Cameras
Camcorders
Cell Phones
Components
Desktops
HDTV
Home Theater
GPS
Laptops
Monitors
MP3 Players
Networking &
Printers
Storage
Toshiba Satellite 5205-S703 Notebook (Toshiba-PS520U31P03V)
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
More…| PC WorldBench 4: Performance word scores reflect comparions of PCs in the same category (power or value) running the same operating system. See Guide to the Top-Rated Products for more details. | Good: 104 (Windows XP Home) |
| Base configuration | Good |
| CPU | 2-GHz Pentium 4-M |
| Screen size | 15 inches |
| System memory | 512MB of DDR266 SDRAM |
| Hard drive | 60GB |
| Graphics | 64MB NVidia GeForce4 4600 Go |
| Pointing device | Touchpad |
| Expandability | One multipurpose bay, one PC Card slot |
| Extra features | Very good |
| Bundled removable-media drives | DVD-R/RW drive |
| Communications | Built-in V.92 modem, built-in network interface, built-in 802.11b |
| Extra ports | Headphone jack, composite video and FireWire ports |
| Business suite | None |
| Other features | Secure Digital slot |
| Overall design | Outstanding |
| Battery life (hours:minutes) | Good: 3:05 |
| Weight (typical/minimum, in pounds | Heavy: 8.9/7.8 |
| Vendor's reliability/service | Good/Fair |
| Support Policy | One-year parts and labor warranty; 24-hour daily toll-free support |
Bottom Line
If the laptop of your dreams comes with off-the-charts sound, a DVD burner, and extra memory slots, consider ponying up the extra dollars for Toshiba's latest multimedia machine. You won't be disappointed.
Toshiba Satellite 5205-S703
Satellite 5205-S703 Notebook (Toshiba-PS520U31P03V) Review, by Carla Thornton January 28, 2003
WHAT'S HOT: Toshiba has upped the ante with this new addition to its Satellite 5205 series. This major refresh of the company's eye-catching multimedia notebook sports the same shiny blue lid, out-of-this-world sound, and high-resolution screen as before. But now, instead of a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combination drive fixed in the case, it offers a modular bay equipped with a removable DVD-RW/-R drive for burning your own digital movies downloaded via the notebook's FireWire (IEEE 1394) port. The sleek, beveled case looks more streamlined than before, and Toshiba has thrown in a remote control for flipping between the notebook's 15-inch screen and a TV display. The volume wheel is bigger and has been moved to the front.
Gone is the desktop chip that made the first 5205 notebooks feel like hot potatoes after running for an hour; now the series is equipped with a mobile 2-GHz/1.2-GHz Pentium 4-M processor. In our tests, 512MB of RAM helped the 5205-S703 grab a slightly higher PC WorldBench 4 score of 104, edging out most other P4 notebooks we've tested. Battery life is better than before, too. The 5205-S504 we tested last year pooped out after 1.7 hours; this new 5205-S703 lasted a little over 3 hours on one charge. If that doesn't give you enough time to edit your home movies out on the patio, the new modular bay can accommodate a second battery.
WHAT'S NOT: Unchanged in weight from its predecessor, the Satellite 5205-S703 is heavy for a one-bay notebook, at almost 9 pounds including the power adapter. Not surprisingly for a cutting-edge model, it's missing parallel, serial, and PS/2 ports, and a floppy drive costs extra.
WHAT ELSE: Striking looks and sound continue to be this wireless-ready notebook's hallmarks. When closed, the hard-plastic lid beckons like the shiny blue hood of a sports car. It's complemented by a blue lower casing, a silver-and-black audio panel studded with five brightly colored status lights, and a small LCD that shows the time, day of the week, and remaining battery life. A small set of Harman/Kardon stereo speakers backed by a subwoofer turn out beautiful audio with no distortion, even at high volume. The audio buttons and speakers remain exposed when you close the lid, so you can kick back and enjoy a CD even with the notebook shut down.
In addition to the new modular drive, Toshiba moved some connections and made some other changes to the case, mostly for the better. With the notebook's battery now forming the rear, most of the connections, including three USB 2.0 ports, are on the front and sides where they're easier to reach. The built-in SmartMedia card slot is gone, but Toshiba kept the built-in Secure Digital slot and now offers a three-in-one media reader for the modular bay that accommodates not only SmartMedia cards but CompactFlash cards and Memory Sticks, too. (The remaining bay option is a secondary 60GB hard drive. A weight-saving module comes with the notebook.) Internal parts are still fairly easy to access, though the panel covering the hard drive is now held in by two screws instead of one.
The 5205-S703's large keyboard is easy to type on and includes a couple of dedicated shortcut buttons for launching your favorite applications. The touchpad is where you'll find another unique feature in this notebook full of unusual extras: Using Synaptics' CPad software, the touchpad can double as a 240-by-160-pixel LCD that lets you execute Windows commands and launch programs. If you find the CPad too distracting, you can turn it off and use the touchpad solely as an input device.
Aside from a setup poster, there is no printed documentation. The software-based electronic manual was helpful and seemed complete; we couldn't find a way to view it full-screen, however.
UPSHOT: If the laptop of your dreams comes with off-the-charts sound, a DVD burner, and extra memory slots, consider ponying up the extra dollars for Toshiba's latest multimedia machine. You won't be disappointed.
Show Less 
0 Comments | 0 Topics | Print Only This Review
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
-
Reviewed by: Jinky
Strengths: very powerful, great computer. Many options most other lap tops do not give. Warranty is also very good.
Weaknesses: none that I can see.
Overall: I've always used toshiba lap tops just upgraded to this one from a toshiba 1900 satellite series 1.6MHZ this is a very very nice machine. Toshiba makes excellent laptops by far better than any other competitor out there. I would never switch. The warranty service is also great because you can always find a certified tech centre to service if need be although for the last 5 years I've never ever had problems.
-
Reviewed by: quocphong
Strengths: Powerful notebook with long life battery, great multimedia
Weaknesses: Too few ports, no priter port, no fireware.
Overall: This is an ultimate digital convergence notebook, long life battery with one extra style bay. The coolest is cPad that you can have application launcher, calcutaor, calender...
-
Reviewed by: mnewco8867
Strengths: DVD/CD burner combined, extra bay for extra battery or media reader
Weaknesses: absolutely none
Overall: I absolutely adore this laptop. There is no one who can beat Toshiba when it comes to laptops. The LCD screen and large hard drive top it off plus the build in wi-fi. On top of a great machine is the excellent tech support Toshiba offers. I highly recomment them and this model of which I have the 704 model which the only thing different is mine has Windows XP Professional.
-
Reviewed by: batman52567
Strengths: The whole package! Awesome sound, video, screen, ease of playing cds and even saved mp3s! Guys at work are jealous! No other notebook can touch it
Weaknesses: Cpad takes some getting used to (was used to stick on IBM)..could use a seperate scroll button. Volume button in front somewhat hard to adjust. Would like to see slider for adjusting screen brightness
Overall: I looked over and read many articles on notebooks(Consumer Reports rated the 503 very high)...being a hard nosed gamer I needed an awesome game machine besides being able to do normal stuff quickly and efficiently. Well look no further...this notebook is the sh*t! For u gamers I managed a MadOnion 3D2001 Score of 5400+..5700+ after downloading the newest nvidia driver...not great compared to the kick butt scores of the new Ati and nvidia cards for the desktops, but good enough to run most games ie. (Ghost Recon, Battlefield 1942, IL2 Sturkmokov, Tiger Woods 2003, Neverwinter Nights)...albeit not at thier highest settings but then not even my fast desktop can handle Battlefield 1942 at its highest...the internal card is compared to a nvidia Mx460...The sound is awesome, although after doing a DxDiag will only run in software mode, so no EAX.....hoping a driver update soon from Toshiba or Yamaha will fix that...Like others, Ive managed about 3hours of runtime between charges...I would like to see a Car charger...the cpad kinda sux for gaming so im going to get a seperate mouse for such...have used a joystick to play Fifa soccer...was very nice!...I used it to play alot of music and the sound is nice..its cool playing mp3 and cds...music title and sound meters is on the front little LCD!..amazing sounds from such little speakers...kills my old IBM pent. 133's Mattel's football wafer speakers. Cant believe the air the subwoofer moves! So I say get one while u still can!
-
Reviewed by: tchiu
Strengths: Sexiness, strong features(great speakers!, very nice keyboard, screen is amazing, wireless is build in, believe it or not.. the toshiba 24/7 support was pretty helpful and answers all your questions.
Weaknesses: its not light.. could have a wireless mouse, but.. am I pushing it?
Overall: This is the total package... toshiba must be losing out because they stop making this model, they have the 503 now, but that doesn't have the DVD-R! and a few other things. I brought the 1955-805, then returned it.. it was a large hunk of junk.. I've had sony's, fujitsu's, and dell laptops.. Toshiba hands down takes the cake. I'd try my best to find this laptop..even tho they stop making it... it's that complete.
Sorry, the product you requested isn't currently available from any of our sellers.
Laptops similar to the Toshiba Satellite 5205-S703 Notebook (Toshiba-PS520U31P03V)
We recommend these Laptops for their similarities to the Toshiba Satellite 5205-S703 Notebook (Toshiba-PS520U31P03V) in features, specs, ratings, and user interest.
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
- Before you buy
- How to Buy a Laptop
- How to Buy a Netbook
Start New Topic Don't see the answer to your question? Ask it here!
