Customer Reviews

Toshiba Satellite M305-S4920 14.1-Inch Laptop

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

 

 

Like Toshiba laptops generally, they are realtively strong,and this model is rather powerful for the money. The glossy finish makes it an ad for fingerprints, smudges, dust -- every little thing shows ups - What on earth were the designers thinking when they came up with a high gloss finish("We'll make every surface high gloss, the cover glossy, the case glossy, even the keys! It will be beautiful!" "Uh, ever heard of fingerprints?")

As laptops go, the Toshiba Sattelite's tend to be reliable and reasonably rugged.

The set up is easy and the Toshiba software for, for example, software updating, is easy to use. You do need to go to the toshiba website and look for the BIOS update and download and run that but it's easy to do although most novices will probably avoid those steps.

Like many Toshibas, battery life is poor at best, only about 45 min to 1.5 hours, depending on hw much you use the hdrive, dvd and how bright the screen is, etc. The advertised battery life seems to assume you don't use the hdrive much, nor the dvd and keep the screen dim. Still, one would be hard pressed to get the advertised battery life.

So these notebooks are good if you need a PC you can move from place to place. But if you want one to use whihle on the move (without being plugged in for several hours) then you might want to check out notebooks designed favoring battery liffe over performance. OR you can fine tune the Power Control on this machine, dimmer screen, turning off hdisk sooner, going into hibernation instead of sleep, etc. The Toshiba software, which youcan access through the Windows Control Panel gives you considerable flexibility adjusting advanced power control options. The stock options, even the so-called "balanced" mode won't favor battery life longer than an about an hour.

After two years the hinges broke loose from the top, so I had to replace the cover, lcd bezel, and the hinges. If I had not done the work myself, the repair cost would have been too high to be worthwhile. Once I opened the machine and saw how the hinges are attached tothe cover, I was surprised that they hadn't broken loose sooner -- only two screws hold each hinge to the cover and these thread into brass inserts embedded in the plastic cover. It's these brass inserts that pull out of hte plastic under the stress of opening and closing the cover. The use of an additional screw on each hinge (offset rather than in-line with the others, would have greatly increase the durability of the attachment. ON the base side, the hinges are mounted with three screws per hinge and in in offset layout -- So Toshiba got if halfway right or halfway screwed, you decide.

This is a copy of an email sent 05/27/2009, no response from amazon to date.
Recently received this item, Issues are as follows:
1. Battery is speced as the 7200 mAH, which is a 9 cell LI, recieved the 6 cell battery with toshiba part # PA3634U-1BRS, which is a 4200 mAH.
"Power
It comes with a 7200 mAH lithium-ion battery pack for extra-long battery life. "

2. Spec sheet shows a 56K modem port v.90, No modem port is on this computer.

" * 4 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players (including 1 eSATA/USB combo port)
* 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
* 1 ExpressCard 54/34 slot
* Video out: VGA
* 1 headphone jack (with SPDIF digital output for 5.1-channel surround sound)
* 1 microphone jack
* RJ-45 port for 10/100 Ethernet connection
* 56K modem port (V.90)
* 5-in-1 memory card reader (Secure Digital, MultiMedia, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, xD Picture Card) "

3. Also there is only 3 USB ports, not 4 as speced.

I had to purchase a modem for $79.00 locally as I needed to connect to conduct my business, while I was unhappy with this omission, I generally liked the computer. When I went to connect the modem (USB type) I found there were only 3 USB ports. Now, I am starting to get pissed, you know, but decided that I really liked the computer and still did not complain, and purchased a USB hub, cheap enough. I thought I was good to go, then the battery issue came up. There is a major difference between the two batteries as far as power is concerned. Ok, strikes one, two, and now three. I had thought that buying this from Amazon directly, and not one of the amazon vendors I would not have this kind of problems, I was wrong. I understand you can't add a modem port to the computer, I understand you can't add the forth USB port to the computer, but you sure as hell can supply the correct battery or credit the cost of the battery (from Toshiba $149.00) Please respond as soon as possible, I have purchased a lot of items from Amazon and have had zero problems to this point. I am not spending any more money to bring this machine up to the specs I was supposed to get to begin with. Be advised a copy of this email will be posted and your actions to correct also. Sincerely L C Brooke

06/08/2009 addition:

Posted previous about issues with this item. Amazon appears to be addressing the faulty spec sheet, via their suspension of sales of this item. They also made good on my complaints and corrected all issues. While I am concerned that this problem occured, I am very impressed with their interest and desire to correct this problem. Sometimes the value of a company is not evident when all goes well, but when a problem arises and how they deal with it. The only possible complaint is the customer service folks tend to speak a little too fast for my old ears. At a time when a lot of companies are cutting back on customer service, Amazon stands strong. For all the people that assisted me in resolution of this issue a big thank you and great job. L C Brooke

The glossy finish its a magnet for fingerprints! everything its glossy even the keyboard (a real issue)i really hate it! im thinking to replace it.

Everything else its Ok! Very fast laptop!

This little laptop is not only the best in its price range, but it blows away many larger and more expensive computers. If you have children in College - it is your best bet. Light, portable, and fast with just about all the bells and whistles you could want.

i bought this laptop from my son for $300 and an old hp nc6000! this laptop is fast enough and looks pretty cool, but it is sub par in quality compared to hp and asus products! the keyboard feels flimsy and i think my o key is coming loose already? and the CPU runs at 55-58 degrees Celsius all the time at idle! i haven't tried any games on it cuz i don't dare with it running that hot! real temp says the thermal status is ok? but none of my other laptops have ever gotten this hot? not even my gaming laptop? i have the same problem with a toshiba tecra 9100 i got that one runs for about 15 minutes and then locks up! this one has not locked up yet? toshiba really needs to work on their fans and cooling systems! a plus is that it is really portable and has better than average speakers for a laptop! for what i have into it! it is ok but i would never buy a new one!

I purchased the Toshiba M305. Started flickering on the screen then would go dark. Got worse. Sent it back. Started getting flickering again and Hard drive trouble, sent it back two more times. Tried to have it replaced on the 4th time. Told me the warranty was up, tough luck and have a nice day. No customer support, no good techs, no good product.

I was very excited to get this laptop since I read so many good reviews on it. Maybe I just got a lemon, but for some reason this laptop will not turn off (it just reboots itself). I took it to Best Buy and no help. Today it crashed 6x straight (the screen just froze) and the toshiba tech support told me to do a system restore so hopefully that will take care of the problem. I have only had this computer for less than 4 months. Aside from these two problems it's an okay laptop.

Also, as others have said, the fusion finish is nice but it gets dirty very easily. The fingerprints that it leaves on your keyboard are unsightly (I had to get the toshiba keyboard cover for this which is very effective at keeping away dust and fingerprints but it was another $20 I had to spend).

The battery life is quite good but the laptop is a bit on the heavy side (could be a little thinner if you ask me).

If I could go back in time I would have chosen a different laptop.

I bought this laptop a little over 2 months ago and it has been nothing short of
being an exceptional laptop. It is very quick and very quite when operating. I have
never had an issue when it comes to overheating. The fan rarely comes on, even when I
am playing games, uploading video or pictures. Best purchase I have ever made when it
comes to laptops, handsdown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I purchased one of these and it worked well until I went to move it on a table. With slight pressure, the LCD screen broke under my thumb and Toshiba wanted over $400 for repairs. Their customer service is horrible and so far I've spent 8 hours on the phone talking to different people to no avail.
This was my third Toshiba and I've owned several other laptops and have turned them in the same manner. Please do your research about Toshiba laptop issues before making a purchase!

So I've been working with the M305 for the past three months since my former laptop became a 5 lb paperweight. Overall, the machine runs great. When I first booted up and loaded MS Office, it loaded Excel in under a second. It's a little slower now that it actually has some bloat, but still pretty quick and would make the old Dell ashamed.

But to the title of this review, why the fusion finish?!? It looks great when polished up and under bright lights in a store, so if you're not planning on using it at all go for it. Once you touch it, every fingerprint and dust particle shows up crystal clear. Now the keyboard just permanently feels greasy and the finish looks disgusting even though I clean it every week or so. To add insult to injury, the soft touch buttons near the screen load a built in media player whenever you try to wipe that area down.

Overall, Toshiba did a wonderful job of ruining a good thing. I'd pass on this and find another machine with similar specs but without the disgusting finish.