Customer Reviews

Toshiba Satellite U205-S5034 12.1" Widescreen Notebook PC (Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5200, 1024 MB RAM, 100 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Drive)

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

 

 

Having already owned a 12 inch Dell 700m that was aging, and a 14 inch HP dv2000 duo core (not aging), I found this for a decent price, and was curious to see how it compared.

My first impression was that the appearance is more 'square' than the other two laptops, and that the gray closed surface is IBM-ish plain. Upon opening it up however, I immediately noticed a contrast to my Dell 700m. The keyboard is significantly bigger (how'd they do that?), but also has considerably more flex in the center.

The next impression was the brightness of the display. My Dell was on the dim side--even being a 'truebrite' model. My HP always made the Dell look dark. (Sony has always had the brightest display, as long as one foregos the cheaper 'Eco-brite' design.) But holy cow--this Toshiba display is BRIGHT! You won't miss the Sony screen--or find many others this bright! And to top this all off, they've eliminated nearly all the (typical) glare! Dislikes include the weak speakers, and the annoyingly tiny tracking pad.

The Core 2 Duo is fast. I can tell a slight improvement over the HP (Core Duo), but a huge one over the Dell (Centrino 2.0). The battery was a primary concern, and with the power management keeping the screen at its brightest, and the CPU reduced to minimal power, the Toshiba gets about 2.5-3.0 hours if you don't do a lot of gaming. The bad news--Toshiba has not yet (as of this writing) made a longer lasting battery for this model. Darn!!

So how does the Toshiba compare to my Dell and my HP? I just might now part with my Dell. I won't part with the HP! Smooooth is the word for the HP, and the larger battery lasts forever. The keyboard feel is better on both than on the Toshiba, but...oh my gosh--that superbly bright screen! Overall quality 'feel'? Toshiba is 3rd of the three. Just my take.

Other nice features that surprised me in a more positive manner than I anticipated were the fingerprint reader (works great online!), the very quiet running mode, and the 'shock absorbers' that protect the internals. I have not noticed (I guess that's good) the effectiveness of the spill-resistant keyboard. And, oh yes--the WiFi range is outstanding! Beats my other two laptops handily! (How'd they do that?)

If you need a small, fast, and really bright-screened laptop that is much cheaper than the Sony's, or the Dell XPS 1210, this just might be it. Just remember: the battery life has limitations, the keyboard is not nearly as solid feeling as Dell's and HP's (but is nicely sized), and the appearance is pretty 'square' in all respects.

I've own a number of laptops including other Toshibas and never had a problem like this.
After a week of using this laptop it started freezing up at random times. I ran scans, cleaned the registry, etc,.. no luck. Finally I took it in to service, they had it a week and then said it was software related and must be caused by a software conflict. They did a factory re-install and I was forced to loose all data.
After getting it back, I very carefully did the windows updates before installing any software of my own. Sure enough it started freezing again after window updates only.
There must be an incompatibility with some of the software loaded in this laptop and Windows update, but I'm still stuck with this problem until someone figures it out.
Anyone have a solution??
If not for this MAJOR hassle, I'd be quite happy with this laptop.

I've had my Toshiba for two years now. I have been very happy with it. It's the smallest screen size I've ever had, so that took some getting used to initially, but I can't even tell it's small anymore. As other reviews have said, it has a sharp screen, good memory, and fast processing. Best of all, it has a DVD burner. For the price at the time, I feel this was the best deal I could've gotten. I have had few problems with it, other than the power cord, which goes out on all laptops. Compared to my previous Sony Vaio which costs twice as much as this, I have had gotten way better, uninterrupted use out of this little laptop. (My Vaio was constantly in and out of the shop.) The only complaint I have about this laptop is that the battery didn't last long. It needs a new one but I'm not going to replace it. I recently installed Windows 7, which I am not happy with on this laptop as it runs slower now, so I suggest sticking with XP.

This computer is what I looked for.

1. Small
2. Powerful core duo processor
3. Light weight
4. Enough Hard drive space
5. Good price

Is perfect for travelling.