Toshiba Satellite U405 Review

by Jerry Jackson

The Toshiba Satellite U400/U405 series is a new 13.3" widescreen notebook that weighs in at just 4.85 pounds and packs solid Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn performance and a big hard drive with plenty of storage space. Add to that a stylish chassis covered in Toshiba's new "Fusion" finish, 3GB of RAM, a webcam, and fingerprint reader and this notebook starts looking even better. Toshiba calls this notebook a "compact hero [that] balances working room with carrying comfort." Let's take a look and see if this laptop is as good as it sounds.

The Toshiba Satellite U400/U405 series is available with a range of Intel processors (from the 1.73GHz Pentium Dual-Core T2370 up to the T8300 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo Penryn). There is only one 13.3" screen offering, a 1280x800 WXGA "TruBrite" glossy display. The notebook can take up to 4GB of RAM and Toshiba offers 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows Vista SP1. The system is priced starting at $767.20 at the time of this writing.

Our review unit of the Toshiba Satellite U405-S2830 is equipped with the following specs:

• Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1, 32-bit)
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T8100 (2.10GHz, 3MB L2, 800MHz FSB)
• Mobile Intel GM965 Express Chipset
• Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n)
• 3GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (maximum capacity 4GB)
• 250GB Serial ATA hard disk drive (5400RPM)
• DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive with Labelflash
• 13.3" diagonal widescreen TruBrite TFT LCD display at 1280x800 (WXGA)
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 with 128MB-358MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory
• 1.3 megapixel webcam
• Bluetooth version 2.1 plus Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)
• Fingerprint reader
• Dimensions (WxDxH Front/H Rear): 12.4" x 9.02" x 1.08" /1.38"
• Weight: 4.85 lbs with six-cell battery
• 75W (19V x 3.95A) 100-240V AC Adapter (5.0" x 1.20" x 2.01" and weighs 0.77 lb)
• 6-cell (4800mAh) Lithium Ion battery
• 1-Year Standard Limited Warranty
• Price as configured: $1,149.99

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Build and Design

Like most notebooks with a 13.3" widescreen display the U405 is on the border of the thin-and-light and ultra-portable categories. With a weight of more than four and a half pounds it isn't the lightest notebook in its class. Likewise, since the notebook is 1 inch thick at its thinnest point the U405 falls in the "middle of the pack" among recent 13.3" systems. While the U405 might be a little thicker and heavier than Apple's MacBook Air or Lenovo's ThinkPad X300, the U405 is a far more consumer friendly notebook with the perfect balance of form and function.

The exterior of the U405 is constructed of plastic yet it felt exceptionally solid. There was no flex to the chassis even when significant pressure was applied to the corners of the notebook. The U405 also uses the high-gloss "Fusion" finish which is an imprinted design that is both durable and attractive. The Fusion finish is one of the most durable glossy finishes I've seen on a notebook and easily rivals the quality of the "Imprint" finish found on HP notebooks.

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While I generally like the horizontal line design imprint on the U405, the finish isn't just glossy ... it's reflective. This will be quite appealing to some consumers and ghastly for others. When you open the LCD lid on this laptop the back of the display basically looks like a mirror as seen in the photo below.

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Of course, the mirror-like reflections on the Fusion finish have some advantages as well. You can use the laptop to reflect the sun and signal rescue planes if you are ever lost in the woods with your laptop. The LCD lid also comes in handy if you need a mirror for your morning shave.

In all seriousness, the design is extremely attractive but certainly isn't subdued or conservative.

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Screen

The display panel itself is a 13.3" glossy screen with WXGA resolution (1280x800). There were absolutely no problems with the screen on our review unit: the refresh rate seems excellent when videos or games with fast motion are displayed 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. What makes this glossy screen particularly nice is that 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.

Brightness is quite impressive, and as you can see in the photo above, the screen is bright enough to be readable under our very bright studio lights even with the display set to 60 percent brightness. When set to maximum brightness the screen is bright enough to cause some people to squint in a dark room.

The screen is simply beautiful when viewing from straight ahead. Horizontal viewing angles are good or average. Colors are excellent and the backlight brightness remains even across the screen surface. There is some minor color inversion when you view the screen from sharp vertical angles (such as standing above the notebook or looking up at the screen from the floor) but most people rarely view a screen from these extreme vertical angles.

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Keyboard, Touchpad, Media Controls an Indicators

When I reviewed the Toshiba Satellite U305 last year I wasn't very impressed by the keyboard and touchpad. Well, Toshiba must have listened to consumer complaints because the keyboard and touchpad on the U405 are among the best I've ever used on a 13-inch notebook.

Toshiba made the decision to use the new "Fusion" finish on the keyboard keys and this gives the keyboard on the U405 a distinctly smooth feel. The key texture is almost like a thick automotive paint with multiple layers of clear coat and wax. That's not to say the keys feel waxy but rather the keys feel obscenely sexy. Key presses are smooth, perfectly deep, well cushioned and quiet. The entire keyboard has almost no flex and remains firm even when significant pressure is applied.

The glossy surface of the keyboard is a magnet of fingerprints and shows smudges from the oils in your skin, but this is a minor annoyance when the keyboard feels this good.

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The touchpad surface on the U405 is quite simply one of the nicest I have ever used. The surface is flush with the palmrests but there is a light application of what feels almost like soft sandpaper over the surface. "Soft sandpaper" might not sound enjoyable, but I assure you that your fingertips will glide across the surface and the cursor movement is both fluid and accurate. Toshiba even included a white LED backlight above the touchpad that not only looks cool but helps you locate the touchpad quickly in a darkly lit room.

While we're on the subject of the awesome touchpad, let's not forget the touchpad buttons. These buttons are among the most comfortable I've found on any notebook. The rounded edges make pressing the buttons with the edges of your thumbs quite easy and the individual button presses are quiet and well cushioned without being too deep or too shallow. I often end up using an external mouse when reviewing notebooks but I never bothered using an external mouse with the U405 other than to test the notebook's Bluetooth connectivity.

This is a very nice touchpad.

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A series of touch-sensitive media buttons with white LED backlights are located above the keyboard similar to the buttons on most consumer notebooks. One nice feature about the media buttons is that the white LEDs aren't as offensive or distracting as the bright blue LEDs used on most other notebooks. The power button also features a white LED backlight and the Satellite logo and status indicators likewise have white or red LED backlights.

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Ports and Features

The port selection of the U405 is reasonably good for a notebook of this size. 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

Microphone input port

Headphone output port

IEEE-1394 (FireWire)

Three USB 2.0 ports (with "Sleep and Charge&quot

Front profile view: LED status lights, 5-in-1 card reader, volume dial and Wi-Fi on/off switch.

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Left side: VGA out, blank HDMI port, two USB ports, FireWire, microphone in, headphone out, and ExpressCard slot.

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Right side: Optical drive, USB port, modem, Ethernet and security lock slot.

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Back profile view: Battery and power jack.

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One unfortunate omission from the ports selection is the lack of either S-video out or HDMI. In fact, there's even a blank section on the left side of the U405 that is labeled HDMI. Our guess in that Toshiba will eventually offer a configuration of this notebook with HDMI ... but not at present. The absence of both the S-video port and the HDMI port means that this notebook won't be 100 percent friendly with all external displays used for presentations. This might indeed be a serious problem for traveling business professionals who never know exactly what type of video-out port they'll need for their next business presentation.

Overall, the U405 is still well equipped in terms of ports with FireWire, three USB ports, a media card reader, a headphone jack, microphone jack, ExpressCard slot and Ethernet port. Although the U405 only has three USB ports, all three USB ports on this notebook utilize Toshiba's new "Sleep and Charge" functionality. This is a great feature because it means you can leave your rechargeable USB devices plugged into the notebook and your USB gizmos will recharge even if the notebook is turned off. The "catch" is that if your notebook isn't plugged into a power outlet the notebook battery will drain even faster. As a manufacturing default, the Sleep and Charge function is disabled right out of the box so users have to manually turn it on through the "Start Menu." To activate the Sleep and Charge USB option go to "Start Menu - TOSHIBA - Utilities - HW Setup; check mode 1."

Audio

The audio performance on the U405 was a little better than average for a 13.3" notebook, but it was far from impressive. Both of the small speakers located above the keyboard produce a slightly "tin can" sound quality with plenty of highs but only acceptable levels of mid range and absolutely no bass. On the bright side, the speaker volume gets very loud with minimal distortion and both speakers are located in a good position to direct sound up and toward the user. Unfortunately, you will still want to use headphones or external speakers if you are an audiophile.

On that note it's worthwhile to mention that the audio out port on the U405 is located on the left side (a good location for an external speaker connection) and audio output was clean (there was no static or cracking in the sound coming from the headphone jack).

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Performance and Benchmarks

Toshiba chose to offer the U400/U405 series in a range of configurations starting with the Intel Pentium Dual-core T2370 (1.73GHz) and up to the Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 (2.4GHz) processor. While the entry-level Pentium dual core system with its 1MB of L2 cache and 533MHz frontside bus still provides reasonable performance under Vista, it's good to know that the Core 2 Duo Penryn processor (T8100 or T8300 both with 3MB L2, 800MHz FSB) is an option for people who need faster multimedia encoding or image editing. The 2.1GHz Intel T8100 processor in our configuration provided a fast and flawless computing experience and surprisingly good battery life (more on that later).

The use of integrated graphics processor and shared RAM is something of a mixed blessing for the U405. While many 13.3" notebooks are now available with dedicated graphics, Toshiba selected integrated Intel X3100 graphics for this notebook. Without a powerful GPU and dedicated video RAM the U405 simply cannot run most recent 3D games at higher resolutions (if at all). On the other hand, the use of integrated graphics puts less strain on the battery and allows for superior battery life. Although the U405 might not be suitable for playing Crysis, I was able to edit high resolution images in Photoshop CS3 as well as edit and encode videos in Windows Movie Maker.

One thing the U405 offers plenty of is storage space. The 250GB hard drive should provide more than enough storage space for your music library, encoded videos, and your family photos. Thankfully, Toshiba decided to use 5400RPM hard drives in all the configurations of the U400/U405 series. Toshiba's older 4200RPM drives required users to wait for files to read from or write to the disk, but that's just not much of an issue with these faster hard drives.

wPrime is a program that forces the processor to do recursive mathematical calculations, the advantage of this program is that it is multi-threaded and can use both processor cores at once, thereby giving more accurate benchmarking measurements than Super Pi. Lower scores indicate better performance.

Notebook / CPU	wPrime 32M time
Toshiba Satellite U405 (Core 2 Duo T8100 @ 2.1GHz)	37.500s
Dell Vostro 1310 (Core 2 Duo T8100 @ 2.1GHz)	37.736s
Dell Inspiron 1525 (Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2.0GHz)	43.569s
Dell XPS M1530 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)	37.485s
Portable One SXS37 (Core 2 Duo T7250 @ 2.0GHz)	41.908s
Sony VAIO NR (Core 2 Duo T5250 @ 1.5GHz)	58.233s
Toshiba Tecra A9 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)	38.343s
Toshiba Tecra M9 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)	37.299s
HP Compaq 6910p (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2GHz)	40.965s
Zepto 6024W (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2GHz)	42.385s
Lenovo T61 (Core 2 Duo T7500 @ 2.2GHz)	37.705s
Samsung Q70 (Core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2.0GHz)	42.218s
Acer Travelmate 8204WLMi (Core Duo T2500 @ 2.0GHz)	42.947s
Samsung X60plus (Core 2 Duo T7200 @ 2.0GHz)	44.922s
Samsung Q35 (Core 2 Duo T5600 @ 1.83GHz)	46.274s

3DMark06 comparison results for graphics performance (higher scores indicate better gaming performance):

Notebook	3DMark06 Score
Toshiba Satellite U405 (2.1GHz Intel T8100, Intel X3100)	539 3DMarks
Dell Vostro 1310 (2.1GHz Intel T8100, Nvidia 8400M GS 128MB)	1,679 3DMarks
Dell Inspiron 1525 (2.0GHz Intel T7250, Intel X3100)	545 3DMarks
Sony VAIO NR (1.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5250, Intel X3100)	504 3DMarks
Dell XPS M1530 (2.20GHz Intel T7500, Nvidia 8600M GT 256MB)	4,332 3DMarks
Dell Inspiron 1520 (2.0GHz Intel T7300, NVIDIA 8600M GT)	2,905 3DMarks
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS 128MB)	1,408 3DMarks
Samsung Q70 (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 and nVidia 8400M G GPU)	1,069 3DMarks
Asus F3sv-A1 (Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0GHz, Nvidia 8600M GS 256MB)	2,344 3DMarks
Alienware Area 51 m5550 (2.33GHz Core 2 Duo, nVidia GeForce Go 7600 256MB	2,183 3DMarks
Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Xi 1526 (1.66GHz Core Duo, nVidia 7600Go 256 MB)	2,144 3DMarks
Samsung X60plus (2.0GHz Core 2 Duo T7200, ATI X1700 256MB)	1,831 3DMarks
Asus A6J (1.83GHz Core Duo, ATI X1600 128MB)	1,819 3DMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16 GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	827 3DMarks

PCMark05 measures overall notebook performance (higher scores indicate better performance):

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
Toshiba Satellite U405 (2.1GHz Intel T8100, Intel X3100)	4,145 PCMarks
Dell Vostro 1310 (2.1GHz Intel T8100, Nvidia 8400M GS 128MB)	4,813 PCMarks
Dell Inspiron 1525 (2.0GHz Intel T7250, Intel X3100)	4,149 PCMarks
Dell XPS M1530 (2.20GHz Intel T7500, Nvidia 8600M GT 256MB)	5,412 PCMarks
Dell Inspiron 1520 (2.0GHz Intel T7300, NVIDIA 8600M GT)	4,616 PCMarks
Dell XPS M1330 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, NVIDIA GeForce Go 8400M GS)	4,591 PCMarks
Lenovo ThinkPad X61 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	4,153 PCMarks
Lenovo 3000 V200 (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, Intel X3100)	3,987 PCMarks
Lenovo T60 Widescreen (2.0GHz Intel T7200, ATI X1400 128MB)	4,189 PCMarks
HP dv6000t (2.16GHz Intel T7400, NVIDA GeForce Go 7400)	4,234 PCMarks
Fujitsu N6410 (1.66GHz Core Duo, ATI X1400)	3,487 PCMarks
Alienware M7700 (AMD Athlon FX-60, Nvidia Go 7800GTX)	5,597 PCMarks
Sony VAIO SZ-110B in Speed Mode (Using Nvidia GeForce Go 7400)	3,637 PCMarks
Asus V6J (1.86GHz Core Duo T2400, Nvidia Go 7400)	3,646 PCMarks

HDTune measures the performance of the notebook's hard drive in terms of both transfer rate (read/write speed) and access time (how long it takes to find data stored on the drive):

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Heat and Noise

The U405 does an excellent job of controlling heat thanks in no small part to the massive heatsink visible through the air vent on the left side of the notebook. The only two areas of the U405 that peaked above 100 degrees Fahrenheit were the areas next to the RAM and wireless card ... both of which are normal. Although the touchpad and bottom of the notebook did become warm during benchmarks it was never too hot to keep on the lap. Below are images with temperature readings listed in degrees Fahrenheit:

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Fortunately, noise was a complete non-issue with the fan on the U405. The fan moved a significant amount of hot air and the noise was so quiet I sometimes forgot the notebook was still powered on.

Battery Life

The 6-cell 4800mAh Li-Ion battery provides excellent battery life for the U405. The 6-cell delivered 3 hours and 48 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 60 percent.

While that battery life might not seem overly impressive at first glance, the important item to note is that this is a rather average 4800mAh battery. The new 13-inch Dell Vostro 1310 produced similar battery life numbers, but the battery on that notebook is a higher capacity battery. Clearly Toshiba is doing something right in terms of battery power management.

There is also an available 9-cell 7200mAh Li-Ion battery for those users needing extended battery life. Unfortunately, Toshiba was unable to provide us with the 9-cell battery during our testing period, so we cannot provide any information on battery life with that battery.

Conclusion

A notebook is more than the sum of its parts. For several years now Toshiba has managed to make solid notebooks but they didn't excite our editorial staff ... until now. In years past Toshiba usually did a fine job "on paper" by delivering laptops with good components, but the "complete package" left something to be desired. Well, Toshiba was paying attention to that criticism and the result is the new Satellite lineup for 2008.

The Satellite U405 is quite possibly the best 13-inch consumer budget notebook we've seen to date. Sure, the current configuration doesn't offer dedicated graphics for playing the latest 3D games, but the U405 is the most balanced overall package we've seen in quite a while. The U405 combines attractive styling, a gorgeous screen, a wonderful keyboard and touchpad, good port selection, and solid performance all at a price that rivals anything we've seen from the competition.

The entry-level configuration of the U405 is priced at $767.20 compared to the entry-level configuration of the Dell Vostro 1310 priced at $747 ... but the U405 is a far superior laptop. As configured, our review unit of the U405 is priced at $1,149.99 (even less at some online stores) but a similar configuration of the less-impressive Dell Vostro 1310 is priced at close to $1,300 and a similar configuration of the Dell XPS M1330 costs $1,400.

Still, the heart of the matter is that the Toshiba Satellite U405 is simply a great laptop. I don't often get attached to review notebooks but I can honestly say I don't want to send this laptop back to Toshiba. This warrants repeating. As an editor and writer for a website that reviews laptops I get a new laptop to use at least once a week ... but I don't want to send this one back.

If you are an average consumer looking for a well-rounded 13-inch notebook that can handle all of your needs without breaking the bank then the Toshiba Satellite U405 belongs at the top of your list.

Pros

• Reasonably thin and light weight
• Great screen
• Wonderful keyboard
• Fantastic touchpad and touchpad buttons
• Great media buttons and white LED indicators
• Good selection of ports
• Convenient USB "Sleep and Charge" ports
• Excellent performance
• Great value

Cons

• No S-video or HDMI port (in this configuration)
• No dedicated graphics option (at the time of this writing)
  
• Mirror finish won't appeal to everyone
• I don't get to keep it
  

 

I wouldn't use the "just". That's fairly heavy for 13.3" and only slightly lighter than my 14.1" Zepto 6024W.

The display, however, looks to be above average.

Did you check whether those USB ports are powered when the notebook is off, for both mains and battery. My Zepto has the ports powered when the computer is off but plugged into the mains but the port power is off when disconnected from the mains. The powered port feature came as a surprise but I have come to appreciate the advantage.

John

 

"I don't get to keep it" -

 

Toshiba producing a desirable laptop???

This must be what happens when all their HD-DVD engineers have nothing else to do.

 

At this point in time its disappointing that Toshiba did not have s-video and hdmi on the launch. I am impressed about what has been said about the quietness and low heat output. Sounds like they are doing a better job then HP in this regard. I wish manufacturers would put more effort on decent speakers. It seems that HP is the alone in this regard in using a third party set (altec lansing) in delivering something that one can actually use. On a smaller form factor like this, I can over look the lack of ports but having to plug in external speakers to get decent sound is a big con for me. I only say this since the sound on my dv6500t is good enough not having to plug in externals and I am spoiled now. Speakers is an area where most manufacturers need to step it up a notch and I don't buy the rational that "most laptops have crappy sound". HP has proven this wrong so its something they could do if they wanted to.

Having said that, since HP does not even have a 13" on market I'd say this is the one to get if one were in the market today. Great display, battery life and low heat in a smaller form factor are a huge plus. This looks like a real winner at the price point Toshiba has set. Maybe this will help Toshiba gain back some of its lost market share. As some of you may remember, Toshiba used to make the best laptops way back.

 

Wow, he whipped out the editors choice on this bad boy. And Jerry is a tough judge when it comes to giving awards

The look of this notebook is very nice, it's good to see Toshiba shaking things up.

I've never seen a keyboard described in such a way that it almost turns you on. That's awesome.

 

Good point: I bought a T4400 in 1992 and kept it for 3 ½ years (with CPU, HDD and RAM upgrades and 2 new batteries along the way). Apart from needing to replace the floppy disk drive it gave me no problems and still felt very robust when I sold it.

John

 

I'm writing this while I'm out of the office so I'll have to keep this short, but I wasn't horrified by the speakers on this notebook. True, they aren't the best, but they're MUCH better than the built-in speakers on other 13-inch notebooks like the ThinkPad X300, MacBook Air and Vostro 1310.

Still, I'm a bit of an audiophile (the cheapest headphones I use at home cost $90) and most of my home entertainment speakers and desktop speakers are expensive high-end units. So I might be more critical of audio performance than most average consumers.

You are right when you say that HP has been doing a very good job in the speaker department. Even the speakers on the tiny HP 2133 Mini-Note are pretty good.

 

The design... It is so resemble the COMPAQ that I bought week ago...

 

Looks like Toshiba crossed the line when it comes to the amount of glossy finish they used. Not only is the amount of gloss simply too high, but even the freakin' keyboard is glossy! This thing will attract fingerprints like nobody's business!

That, and the imprint pattern seems very 80s. It just doesn't look right on a notebook.

I'm glad the everything else was well done, but Toshiba just had to ruin it with excess gloss. I know I won't be buying this laptop anytime soon, for the sole reason of being too glossy.

 

That 109 on the touchpad is really nothing to be proud of. I just checked my touchpad on the system in .sig and it is 92 with high performance mode on. In fact 93f is the warmest I can find with my laser temp device.

Maybe a little bit of fan noise would be good in this case. Other than the heat this looks and sounds like great 13"er

 

I thought my dv2000 speakers were horrible until i compared it side-by-side with my friends Dell and anothers Acer and my Hp was alot better. Its still bassless and tiny but better than the others. I

This toshiba looks really sweet and if toshiba continues with this trend of cheaper laptops my next purchase will be a toshiba.

Is the X3100 better then the GeforceGo 7100 series????

 

Am I the only one that hates that fact that almost all laptop these days, heck almost all electronics, are glossy?

 

No, you're not the only one. Fingerprints are my ultimate pet peeve, and having electronics that are fingerprint magnets would drive me crazy.

 

I SEE YOU JERRY!!!!!

 

Wow. I'm definitely not diggin' the reflective finish.

Hmm...and I'm guessing that Satellite logo will wear off of the palmrest.

 

That lid looks ugly, both when it looks like a mirror and when it doesn't (the other shots). That colour combo is just weird. And the form hasn't deviated much from the previous design. All in all, not to nice looking.

 

I don't think it would if it's like the other Satellites, my X205 has the logo in the plastic case and an LED behind it, so nothing to wear off...

Will probably attract some fingerprints though.... curious how it turns out, I actually bought one last weekend at Office Depot when they had the 2824 on sale for $799.... needed something to compliment the behemoth that is my x205 ha

 

It's just that the labels above the LED indicators wore off on my Vostro, because that's where my hand rests.

 

When I look at my laptop, I don't want to see myself. I agree with the others that the reflective design is over the top. Still, it is a very functional unit that I would consider purchasing were I in the market.

 

The thing about this Toshiba design is that it makes the screen look so thick...

 

Not totally sold on this one. Hot touchpad/left palm rest and weight should be considered cons.

 

I'm surprised a notebook got an editor's choice review that lacks gigabit ethernet in the era of Penryn?!

 

Hmm, speaking of glossy keyboard, my FZ keyboard is becoming glossy, after months of typing with foods...Does that count? U405 seems to be a good buy for what it offers. However, there are many 13.3 laptops better than this (and more expensive).

Gigabit ethernet is a bit of marketing gimmick. With other bottlenecks (such as bus speed), ethernet usually won't be able to do much better than 100m, anyway.

 

Ha. My laptop has Gigabit ethernet. :tongue:

 

First thank you for your excellent and reliable review as always.
I think you are a definitely super picky and tough guy to beat as hearing your comment on many laptops that you reviewed.
Like you say, you are probably very used to listening to these expensive speakers at your home ,so you must be a very difficult person to please.

I really like the way you described how the LCD works and I think it is good to know it is not too glossy like my HPs that I already sold for Dells.

I can't wait to see it at my local and compare it to a Sony SZ and HP Dv3000, I really want to compare it to the XPS M1330 but the XPS is not sold in Thailand ............so I will compre it to the HP and the Sony instead.

Thanks ,especially for your LCD review part, was very very nice.

 

I like how, on the Toshiba website describing the new Fusion design, they play up it's reflectivity as a strength. LOL

 

it depends on a configuration,but usually all pre-configured Toshiba laptops have Gigabit.

but why do you care about it? as some already said ,it is a marketing gimmick like feature any way.

and as for the Penryn , it is not worth it see the bench , the T8100 is slower than the T7500, you can see it is all about marketing , nothing else, Intel needs to sell new products with not so innovative features and in order to do that , Intel needs a new brand name.

but I am shocked he gave an editor's choice because I believe he is the toughest reviewer to please.

 

Although I'll never buy another desktop that lacks gigabit, I "needed" to plug in an Ethernet cable to one of my notebooks exactly one time in the last two years. Now my laptop runs on either WiFi or Verizon broadband.

I'm actually typing this on a notebook connected via WiFi in a small hotel in the middle of nowhere Indiana while traveling. I just don't think lack of a gigabit Ethernet jack is as vital as it used to be. Heck, the MacBook Air doesn't have an Ethernet jack at all ... not even 10/100! You have to plug in a horrible USB adapter on the MB Air and then you lose your only USB port.

A dedicated 10/100 isn't so bad.

 

Indeed. I've probably prevented more laptops from getting Editors Choice awards than any other member of our editorial team.

Again, the U405 succeeds because it's a VERY balanced notebook. Sure, it might not slaughter every 13-inch notebook on the market in terms of benchmarks, but it strikes the best possible balance for consumers in terms of performance, build, features, amazing keyboard and touchpad, and a price that really puts HP and Dell on notice.

Last year I gave the dv2500t an Editors Choice award for much the same reason. The dv2500t wasn't the hands-down most impressive 14-inch notebook in every way ... but it did the best job of being "good" or "great" in most respects and was sold at a low price.

For me, the Editors Choice award isn't just about kicking the competition's rear end in every benchmark or having features that revolutionize laptops as we know it (although doing those things will certainly help a notebook's chances). The success of a notebook for me depends in large part on how "the complete package" stands on its own and how the notebook in question compares to the competition.

At the time of this writing I think it's safe to say that the U405 is the best deal (both in terms of price and performance/features/build) for consumers who don't need dedicated graphics and want a 13-inch notebook.

 

After checking Toshiba's web site I noticed that the 14", 15" and 17" include better Harman Kardon® speakers and the A300 15" I was looking at lists HDMI along with a 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3470 Graphics Card option. Does anyone know how this card performs? The 14" lists the s-video but no HDMI or dedicated graphics. It seems the bigger ones in this series get more goodies.

 

Unlike others I don't think the styling is that bad ( even with the ghastly lid ) .

But for $1,149 I would wait to see what the competition has to offer before buying one .

We'll see if the U405 gets to keep the editor's choice award in the upcoming weeks .

 

As far as the A300 series is concerned, you won't have long to wait for a review of that one. Just keep bugging Kevin.

 

Toshiba's website also lists A300 with HD3650 and 2 200gb HDDs (one 5400rpm and one 4200rpm), I would love to see the review on that one.

 

I didnt even know there is a U405 coming out.

It is heavy for a 13.3" screen. I can get a 14.1" for this weight.

 

I think most of Toshiba laptops has been using Harmon Kardon speakers for a long time. My wife is a lecturer and she sometime used her 6 years old toshiba in classroom demonstration just relying on the built-in Harmon Kardon speakers.

 

I m going to buy one. I don't need dedicated graphics. But time to time I will working with Photoshop and with huge pics. lkie a RAW format file, 9 MB- 14 MB each.
How is it perform this Toshiba. What do you thing guy's ? Is this specification will be sufficient ?

 

With 3GB of system RAM and a fast processor such as the one in our test configuration, the U405 is more than fine for Photoshop work. The U405 would be a nice Photoshop machine when traveling.

That said, if your next laptop purchase is going to be your primary Photoshop machine (rather than just your temporary Photoshop machine while traveling) you'll want to consider either an extra external hard drive or a laptop with dual hard drives so that the second drive can be setup as a scratch disk for Photoshop. Photoshop runs much better when it has one or more scratch disks.

Most 17-inch laptops and some 15-inch laptops (like the new Toshiba A305) have two internal hard drives and that works out well since you can set one of the drives as a scratch disk.

That said, it really depends on you and what level of performance you're willing to live with. I have a very powerful desktop at home with five hard drives that I use for Photoshop. Since I only do very minimal Photoshop work while traveling I just use an Asus Eee PC 4G running Windows XP with a 16GB SDHC card as a second drive and 2GB of system RAM. I also have a 320GB portable USB hard drive that I use for travel storage.

Anyway, the Eee PC and its weak 900MHz processor and integrated graphics is powerful enough to run Photoshop CS3 ... just not very fast and no more than a dozen high resolution RAW files at a time.

 

I dont know if this model do away with the bright Toshiba word.

It is annoying when you want to watch a movie from few feet away and this bright Toshiba word in front.

 

I didn't know that thx for respond. The point is that the price is OK. I can only pay 1000 $ or litle above . This Toshiba is available for 1099 $. That's fine for me. I like screen size too. My favorite is 12.1 but..... now there isn't competition for U405 for that price (maybe I'm wrong). I don't want buy another slow notebook. I belive that this Toshiba isn't. I hate desktop computer's. I never had desktop comp. at home , work ect. and I never will. I asked for Photoskop , but in every day usage I need laptop for multitasking. Many windows open at once in the background : playing internet radio , chat, recording some of the TV show through the external tuner tv. Maybe it's too much ?

 

The U405 and the Penryn processor in our review unit did a wonderful job multitasking with multiple windows and applications running at the same time. Based on what you said in your last post I suspect the U405 will be a good laptop for you.

 

The word "Toshiba" under the display is not backlit ... just the word "Satellite" on the left palm rest. Still, the white LEDs are much less annoying than the blue LEDs on most consumer notebooks.

 

I belive you That's what I wanted to hear about this model Thx a lot JerryJ

 

If you are talking about the one on the left front facing you when you are using the laptop, you should be able to disable it in the bios. On my current Toshiba, it's called "Front Logo" in the bios, and can easily be turned on or off. I can only assume the u405 will be the same, the one i bought is suppose to show up tomorrow, so if it's any different I'll let you know.

 

I saw this at OD today.

I am very disappointed.

This is a fingerprint city. It is shiny and glossy! Why do they want to make laptop like this? Same with HP. I just dont understand.

It doesnt have the cheesy keyboard like the U305.

 

I disagree with you on glossy notebooks, Maybe its personal preference but having owned a gloosy finish based notebook for the past 2yrs some of the issues connected with it are blown out of proportion. A certain amount of glossiness does add some flair to it compared to the rest of matte black or silver notebooks. I am not being superficial here. Atleast it looks like Toshiba are using similar sort of imprint technology and should hold much better to scratches compared to regular glossy paint. Maybe being a bit subdued in their use of gloss on the lid might help a lot in reducing fingerprints.

In any case, Toshiba are offering the Satellite Pro U400 which is the same laptop as the consumer Satellite U405 but without the glossy finish and sticks with the usual silver paint scheme...
http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cmod.to?coid=-35450

 

if you dont like glossy, they make the same notebook in the satellite Pro models in silver.

 

Correct. You get a smaller hard drive and less RAM for the same amount of money, but you get Windows XP, no bloatware, better support, and no glossy finish:

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cmod.to?coid=-35450

 

The good old one Satellite U300/305 looks better .

And Toshiba didn't put S-Video connector again :confused2:!

I agree. It's just too much.

 

Jerry - Thanks for the excellent review - I just bought the U405-S2820 based on your review, and my previous experience with the Toshiba U-series (I had a U305 up until a few months back). I am also pleased that Toshiba has (finally) seen fit to have some XP drivers "up" for this system already. I had to assemble quite a hodge-podge of drivers to get my U305 running well with XP - and I am hopeful that I'll have the same luck with the U405.

There wasn't any off-the-wall / no-XP driver hardware on the U305 - such as the IR receiver on the ASUS F8SA or the Marvell LAN on the H-P dv2700 - so hopefully they haven't pulled any surprises this time around.

I also saw and handled one of the new A305's in the PX and I really like the new finish and the build quality in general. Toshiba has done a heckuva marketing job with AAFES as the PX where I'm stationed has Toshiba's only.

I am starting to really like Vista with SP1 - but Vista is pretty unfriendly when it comes to wireless networking compared to XP SP2 - soon SP3.