Toshiba Satellite U200 Review Discussion

The Toshiba Satellite U200 is a portable 12.1" notebook sold in Canada and also sold in the U.S. as the Satellite U105. This review covers the latest Satellite U200 with a Core Duo processor, Windows Vista, 120GB hard drive and 1GB of RAM.

Read the full content of this Article: Toshiba Satellite U200 Review

 

Nice review!

 

Nice review, seems like a solid system for being so small, I definitely like the fingerprint scanner on it as well.

Don't fret too much about the integrated option you get a 3.1 score, my maxed out dv6000t gets a 3.2 because of Nvidia's horrible Vista drivers.

 

Finally! A review for a sub-14" notebook. Glad you did it. I have spent quite a bit of time with the U205 - it's is a great notebook - but it is a bit chunky. It still has that plastic feel that I can't really get into liking.

 

Thanks Guys,

I really enjoyed doing the review. Thinking about buying another laptop just so I can do another review!!!

It's a great system. I haven't run into any problems yet. Like I said, I have a total of three Toshiba laptops so I am definately convinced of their reliability.

If any of you guys have questions please let me know. I would be happy to answer them.

 

great review and photos. I was surprised that you said this notebook didn't have gigabit ethernet though, especially if it is a revision of a Tecra.
According to: http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/content/product/pdf_files/detailed_specs/satellite_U200-ST2091.pdf

This laptop does have gigabit ethernet, specifically Intel Pro/1000. It's possible the cable you used wasn't high quality enough to support 1000, or the device you were connecting to didn't support 1000.

 

Its a great laptop, but that keyboard.....blah, it was a deal breaker for me. Theres a bit to much flex, and the layout is even worse. My Windows key needs to be between the Fn/Ctrl and Alt keys, not at the top corner.

 

Can you buy the bluetooth module and put it in?

The U205 is custom-able in the USA website.

I got a U205 brand new for US$760 when Vista was about to be released and Best Buy have it for clearance before that week just because it was not Vista.

But I end up selling it. I regret it.

 

Thank you for very informative review.

However, your conclusions mention "good battery life" but I then found in the text that this was up to 3 hours. I complained in my review of my Q35 (also 12.1" widescreen and 6 cell battery) that I could only get to 5 hours (Samsung variously claim 6.5 and 7 hours), so for me 3 hours for this size of notebook would rate as poor. It is all relative.

I looked hard at the U200 before buying my Q35. The small touch pad, the lack of dedicated Page Up and Page Down keys and uncertainty about the real battery life were the factors which made me look elsewhere.

John

 

WOW. That was a great deal. What were the specs on it? I really wish it was customizable in Canada but its ok. I am quite happy with my configuration. According to the product sheets there is no bluetooth. I am looking for a way to add it though. I would love to be able to use a bluetooth mouse instead of your typical wireless one that requires a receiver.

 

I also have a C2D iMac 20" too. I love my Mac. That is a pretty good deal you got on it.

I actually don't mind the keyboard.

 

Nice review there Votoms.

Beat me to the punch - I'd just bought a Toshiba Portégé M500 last month (the same chassis as the Satellite U200 and Tecra M6), and was going to write it up this weekend.

For reference, my model was a 1.83 GHz C2D with 2 GB DDR2-667 RAM, 100 GB HDD and in-built Bluetooth. Configured with XP Home, as I'm not touching Vista.

A few points I'd like to add about the laptop:

PROS:

• Fingerprint scanner can be used as a scroll wheel (awesome feature!)
• Clicking both mouse buttons can be configured to act as a MMB (Opera, FF and IE7 lovers rejoice!)
• Toshiba ConfigFree network profile management software (while not as good as IBM Access Connections, it is pretty good at managing wireless network profiles. Unlike Access Connections, though, it is not smart enough to turn off file sharing on public networks by default).
• Price
• DVD-RAM support (though I have yet to see a disc... ever!)
• Solid build quality
• Spill-resistant keyboard
• 2 user-accessible RAM slots (max 2 GB on CD, 4 GB on C2D)
• Mould-injected coloured plastic - no paint to wear off plastic parts

CONS:

• Narrow vertical viewing angles - mentioned in the review, but it's worth bringing up again.
• Bulky AC adapter - ultraportables should not have standard-size adapters
• Portly for its formfactor - the VAIO SZ has a 13.3 in screen, discrete GPU and weighs the same (but costs $$$)
• Spill-resistant keyboard means it lies on a waterproof membrane, which flexes in the middle
• some creaks due to differential thermal expansion between plastic palmrest and magnesium frame (minor).

Battery life was decent on the toshiba. Note that I use NHC to undervolt the CPU, so load consumption might be lower than stock.

Using Battery Eater Pro 2.70, I achieved the following uptimes:

• Reader's : 4 hours 20 mins
• Classical : 2 hours 19 mins

Tests were run with screen brightness set to 3 out of 8 bars and wifi on.

I miss the 7 hour battery life I get with with my Banias Thinkpad and 9-cell battery, but the toshiba is *much* more portable.

The keyboard is decent, despite some flex in the middle. I can do about 70 wpm on it, compared to 75-80 wpm on the thinkpad.

All in all, I'm quite happy with the toshiba. I concur with most of your points about it and won't bore the readers with rehashing them.

If I could afford it, I'd have gotten the VAIO SZ with the LED backlight screen instead, but the price difference is massive here.

Cheers,
V.

 

This has now been updated to T7200 Duo in the
U205/5044 and the 5067 version with same processor,
larger HD (160 I believe) and Vista....

I love the thing, although the battery life can't rival
some of the super Japanese light weights, it is small
and wonderful to carry around.

 

Boy do I wish I could have gotten the T7200 processor in my unit!!!

 

Where are the memory slots for this notebook?

 

That was a nice review- very complete. I just bought myself one and am very happy about it. Does anyone here leave the battery in while it is used when plugged into an AC outlet? I normally leave it in when I am using the AC but detach the cord when it is not in use.

 

I have just finished upgrading my trusty little
U205-5044 and am very satisfied with it
now.

After pondering and searching a bit for the
answer to the memory slot question, I found
that it was more than easy -- just popped the
keyboard cover, the keyboard and the slots
are beneath in a very well-constructed compartment.

Now I'm at 4 GB and this thing really screams....
upgraded to 320, and eventually will go to the
Hitachi 500 or a 7200 rpm and this is one wonderful
little machine.....

 

nice review...just came across it for the first time since it was bumped.

not a fan of Toshiba.. back then or as of now.