Toshiba SAT 1955-S803

WHAT'S HOT: The Satellite 1955-S803 boasts a big, beautiful 16-inch screen, a strikingly bright blue lid, and a detachable keyboard you can use wirelessly up to 4 feet away. The keyboard--a cool-looking, semitransparent unit with a good layout--is light enough to rest on your lap, or it can sit on a flat surface with its tilt feet popped out. You don't have to shut down the notebook or even use a hot-swapping utility to remove or reseat the keyboard. What's more, Toshiba throws in a wireless mouse.

The 1955-S803, equipped with a 2.5-GHz desktop Pentium 4 CPU, is a stronger performer than its predecessor (the 2.2-GHz 1955-S801 we reviewed a few months ago), especially in terms of battery life. The S803 lasted almost 3 hours on one charge, about 40 minutes longer than the S801. And the new model pulled down a PC WorldBench 4 score of 112, our highest mark yet for a notebook running Windows XP Home.

WHAT'S NOT: Big and heavy, the 1955-S803 alone weighs 9.5 pounds; including the power adapter and wireless mouse, the ensemble weighs over 11 pounds. The tips of the keyboard's side release levers are uncomfortably pointy.

WHAT ELSE: Its giant screen and detachable keyboard aside, the 1955-S803 is a fairly mainstream all-in-one notebook, with a fixed DVD-ROM/CD-RW combination drive on the right side and a fixed floppy drive on the left. All the standard notebook connections are present, including TV-out and FireWire ports. (The only ones missing are serial and PS/2 ports.)

The portable boasts dedicated audio controls, which sit in an attractive front panel that remains visible when you close the lid. There's no power switch for the optical drive, however, so listening to music without powering up the notebook is not an option. Audio from the Satellite's big stereo speakers, prominent units mounted in the back corners of the keyboard, could sound a lot better, too.

Although they sit behind a few more screws than usual, the notebook's memory slots and hard drive are easy to reach. A switch on the front flips the Wi-Fi (802.11b) scanning on and off. Toshiba provides no printed documentation except for a quick-start foldout that novices should find helpful if they aren't confused by some odd parts labeling (such as "primary control button" and "secondary control button" for the mouse buttons). An Acrobat-format user manual does a nice job of guiding more-experienced users.

UPSHOT: Graphics professionals--and any other buyers--who need the raw power of a fast desktop replacement, the largest notebook screen available, and the convenience of the detachable keyboard will be willing to overlook the Satellite 1955-S803's hefty price and weight.