Phonello » Toshiba

Toshiba Satellite U505

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:37:03 +0000

The Toshiba Satellite U500 and U505 series laptops feature 13-inch displays, the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and a range of customizable options that will certainly impress most college students looking for a general use notebook. We absolutely loved last year’s U405 model, but is Toshiba’s latest 13-inch laptop equally impressive? Read on to find out.

Toshiba Satellite U505 (Satellite U500-ST6321) Specifications:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 (2.0GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 3MB cache)
Memory: 4GB DDR2 SDRAM (800MHz)
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 (64-bit)
Storage: 400GB HDD (5400rpm, SATA)
Display: 13.3-inch diagonal WXGA (glossy, 1280×800)
Graphics: Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
Optical drive: Slot-Loading DVD SuperMulti (+/- Double Layer) drive
Wireless: Intel 5100AGN
Dimensions: (W x D x H): 12.5″ x 9.08″ x 1.16″/1.50″
Weight: 4.75lb (not including weight of AC adapter).
Power: High Capacity Lithium-Ion Battery (12-cell, 92Wh, 8500mAh)
Warranty: One-year standard warranty
Extras: Texture Finish in Luxe Brown Premium
Price as configured: $1,023.20

Build and Design
The all-new Toshiba Satellite U500/U505 series notebook offers a conveniently compact footprint similar to most laptops with a 13.3″ display, but you really can’t call this notebook an “ultraportable.” With a thickness of 1.5 inches (2.25 inches with 12-cell battery) the U505 is probably one of the larger 13-inch laptops currently on the market. Not only is the U505 is thicker than the Apple’s MacBook Air or Lenovo’s ThinkPad X301, but the U505 is also thicker and heavier than the Dell Studio XPS 13 or the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

The exterior of the U505 is constructed of plastic with some flex around the left palmrest and the LCD lid when heavy pressure is applied. The chassis itself doesn’t suffer from the “squeaks” that are common with cheaper plastic notebooks. Toshiba wisely decided to abandon the high-gloss “Fusion” finish used on last year’s Satellite notebooks in favor of a matte textured finish. Our review unit features the upgraded texture finish in “Luxe Brown Premium” that also includes chrome highlights around the edges of the notebook.

Build quality is nice when compared to low-cost netbooks, but doesn’t measure up similarly priced notebooks like the Apple MacBook Pro and Dell Studio XPS 13. Although most laptop manufacturers have started to transition their notebooks over to displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio (because LCD fabricators are switching to 16:9) Toshiba managed to keep a traditional 16:10 ratio widescreen display on the U500/U505 series. This gives the U505 a more square-shaped profile compared to the more rectangular competition.

Screen and Speakers
While we’re on the topic of the screen, the 13.3″ glossy display features a WXGA resolution (1280 x 800). There were absolutely no problems with the screen on our review unit: the CCFL backlighting was nice and even and there are no stuck pixels. As is common with glossy screens, colors and contrast are quite good and both images and video “pop” off the screen. Just like with last year’s U405, Toshiba seems to have struck the perfect balance between gloss and matte. The screen is glossy enough to produce that added richness to color and superior contrast inherent to glossy screens, yet the surface isn’t so glossy that reflections become problematic unless you’re working under direct sunlight with the screen brightness turned down.

The screen is simply beautiful when viewing from straight ahead. Horizontal viewing angles are good, but you will start to notice some color shift at extreme wide angles. There is also some color inversion when you view the screen from sharp vertical angles (bright colors when viewed from above the notebook or dark, inverted colors when looking up at the screen from the floor) but most people rarely view a screen from these extreme vertical angles.

Speaker performance is good despite the dime-sized stereo speakers located above the keyboard. Granted, a dedicated subwoofer would have provided better bass response rather than the “tinny” sounding bass but the highs and midrange are good for a 13-inch notebook. Peak volume levels were loud enough to fill a room with sound before heavy distortion becomes obvious. Still, like any laptop, headphones are probably a good accessory for this notebook.

Keyboard and Touchpad
Once again, Toshiba made the decision to stop using the “Fusion” finish on the keyboard keys and used a less glossy paint that gives each key a durable finish and good texture. Unlike the more traditionally shaped keys used on last year’s keyboards, the U505 uses flat keys that feel a little smaller than usual because Toshiba decided to make them shaped like an upside down “T” for some unknown reason. This doesn’t create much of a problem for touch-typists, but it might take a few minutes to get used to the size and feel of the keys. Key presses are smooth, perfectly deep, well cushioned and quiet. The entire keyboard has some flex under heavy typing pressure, but almost no flex when normal pressure is applied. The keyboard backlighting is nice and even and helps you see what you’re typing in a dark classroom.

I was a huge fan of the touchpad on the U405 last year, which was quite simply one of the nicest I used on a 13-inch notebook last year. The surface was flush with the palmrests but there was a light application of what felt almost like soft sandpaper over the surface. Toshiba opted for a more traditional ALPS touchpad this time around and I’m not nearly as impressed. The recessed surface is small compared to the touchpads on most modern 13-inch notebooks and the sensitivity was only average. Toshiba was good enough to include a white LED backlight above the touchpad that not only looks cool but helps you locate the touchpad quickly in a darkly lit room.

The touchpad buttons on our review unit have a chrome look with shallow feedback and a sharp click when pressed. The buttons are nice and large with a clear separation that makes them very easy to use … though I wish the feedback was a bit deeper when you press the touchpad buttons.

Ports and Features
The port selection of the U505 is pretty good for a 13-inch notebook. Here’s a quick rundown of what you get:

ExpressCard slot (ExpressCard/34 and Express Card/54)
10/100 Ethernet
Modem jack
5-in-1 media card reader
VGA out
HDMI out
Microphone input port
Headphone output port
Three USB 2.0 ports with “Sleep and Charge” (one of which is a USB/eSATA combo port)

We would have liked to see Toshiba include IEEE-1394 (FireWire) on this notebook, but considering that you’re getting an eSATA/USB combo port for high-speed data transfers and HDMI for sending HD video to your HDTV we can’t complain too much.

Performance

Toshiba offers the U500/U505 series in a range of configurations starting with the Intel Pentium Dual-core T4200 (2.0GHz) and up to the Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 (2.53GHz, 3MB L2, 1066MHz FSB) processor. While the entry-level Pentium dual core system with its 1MB of L2 cache and 800MHz frontside bus still provides more than enough power for multimedia encoding or image editing. The 2.0GHz Intel P7350 processor in our configuration provided an excellent computing experience, though it should be noted that there are several competing 13-inch notebooks on the market in this price range with faster processors.

The U505 also comes with your choice of either Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD or ATI Mobility Radeon H4570 with 512MB DDR3 discrete graphics plus up to 255MB shared memory using ATI HyperMemory. Granted, the U505 with integrated graphics might not be suitable for playing current 3D games, but the ATI option provides enough power for anything you might want to play … as long as you aren’t expecting desktop-class gaming performance. Still, even with the Intel integrated 4500 GPU I was able to watch 1080p video and as well as edit and encode HD videos.

You can purchase the U505 with anywhere between 250GB and 500GB of hard drive storage space. Unfortunately, Toshiba only offers the U505 with standard 5400rpm hard drives rather than faster 7200rpm drives or SSDs. The 400GB Toshiba hard drive in our review unit should provide more than enough storage space for your music library, encoded videos, and your family photos.

Heat and Noise
Like its predecessor, the U505 does an excellent job of controlling heat thanks to the massive heatsink visible through the air vent on the left side of the notebook. The only area of the U405 that peaked near 100 degrees Fahrenheit was the area next to the wireless card after significant web browsing … which is pretty normal. Although the touchpad and bottom of the notebook did become warm during benchmarks it was never too hot to keep on the lap.

Battery
The 12-cell 8500mAh Li-Ion battery provides excellent battery life for the U505. The extended life battery delivered 5 hours and 18 minutes of life while browsing the web using Wi-Fi with the notebook set to “balanced” mode and the screen brightness turned down to about 70 percent.

Although that battery life is only average considering the massive 8500mAh battery, the U505 with extended life battery should provide enough juice for a student or road warrior who doesn’t have access to a power outlet. Considering that some 13-inch thin-and-light notebooks like the MSI X340 managed less than four hours, the U500/U505 does a pretty decent job.

Conclusion
The Toshiba Satellite U500/U505 is a good general-purpose laptop but it has tough competition from other 13-inch notebooks currently on the market. Toshiba clearly listened to some of the criticisms about last year’s U405 and made some improvements on this year’s model.

Unfortunately, Toshiba might have shot themselves in the foot when it comes to the price of their higher-end configurations. I have a hard time believing that most students would be interesting in buying this Toshiba for the full retail price of more than $1,000 when that same student could buy a brand new 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro for roughly the same price. The entry-level configurations of the U500/U505 start at less than $700, so those might indeed be affordable options for this year’s back-to-school season.

Pros:

Solid performance
Nice backlit keyboard
Good speakers for its size

Cons:

Thick and heavy compared to newest 13-inch notebooks
Small touchpad
Expensive as configured

Toshiba Mini NB205

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:55:53 +0000

Toshiba’s first consumer-oriented netbook in the United States, the Toshiba mini NB205, promises to be one of the hottest netbooks for 2009. Like most of the low-cost companion PCs available in stores, the mini NB205 helps you stay connected with a simple laptop that easily fits in a purse or backpack. This netbook certainly offers a lot with a nearly full-sized keyboard and touchpad and all-day battery life, but is it the best $400 netbook on the market? Let’s take a closer look.

Toshiba mini NB205 (NB205-N310/BN) Specifications:

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home SP3
10.1″ WSVGA (1024 x 600) LED-backlit display
CPU: Intel Atom N280 (1.66GHz, 533MHz FSB)
Graphics: Intel GMA 950
LAN onboard 10/100 Mbps Ethernet controller
Wireless: 802.11b/g and Bluetooth V2.1
Memory 1GB (DDR2 533MHz)
Storage: 160GB hard drive (5400rpm) and SD/SDHC media card reader
Webcam: 0.3 Megapixel
Dimensions 10.4 x 8.3 x 1.0/1.27 inches (W x D x H)
Weight 2.93lbs with 6-cell battery
Battery: 6-cell Lithium-Ion
Warranty: 1-Year Parts and Labor, 1-Year Battery
Price as configured: $399.99 USD

Build and Design
The Toshiba mini NB205 is the first netbook (low-price, low-performance, ultraportable laptop) from Toshiba, but the design is certainly one of the most attractive we’ve seen in the netbook category. Toshiba offers the NB205 in multiple colors, but the silver and “Sable Brown” color combination in our review unit looks quite nice. The screen lid is made of thin textured plastic with the Toshiba logo front and center in silver metalic plastic. Toshiba engineers made the interesting choice of placing the power button in the middle of the screen hinge where it is exposed even when the netbook is closed. At first I was concerned this might not be the best position since it means the power button could be accidentally triggered inside a backpack or laptop case, but the button is disabled if the screen lid is closed.

Build quality was less than impressive despite the attractive exterior of the NB205. The thin plastics used in the construction of the chassis are prone to flex and the plastics make annoying “creaking” noises if you squeeze the netbook between your fingers. The full-size keyboard looks fantastic, but as soon as you apply typing pressure with your fingers you begin to feel the keyboard flex and bounce as you type. Unfortunately, the only area of the mini NB205 that feels nice and firm is the tension on the screen hinges.

The bottom of the netbook chassis shows an abundance of air vents to help with cooling (more on that later) and a pair of easy access panels for the RAM and hard drive. We’re happy to see more and more netbooks with easy access to the internals for upgrading the memory or storage, and Toshiba makes it very simple to complete these upgrades after removing three screws.

Screen and Speakers
The Toshiba NB205 uses a nice and bright 10.1-inch widescreen LED-backlit display panel with a 1024 x 600 native resolution. I wish Toshiba offered the mini NB205 with a higher resolution screen such as the ones available from Dell, HP, and Sony, but considering the $400 price point we can’t complain too much. Vertical viewing angles are average, with obvious color inversion when viewing from below and some over-exposed colors when viewed from above. Horizontal viewing angles are very good with colors only starting to shift at extreme wide viewing angles.

The built-in speaker performance on the mini NB205 is acceptable for listening to system sounds or very short online video clips, but overall the speaker quality is sub-par for a netbook. The built-in speaker is located on bottom front edge and can’t produce enough distortion-free volume to push sound up toward the user. If you want to use this netbook as a mobile entertainment portal then you need to invest in some good headphones. On the bright side, the audio output from the headphone jack is good when paired with earphones or a good set of external speakers.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The NB205 uses a new full-size keyboard that is quite massive for a 10-inch netbook. At first glance the NB205 looks to have one of the best keyboards on any of the current-generation netbooks. Unfortunately, that opinion quickly changes once you start typing. Although the keys are nice and large with excellent spacing to prevent typos, the keyboard falls victim to the same thin and flexible plastics used in the construction of the chassis. If you apply anything more than light typing pressure you will feel the keyboard “bouncing” under your fingertips as the plastic keyboard frame bends under the weight of your hands. If Toshiba engineers places a support frame under the keyboard this problem could easily be fixed.

On a much happier note, the mini NB205 features the single best touchpad we’ve used on any netbook to date. The touchpad measures roughly 3.2 inches wide by 1.8 inches tall with standard-sized touchpad buttons that go all the way to the front edge of the netbook. In short, Toshiba made perfect use of the available space and gives users a “real” touchpad rather than the half-sized touchpads used on most netbooks. The touchpad itself is an ALPS model with excellent sensitivity and only minor lag. The scroll zones required a bit of adjustment in our review unit, but once we increased the scroll speed everything seemed fine.

Input and Output Ports
The port selection on the Toshiba mini NB205 is pretty basic for a netbook. The NB205 includes three USB 2.0 ports, VGA out, Ethernet, microphone and headphone jacks, and a SD/SDHC media card slot. One extra little feature is that one of the three USB ports is a “Sleep and Charge” port. This allows you to charge a cell phone or MP3 player using the USB port even if the netbook is turned off. The only potential problem with this feature is that if you’re running on battery power and forget to unplug an iPod you might end up with a dead netbook battery … if you change the default settings.

Performance and Benchmarks
The Toshiba mini NB205 offers similar performance to most netbooks, but that shouldn’t be a surprise to most of our readers. The performance section of a netbook review is generally very boring compared to a full-featured notebook because most netbook have virtually identical specs. All Intel Atom-based netbooks have nearly identical performance in terms of actual real-world use. Overall performance with the Intel Atom platform is very reasonable for daily activities like Web browsing, email, using Microsoft Office, listening to music, and watching DVD-quality movies. If you’re in a bind you can even use Photo Editing Software like Photoshop or GIMP for basic image editing.

The one and only performance-related issue that we encountered during our testing of the NB205 was related to bloatware. Toshiba decided to include some “helpful” applications for the webcam, battery monitoring, wireless controls and Norton antivirus … all of which strain the netbook’s limited resources and make the NB205 slower than it should be. While most netbooks finish booting into Windows XP (including launching all startup applications) in less than 45 seconds, the NB205 takes more than 70 seconds to finish loading all the bloatware during Windows startup.

The use of Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics is probably the only major limitation for netbooks. This integrated graphics processor (IGP) is powerful enough to handle displaying a PowerPoint presentation on a projector or watching DVD quality movies, but if 1080p video playback or video editing is your primary concern then you’ll want to look elsewhere. We selected a family-friendly movie trailer and downloaded three different versions in 480p, 720p, and 1080p resolutions. We used the CCCP Codec Pack for decoding and Media Player Classic Homecinema (version 1.1.796.0) for playing all of the video files.

Heat and Noise
External temperatures on the NB205 are what I consider to be “lap friendly” over most of the netbook’s surface. The areas near the GPU, RAM, hard drive, and Wi-Fi card showed up as obvious heat spikes, but nothing that was too hot to handle. Temperature readings taken from the outside of the plastic chassis remained mostly in the 80s and 90s.

Below are images indicating the temperature readings (listed in degrees Fahrenheit) taken inside our office where the ambient temperature was 74 degrees Fahrenheit.

The cooling fan inside the mini NB205 is louder than we like to hear from a netbook. Whenever the CPU is under stress (such as when watching a YouTube video) the cooling fan kicks on and sounds like a weak hair dryer. It’s loud enough to be moderately annoying in a quiet classroom or office. Considering the abundant air vents built into the NB205, I’m a little surprised the cooling fan has to work so hard.

Battery
The 6-cell lithium-ion battery included with the NB205 has a 5800 mAh rating and delivers excellent battery life for a netbook. Toshiba promises 9 hours of battery life, but we never managed to get quite that much out of a fully charged battery. In our test with the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and XP set to the laptop/portable power profile the system stayed on for 7 hours and 38 minutes of constant use. This isn’t as high as some of the latest Asus Eee PC netbooks, but the Toshiba NB205 should have more than enough juice to get you through a full day of web browsing and email.

Conclusion
The new Toshiba mini NB205 is an attractive netbook that offers a fantastic touchpad, large keyboard, and easy access for upgrades. The battery life of the NB205 is among the best in class and should get you through a full day at school or the office. At a price of just $400 this might be a popular netbook for the back-to-school season.

Still, despite these nice features, it’s hard to overlook the flex and sound of weak plastics, the extremely flexible keyboard, and the weak speakers. Most netbooks have surprisingly firm keyboards, so we’re more than a little disappointed that the keyboard on the NB205 practically “bounces” while you type on it. Most netbooks don’t have particularly great speakers, but listening to music or online videos wasn’t fun on the NB205. If you’re looking for a good netbook for $400 or less the Toshiba mini NB205 deserves a close look, but there are many alternatives to consider in this price range.

Pros:

Easy access for upgrades
Large touchpad
Good battery life

Cons:

Weak plastic construction
Severe keyboard flex
Unimpressive speakers

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