Customer Reviews

Toshiba Satellite U505-S2010 TruBrite 13.3-Inch Laptop (Black/Brown)

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

 

 

I also have an HP DV4t, half a dozen older Toshiba, Sony and HP notebooks, and a whole gaggle of netbooks. So I'm kind of addicted to cool portable hardware.

Among the myriad laptops & netbooks I've owned and used, this one is not the best, but certainly above-average.

Stylish, Core i3 is quick, memory & HDD are roomy. The screen is bright, color saturation is good but mildly washed out relative to the better panels out there. The 8" 1600x900 panel on Sony Vaio P-series is the worst color I've ever seen; this one is above average, just not the best. Beware that this unit (Amazon's, specifically) does not come with a backlit keyboard, which is part of the standard U505-S2005 build spec on Toshiba's website. I bought & installed the backlit keyboard separately, but it cost another $60. So actually this isn't a great deal, it's a cut-rate edition for a cut-rate price. If the backlit keyboard, bluetooth and slot-loading DVD don't really matter to you, then save yourself maybe $150 and snag one of these. Overall it's a very stylish case wrapped around some respectable hardware. However, if you don't care about the relatively compact 13" LCD or the fashionable presentation of the dark brown case, you might be just as well served with a standard 15.4" unit from HP or Acer, with similar hardware, for a couple hundred bucks less. That's true of any laptop that charges a premium for its design.

If you do care about the style and compactness, U505 is a great option.

I bought the U505-2008 model. Seems to be similar to the one described. I love it. Have it had it for about a month. The only negative is the short battery life, but when you look at the lightweight portables with longer battery life (e.g., HP, Dell), their batteries are twice as heavy. I wanted a lightweight laptop above the netbook size for everyday use that was fast. This is it. The screen is bright, it is fast, easy to set up, 500 GB HD, 4MB, i3 intel core. Is it perfect? No, but for the price and the features, as well as the weight, I couldn't find much better. Also, Toshiba has reputation for being durable. I took it on a recent trip to Spain, used local outlets, had no problems with it, works like a dream, especially compared to the clunky Dell Latitude I was using before.

Toshiba has done a really good job with this laptop, its fast, the screen is very good in its clarity, wireless its excellent, I get good reception, where my wife laptop does not( diff brand). I've yet to encounter any problems, but I've not had it for long so we'll see. For now good.

I needed a smaller, fast laptop for many reasons to include practical airplane use and general portability. The 15"+ inch size is no longer usable given the seating squeeze on airplanes. I shopped the 13" i5 processor touchscreens (HP, Toshiba, Fujitsu, etc). I thought the HP was `dull' except for the flip display (on more thought, the pivot mechanism looked like a fragile link and to easy to break), Fujitsu was the best but $500 premium was excessive (apparently it's the last laptop built in Japan rather than China). This Toshiba was about right. There are many tradeoffs to consider.

Toshiba good:
I use the touch screen as a mobile cognitive `whiteboard' for sketching and retaining client discussion. Don't waste $ if you don't need a touchscreen. The touchscreen overlay does reduce image quality.

DDR memory is easily user expanded (unusual for a laptop)

Win score is 4.7 out of the box ... far more than I'd think a typical user would need. Expanding memory should push it >5.0. Beyond that, you'd need a zippy video card.

The unit runs on about 25w in battery mode ... won't set your pants on fire.

The optical drive is internal ... no flimsy tray to slide out and take space, just a slot ... excellent! No other 13.3" has this feature that I looked at.

Toshiba has done the best industrial design job ... it has the best look and feel among the units I was looking at

Up for debate:
2 reviewers have problems with the "flimsy" keyboard and I had a similar first take. I would now couch this element a user preference. Personally, the design parameter, cushioned keyboard works better for my typing style after I've had some time on it. I now prefer it over the ridged keyboards. The Toshiba keyboard is a design element and not a flaw or cheapening. As a 'buyer beware' among the smaller format laptops, keyboard compatibility with the user should be the #1 user consideration. You really need to try before you buy. The Toshiba keyboard does not double and triple up key functions to compensate for the smaller space as others are trying. There is no keyboard 'standardization" in this smaller format. Every manufacturer has a different keyboard configuration.

Don't likes:
The `laptops for idiots' bloatware overhead has to go as soon as you're comfortable. This is not unique to Toshiba. There are 40-50 unnecessary overhead programs that slow startup significantly. They are easily disabled to speed the startup cycle.

Battery life is unusually short at less then 3 hours in full operation. The i5 power wattage consumption vs battery tradeoff should be considered. I've been adjusting power schemes with not much success. For trans con flites you may want to carry an extra pack.

Unexpected delight! = Backlighted keyboard means no ambient light required to work in the dark. I've never seen this attribute before.

I'm 5 star happy ... the price is fluctuating up and down between $400-500. A buyer needs to watch the pricing.

I have used a Toshiba Portege M300. Very happy with it. Now i got this Satellite U505 S2010 touch screen. Its PERFECT!!! Its not dim as the other reviews stated, just right! Everything works out fine. No critical complaints! Only if you like to play games the video card could have been better as the other 13.3 inch toshiba then you'll have to give up the touch screen. Would recomend this laptop. Value for your money too!!!

Excellent performance. Very stable and steady. NOt hesitating also as fast as I wanted it.

I bought this laptop nearly 6 months ago. It's been great. The battery lasts about 3 hours - while I surf the internet and watch streaming video, or play games. The touch screen works well, though it could stand to be a little more precise. I use it for scrolling.

My only complaint is with Toshiba's bloatware. Their dvd program interferes with Windows Media Player, causing it to freeze. I had issues with sound when I hooked this up to my tv and it was Toshiba's speaker program interfering with my tv's built in speakers.

It feels nice and light, although it is a little thicker than I expected.

This computer seems great on paper. Great memory, storage, processing power, touch screen, all the nice bells and whistles that a $1,000 laptop should have. And it's nice for the first couple months. Then, when it starts to have problems, you try to make excuses for it even though you're just enabling it to be a bad computer. Sometimes when I open it up the OS doesn't boot. The slot-loading DVD burner doest load anymore. Sent the laptop in for the first problem, they reset everything to factory settings, and it does the same thing. I did it again myself, and it still doesn't work properly. This time when I send it in they're replacing the hard drive completely (and hopefully he DVD drive). I hopre for Toshiba's sake that I got a lemon, because honestly this computer isn't worth it.

Pros:
Touch screen gimmick
back-lit keyboard
quick
kinda tough exterior
support is decent

Cons:
battery life
touch screen gimmick
silly media controls at the top of the keyboard
BLOATWARE
The DVD drive isn't working

I really just want a great laptop that I don't feel like I wasted money on... any recommendations?

Don't buy this.

So I bought this laptop as a replacement to my previous laptop, an older satellite, whose screen broke during a trip. I was happy with the quality of computer I got in a small package for the price. But then within a month of having the new one, the screen broke when I opened the Computer and Toshiba would not do anything about it. Luckily for me, I had purchased a Sqauretrade warranty, and that covered the broken screen, however, If I had not, I would have been out about $400 to fix the screen. So I guess I am saying that If your screen holds up, it's a pretty good cpu with allot if features in a small package

I bought this laptop a year ago. Just before the warranty ended, the hard drive went out. I got that fixed. Now the keyboard doesn't work. I believe the hard drive has failed again. Of course, the warranty is out. I seldom use this laptop but still needed it on occasion. Would not recommend at all.