very clear unlike webcams that plug in.