Customer Reviews

Toshiba Satellite T115-S1105 11.6-Inch LED TruBrite Black/Grey Laptop - 9 Hours 22 Minutes of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Overall the T115-S1105 notebook is very good. I love the display, the size, and weight of the notebook. The dimensions are just one inch larger than the Toshiba netbook NB205.

For the price it's a step up from a netbook. I've been debating for days between the T115 and the NB205. The NB205 is awesome, but the Windows 7 Starter and other limitations (smaller screen, DDR2 memory instead of DDR3, a/b/g/n wireless on the T115, HDMI in the T115, etc.) made me decide for the T115. For few dollars more you get a full blown mini-notebook and almost the same dimensions of a netbook (if you opt for the T115 instead of the bigger brother T135). This does not take away the merits of the NB205, and I'm still considering getting one for my wife.

PERFORMANCE: As far as performance, it seems to be fine for browsing and playing video. I was able to play 720p video without problems (haven't tried 1080p yet). I performed a PASSMARK test for this unit (CPU Intel SU2700) and I got an overall Passmark Rating of 312 (Passmark CPU Rating: 471, 3D Mark: 122, Disk Mark: 238) which is not great, but should be ok for mundane tasks. I was surprised that the performance of the HD was over 30MB/s (for read/write speed), which is due probably to a SATA II interface for the 5400 rpm MK2555GSX Toshiba HD. So, overall the performance is slightly above what you would get from an ordinary netbook.
Note also that Amazon is selling 2 models of the T115, one with a Celeron processor, and this one (the S1105) with the ultra low voltage one core SU2700 for US$ 30 more. The SU2700 unit is also supposed to last over 9 hours on battery, which puts the Celeron unit not much behind at over 8 hours..

DISPLAY: The display is very nice, it's a glossy display with 1366x768 pixels. I was worried with the size of the fonts, but the multi-touch pad makes it very easy to increase the size of the fonts when reading a document or surfing the web. One drawback: the screen opens up to 125 degrees aproximately only, so you may need to lift up the notebook a bit depending on your position if you want to have the best display angle. It seems fine so far to me.

KEYBOARD: The keyboard is also ok, not as nice as the NB205, but I got used to it, and now I can type very quickly and even enjoy it. It does feel a bit warm on your left hand when you are plugged in (same for the bottom of the unit).

NOISE LEVEL: I also like that the notebook is quite silent, this is important to me, and I wish all laptop reviewers would always comment on that. Although it has a ULV processor, the unit does have a fan, that you just slightly hear when booting up or playing video. It doesn't seem to run otherwise.

BATTERY: The battery seems to last forever. I've been able to work (on/off) quite few hours without needing to recharge it, and I still had some battery left. I also like the Eco Utility that optimizes the use of the battery. I haven't been able to prove the 9 hours plus benchmark by working unplugged for straight 9 hours, but it does seem to be true if you have the Eco Utility turned on. Additional observation: in my brief performance tests with Passmark, the Eco Utility turned on seems not to affect much the overall performance of the unit, so I will let the ECO turned on for the time being. One more thing: for some reason, I wish the power plug was on the left side of the unit as with all my other notebooks to date. The power cable plugging from the right side seems always to be in the way, but maybe is just me as I'm right handed and I don't like to see that near my mouse.

WIRELESS: excellent, rock solid so far, no problems connecting with my network and rock solid connection with very high speeds (also, abgn, which is great).

SHELL: The notebook looks great, but I got the black unit (the other colors seem not to be available yet), and you will need to get used to clean it in a daily basis as I have fingerprints all over the unit in the end of the day. I wish the white unit was available and I would have gone for that.

There are 2 drawbacks I've found so far, the buttons of the touchpad are very clunky, and the speaker volume of the unit is way too low. In order to prevent using the touchpad buttons, I have to normally use the tap feature to select, start application, etc. In regards to the volume, I attained a small improvement going to the audio settings for the Conexant Pebble audio drivers and turning on the Loudness feature (by checking the Loudness checkbox on properties). It helps, but it does not solve the problem, I hope Toshiba can do something to improve the audio via some new audio drivers (if that is even possible). Meanwhile, I will have to carry a small headset with me if I really want to hear something playing on the web or listening to music. I believe that if Toshiba had solved these 2 issues before launching this product, the T115 would be a total killer considering the price point.
You can find a review of the bigger T135 brother of this notebook at the Laptop Magazine [...] Those guys do a an excellent job, and you can maybe find a bit more as it relates to some similarities to this unit.

I'm curious what others have to say. So, I hope more people leave their reviews.

UPDATE Nov 4, 2009
I did some video playback testing (connecting with my 42 inch HDTV via HDMI) last night and was able to:
- Play 1080p video: I downloaded a 1080p trailer of Pirates of the Caribbean. It played perfectly on my HDTV screen. No problems with the sound or video. No motion interruption or stuttering. Shows that the Intel GMA GS40 works very well for HD playback.
- Play 360p and 480p video from Hulu: I was able to watch 'Modern Family' and 'The Middle' tv series in my HDTV. I had some initial issues, but then I rebooted the machine and let just the browse running. The playback wasn't perfect, but very watchable. You would notice some motion blur here and there. This is probably due to the flash nature of the video that relies less on the GMA (Graphic Media Accelerator). It seemed to improve a bit when I played just in the TV instead of both (video e notebook) by using the F5 function key.
Overall, very impressive for this little notebook!!

UPDATE Nov 13, 2009:
A couple more observations:
- I was able to solve the weak audio issue with the Conexant audio device. I just went to Device Manager, and deleted the drivers, now the sound level is very good. This work around was posted on the Toshiba forum and it's a perfect solution until Toshiba provides new and more powerfull drivers. I'm very pleased with this, because now I don't need the headsets anymore, and the volume level is very similar to my other notebooks.
- I noticed that with Eco utility turned on the notebook is very sluggish. So, I decided to use the Balanced setting instead. The battery life is still excellent, maybe not as good as with Eco on, but I didn't do any measurements. I will reserve the Eco for transcontinental flights. I also noticed, that you need to reboot the notebook for the new setting to kick in and provide a better performance (even though I had changed back to Balanced, for some reason the CPU speed wasn't being affected until rebooting).
I guess I would give the notebook 4.5 stars now!

i have a T115 and i love it. i had an ACER aspire One with the Atom N270 processor and the battery only lasted for about 3 hours. (half way from Atlanta to LAX which was unacceptable.) as i make 6+ hour flights all the time i needed something with the battery power to get it done. The T115 really meets that need. the battery lasts at least 8.5 hours each time i have used it until it was drained and the ergonomics of the 11.6" form factor are almost the same as my full sized laptop. (my ACER was the 8.9" 1024x600 screen res was trying at times...) i upgraded mine to 4 GB or ram it was straightforward and only cost $30.00. my T115 came with a copy of Windows 7 home premium installed however i was not able to use all of the ram i installed because it was 32bit so i upgraded to 64bit. the windows 7 key from the bottom of my laptop worked fine for 64bit and all of the Toshiba software that was pre-installed on the computer has 64 bit versions available on the Toshiba website. also my system has a higher windows experience score now that i am running 64bit i now get a 3.2 windows score instead of the 2.9 i had when running 32bit. all in all this will make a great new companion for me as i travel and do presentations. one gripe, the finish is super shiny and fingerprints and scratches will be a serious problem. order a neoprene sleeve for it as soon as you can. also as i travel quite a bit it would have been nice if it was a bit more rugged but at the price point it is sold at one cannot expect the laptop to be made of metal like more expensive ultralights in the category.

First the problems:
1. The pre-installed Norton Internet Security did not activate properly, and prevented any network connections. It took a couple of hours to figure that one out. I uninstalled Norton and the problem disappeared.
2. The audio driver that ships with the laptop didn't work well resulting in low volume. I deleted the driver and installed the default Windows driver which took care of that issue.
3. When I tried to run a full screen video, I got a warning that the computer was overheating and needed to be returned to the manufacturer. I called Toshiba, spent 20 minutes on the phone, received a prepaid shipping box from UPS, and am awaiting its return. Apparently the fan isn't working as it should.

In spite of issues I like this little laptop. In the limited time I've had with it I found the battery life to be as good as advertised. The keyboard is not difficult to use, and the touchpad is the largest I've had on any laptop. I've seen some complaints about the button bar. I don't use it much as I prefer to customize the touchpad, but seems to work OK. The video camera is OK, but slower than what I have seen on some netbooks. I didn't test it extensively because of the fan issue. I have checked the Toshiba forums, and the only issue reported with this laptop is the low sound volume mentioned above. So it seems my issue is just one of those things. I'm looking forward to getting it back and expecting to get several good years of service from it.

My initial impressions of Toshiba service are also good.

I love this little laptop. I had actually bought an Asus Eee PC netbook (1.6 Ghz single core processor) and it just didn't have the speed to do what I needed, so I bougth this Toshiba. I wanted something lightweight that I could take to school without weighing me down. I also needed a long battery life because many of my classes are 3 hours long. Unfortunately I also needed something with decent processing power, which the Asus netbook did not provide.

My last laptop was a Toshiba Satellite (3yrs old, running on 2.7 Ghz dual core processor and 3GB Ram) and I can't tell a speed difference between this one and my old one. While it won't be as fast as some of the bigger workhorse computers, it handles multitasking with ease and rarely any noticeable lag. This little PC is lightweight, I realisticly get about 7.5-8 hrs of battery life in the eco mode (I don't know how they get the 9.5hr rating), and it's got enough speed to handle the multitasking my graduate classes require.

I also plan to upgrade the ram, because I'm running 64bit windows and I'm a little geeky so I like the best specs possible (however it is fast enough for me as it is), and also buy an external optical drive/burner. The sound was low, but Toshiba's website has an updated driver that improves that significantly, but I still wouldn't buy this for the sound quality. The touchpad is sensitive when set at factory specifications, but you can turn off all the frills if they annoy you.

I love my new Toshiba T115, but don't ADORE it. There are just a couple of things that could be better, but all in all, I'm very happy. I have had a Toshiba 14" laptop for the last 4 years which is still going strong and has never failed me. So naturally I looked at this new model with confidence. I wanted something smaller and lighter for traveling, but my husband's 10" netbook seemed to have too many drawbacks. So the 12" size seemed that it might be perfect, and now that I've been using it for a month, I find it truly is the perfect size and weight. The reviews I read on Amazon and elsewhere were very positive and I agree with most of what was said.
1) The keyboard has a good feel, and seems full-size. The right-hand shift key has been shortened, which I thought might bother me, but doesn't seem to. My main gripe would be the dark grey printing they put on the keys for the function alternatives. Impossible to see in low light, all they do is glare, but are unreadable. O.K. in good light.
2. The touchpad has fancy attributes that ended up driving me crazy so I just turned off all the high class functions and now like it fine. However, the left click - right click bar under the touchpad is a real pain. I had read about this being a drawback in many reviews, and find it to be so true. Very poor design of one long bar instead of a left button and right button. Whoever designed it is a total dork, and Toshiba should never have let the machine go to market with it. Definitely takes away from the user's enjoyment. Totally unintuitive. I've learned to use taps on the touchpad for almost everything so I don't have to use the blasted bar.
3. Toshiba has put on a bunch of marketing nonsense software, trials, ads, games, etc. for both their company and others. Lots of stuff I didn't want, so uninstalled.
4. The wifi seems strong, and picks up signal well. Does best when the screen is facing the access point. I find a remarkable difference twirling the machine around until the signal is strongest.
I'm very satisfied when comparing it to other machines of this size, which I thoroughly checked out before buying, and would buy the T115 again.

The computer is fast, great battery life, nice screen and simple opertation. Touch pad works well, and replicates a few features found on a MAC. You can scroll with a simple rotating of your finger and scroll many pages at once. You can also expand and minimize the screen image with a simple flick of your index finger and thumb. These a neat features not easily discovered.
NOW for the difficult to operate bar below the touchpad. TO activate the left button it take a lot of pressure, the right button is even more difficult, almost border line defective. I can only think they made it hard to operate so it is not accidentally activated with the palm of your hand as you type????
I am not sure i would have done anything different, but you should go to a local shop to test the operation before you purchase.
In ALL A GREAT machine.

I am happy with it. Dropped it a few times and it's still good.
I use the HMDI port to connect to the TV for Netflix but for some movies, not even action movies, the picture looks like Charlie Chaplin movies with abrupt motion but this doesn't happen on another laptop. So i have to adjust something but i haven't.
It heats up a bit when you use up for a while but i have a remote keyboard and mouse so it's ok. It's a good size to travel. I bought it 2 years ago so newer models might be better. I don't have anti virus software so if i have a virus, i just reset it to original factory settings. Of course you lose all your valuables but in my case, i only lose the invaluables.

Great product! Got it for my wife because she had issues with her 2 year old 15" laptop (slow booting, heavy, bulky). She was willing to upgrade to a sportier/faster/smaller model and this baby fit the bill. It is FAST, the battery lasts forever (though not a huge issue with her) and it is so light and thin it is easy to travel with or to move around with. One issue led to the 4 star instead of 5 star rating. The left and right "mouse" buttons below the touchpad are very sensitive. When typing, she frequently gets "strange results" when she activates one or the other with the heal of her hand. Otherwise she really loves the machine. I have the 13.3" satellite, which is a great model to. The nice thing about her satellite is that Toshiba lost the glossy keyboard I have on mine (I dislike it only for aesthetic purposes and feel). I play WOW on my 13" and loaded it on her 11". It plays just fine. When we travel we take only her smaller laptop and I can still play my game. It should be noted that this laptop does not have an optical (CD/DVD) drive. There was no place to put it because of the thin design. In the world of multi-gigabyte thumb drives this has not proven a problem. When I needed to load a program distributed on CD to her machine, I transferred it to a thumb drive and the software loaded just fine. In fact the thumb drive loads software in about 1/4 the time as my optical drive. No need for a removable optical drive if you have access to a computer with an optical drive and USB port to transfer software/movies to a thumb drive. The price is really sweet, but having owned this machine I would choose it for its quality, features, and design alone.

I was drawn to the Toshiba NB205 due to the regular size keyboard and long battery life. I opted to get one with XP since it takes less ram than Window's 7.

I do love the battery life of this netbook!

As for that regular size keyboard, I went to a box store and could tell the differnce from other netbooks only after placing my fingers on the keyboard. It seemed the touchpad was a touch larger also.

I was however disappointed in three things:
First: the right shift key, it seems to be off just a bit. I go back and forth with a standard keyboard, and need to make a mental note as to where the right shift key is located.

Second: my right thumb seems to accidentally hit the touch pad making me go to the previous page often.

Third (and last) it is easy to hit the left or right touchpad buttons accidentally since they curve around to the front of the unit.

I was concerned about the smaller screen size for some window when surfing the net. It does take some getting used to, but the majority of sites are fine. Just have to scroll up and down more.

I have watched tv with this compter hooking it up to our HD TV could not tell the difference between this and the home computer. But mostly use it for shopping, checking email. Not running any large programs or gaming on it.

I would recommend this netbook if anyone was looking to purchase one.

I am a new user for window 7, so it was strange to get used it, very light portable it`s really cute eventhough it`s black
I haven`t tried wireledd yet.
well it`s really nice.

but you have to make sure that it is petimun3^^