Toshiba Intros Redesigned Satellite Notebook Line

Toshiba Intros Redesigned Satellite Notebook Line

Toshiba today announced its updated and redesigned Satellite line of notebooks, with price points starting at $549.99. The A, M, P, U, and L-series notebooks all feature a new look and hardware.

L-Series

The L-series line of value notebooks starts at $549.99. There are four new screen sizes/models: 14 inches (L510/L515), 15.6 and 16 inches (L500/L505), and 17.3 inches (L550/L555).The laptops have a glossy Fusion finish with a "Breeze" pattern. L-series with 15.6-inch and larger screens have numeric keypads built-in, and select models have ATI Radeon HD 3100 graphics.
The new L-series is available today. The L500/L505 start at $549.99, the L510/L515 $649.99, and the L550/L555 $649.99.

Toshiba L-Series Press Release

A, M, P, and U Series

All of the A, M, P, and U series Satellite notebooks share some common features, including edge-to-edge display coverings for a borderless look and keyboards with matte finishes and LED backlighting on select models, slot-loading DVD drives, and multi-touch touchpads.

The U- and M-series Satellite notebooks are designed for multimedia and mobility. The U-series has a 13.3-inch widescreen display (with a 16:10 aspect ratio; all other models have a 16:9 ratio) and is available with both Intel and AMD processors. Pricing starts at an MSRP of $849.99. The M-series features a 14-inch display with LED backlighting and is available with 3G mobile broadband. Pricing starts at an MSRP of $699.99.

The A and P series are designed for home multimedia entertainment. Both featuresharmon/kardon speakers and Toshiba's Fusion finish with a "Sonic" pattern.The A-series has a 16-inch display and starts at an MSRP of $799.99, while the P-series features an 18.4-inch display and an MSRP of $799.99.

Toshiba Press Release

 

Never liked Toshiba styling, and still don't.

 

and with a 16:9 on top of that. Never will.

 

I like the look and pricing of the L Series at least.

 

Did they forget something on the L Series? Like . . . a touchpad?

Pretty much impossible to make it out from that photo.

 

They wouldn't actually leave out a touchpad, would they?!

 

If there are obvious touchpad buttons, then there definately should be a touchpad. Can't have one without the other. As I see it, the touchpad is flush with the palmrest and there are just slightly visible lines to distinguish it.

Personally I like the keyboard styling but the TP buttons on all the series except L are kind of whack.

 

The new M series looks great, but where is the dedicated graphics option? A Radeon HD 4570 (at least) would be nice.

 

interesting.......when you go to the A series website(16") it shows ATI 4600 series but when you check the specs its only an ATI 4570......

EDIT: Wow the A series has backlit keyboard! Great to see more choices!

 

i must say, they have come a long way from the T shaped screen with centerred hinge surrounded by tall speakers designs.

 

The A, M, P, and U Series don't look too bad...

 

wow, those look much better than my tecra a9. but not as good as my tecra p4.

 

You have to choose the 'build your own' option; there's a 4650 1GB DDR3 option for +$127.50.

I really like the A500.

 

These look like evolutionary upgrades of the previous generation.

Finally they got rid of the crap-tastic glossy keyboard that plagued previous models. Toshibas in my experience had some of the worst notebook keyboards out there; let's hope these are improved.

 

Their naming is quite confusing!

 

I've had a Tecra and an older Satellite model in the past. Loved them both.

I just don't understand why Toshiba doesn't offer display upgrades (resolution) on configurable models??? The 14.0" M500 and 16.0" A500 are only available with a 1366x768 display! I certainly wouldn't buy a 16.0" laptop with a basic 1366x768 display! An optional 1920x1080 display paired with the available ATI HD 4650 would make the A500 a real contender against the Dell Studio XPS 16 and HP HDX 16t!

Even the 18.4" P500 display is only 1680x945! Most 18.4" have 1920x1080 standard, or at least available (except Acer).

The best of the bunch, in terms of displays, is probably the 17.3" L550. It has a 1600x900 (like the HP dv7t), so it's got a bit more horizontal resolution than the previous 17" L350/P300 that only offered 1440x900. Too bad the L550 isn't available with a discrete GPU, though...

Another question- Why are even these new models so thick and heavy?

The 14.0" M500 starts at 5.42lbs and it's 1.48-1.61" thick! In comparison, the Lenovo IdeaPad Y450 is 4.63lbs and 0.8-1.4" thick. The Dell Studio 14z- 4.3lbs and 0.79-1.22" thick!

The 16.0" A500 starts at 6.48lbs and is 1.43-1.61" thick. But the 16.0" Lenovo IdeaPad Y650 is only 5.62lbs and just 1.0" thick!

I like Toshiba quite a bit, but these new products are hardly competitive compared to what others are offering. Low pricing is the only real advantage they seem to have these days...

The most ironic/confusing/irritating thing of all- they're the same company who can build some of the lightest and thinnest business laptops in the world (Portege series and Tecra R10)! You'd think they'd use that expertise to trim down their consumer models....

 

Wow you can actually "build" your own models now? lol you were never able to before so thats pretty cool. They always had preconfigured stuff.

AGREED Allfired, I owned a Toshiba Satellite 2455-S305 and the Qosmio F25 and LOVED THEM. I was always planning to someday get another one cause they are usually well priced. Hopefully they bring out some new notebooks with the 48000 series in them.

 

Some of these new models have options that Toshiba has never offerred before- choice of color schemes, backlit keyboard, even a choice of keyboard color. I'm impressed that they're offering the GDDR3 versions of the ATI HD 4570 and even the 4650 on some models.

On a related note- I think the Qosmio F55 and G55 have been quietly discontinued. The X305 is the only Qosmio left. The new P500 is the same size 18.4" with the same display (1680x945) so it obviously takes the G55's slot.

I think Toshiba is still trying to figure out what to do with the Qosmio model line...for now it's just a 17" gamer. Even on the $4200 configuration of the X305, it only has a 1680x1050 display!? You'd think at least it would get a 1920x1200 RGB-LED for that price!

 

I agree 100%...

 

A rethinking of the color scheme would be a great place to start.

 

Did they improve their keyboard layout? I've always hated the bloody Windows key placement.

 

When will the "glossy" phase finally be over for laptops??? HP started it, but so many others have followed suit. The Toshiba Satellite, from the photos I've seen, may be the worst offender at this point! I read a review of one of the new models on another site earlier (can't recall at the moment) and they showed photos of the keyboard/touchpad after a few hours of use. It was filthy looking with all the smudges and fingerprints...who wants that???

At this point, Toshiba only has one laptop that I could live with- the Tecra R10. The Aluminum Silver color and sleek design is classy and upscale, if a bit understated. Understated design would be a welcome shift from the current glossy trend!