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5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"good multi-media desktop replacement"
Pros: sleek design, good display, good specs for the price
Cons: problem setting up the DVD RAM drive to write on my DVD-R disc, low sound volume
Summary: I have a 15" toshiba satellite 5005 series at home (and a HPCompaq for office) and am happy with it but was looking for another Toshiba laptop to replace it for a range of uses (multi-media, office software etc - I am not a gamer). Before buying , the closest competing product seemed to be the HP Pavilion dv8000 (Sony seemed overpriced, Dell MX150 seemed too much of a gaming laptop, and for my budget (<$2,000) - a customisable Toshiba seemed to be the best option) . I leaned towards the Toshiba for its better design as well as because I was more comfortable with Toshibas (already own one). I opted to select the P100 7211 - a customisable version of the P105. It has only been a week now - I am not a techie but here are my first impressions (for whatever they are worth):
1. Beware that if you are a 15" laptop user and need to work a lot with office documents (excel and word etc) like I do, you may be surprised by the small icons and text size on the 17" widescreen. This screen is ideal for multimedia applications and games and does not seem so much for office/business use.
2. The Harman Kardon speakers that work so well on my older satellite seem to be muted in this model. The volume is way lower than what I expected for a multimedia system. I might need to complement the laptop with add on speakers from Bose etc. The clarity of sound is very good though plus I like the volume control wheel..
3. I liked the fingerprint scanner - scans quite fast as well as the small remote control that slides into the card slots on the left side of the unit.
4. I like the sleek design (about an inch thick with a dark black-grey screen lid).
5. I spent a few anxious hours trying to figure out how to use the DVD-RAM drive to write onto a DVD-R disc - I realized that the basic Drive Letter Access (DLA) software from Sonic that Toshiba bundles with this laptop does not format DVD-Rs. I had to purchase a commercial DLA in order to be able to format and was relieved finally when I realized there was nothing wrong with the drive but that the problem was with the DLA. I would have expected Toshiba to have provided a better DLA software.
6. I bought this laptop off the internet, without having physically seen this unit at a retailer - seems to be a silly thing to do for an investment of this amount. No regrets since I am generally happy with the laptop but this is a lesson for the future - the only unpleasant surprise was seeing the text size and the icons shrink to tiny sizes! - not sure yet, if there is a way to change the settings to correct this.
7. I opted for a 2gb ram and a 2.16ghz (dual core) processor - since i don't do any gaming, I can't comment on the speed of the system but I wanted to get a reasonably high end unit just so I can continue to use this laptop for the next three years without having to upgrade. I have watched movies on this laptop and enjoyed the wide screen, clear display
Overall a very good desktop replacement with a few cons more to do with my intended use rather than the laptop itself.
Toshiba Satellite P105-S921:
