Editorial Review:Product Description:The Toshiba Satellite L305D-S5881 is a great notebook for all different types of computer users. With the AMD Turion X2 Dual-Core processor and 3GB of RAM you can run all your productivity, gaming and multimedia tasks. With the 15.4? bright and crisp TruBrite screen you will enjoy viewing all you precious memories on this display, that's also great for watching DVD movies also. Stay in touch with families and friends with the built-in webcam and use either AIM or Windows MSN messenger to connect with everyone you know. The L305D is also great for playing online video games since it comes with an ATI Radeon 3100 graphics card and 802.11b/g wireless. Getting all these features at a great price makes this a deal not to pass up. 15.4 diagonal WXGA (1280 x 800) TruBrite TFT LCD Display Built-in Webcam and microphone ATI Radeon 3100 256MB-1406MB dynamically allocated shared Graphics Memory Labelflash DVD+-R/RW Super Multi Drive with Double Layer Atheros 802.11b/g Wireless 10/100 Ethernet LAN 5-in-1 Bridge Media Adapter - MMC, SD, MS, MS Pro, xD ExpressCard Slot 54/34 Slot 3 x USB 2.0, Headphone out; Microphone-in, VGA, RJ-11 (Modem), RJ-45 Approximate Unit Dimensions - 14.2?(W) x 10.5?(D) x 1.51?(H) Approximate Unit Weight - 5.67 Pounds
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
-
Caterpillar to Butterfly: 192 MB RAM to 3 GB RAM ++ some other stuff.
Though I loved my previous laptop and used it with no complaints since November 2003, I feel like I was a caterpillar and now I'm a butterfly, using my new Toshiba L305D-S5581! Well, okay, I did have a complaint about how long it took my old PC to boot up and shut down, and was thrilled with my new Toshiba's faster accomplishments of those routine operations. I had expected slower instead of faster, due to VISTA and the additional programs which would be on the new laptop. I had XP on my old laptop. I like both versions of MS Windows OS, and can see the advantages of each, but VISTA is definitely the butterfly.
Even though many reviews have made what appear to have been valid complaints about products with the specifications this Toshiba (and other brands) has, I have not had any of those difficulties, and indeed have felt like wings have replaced my previously grounded slow motion.
I was foremost looking for a machine with at least 3 GB of SDRAM, and at least 200 GB HD. The choice of 3 GB of RAM was due to helpful reviews I've read on many pages for laptops on Amazon which have complained that Windows VISTA is slow with less RAM. What I have on this machine is absolutely fine for my needs.
Reviews have noted that not quite as much HD space is needed currently, with the market availability of USB drives which extend the PC's hard drive in a variety of ways, with nearly endless storage options... so I felt that 200 GB DH would be adequate, and it is, though I don't need to store lots of game or graphics programs on my PC, mostly just my manuscripts and MS WORD, AOL, and photos.
As to the complaints of current laptops being loaded with what is called crap ware or bloat ware, I have to say I agree somewhat with those complaints. I haven't yet been able to decide what I might need within the bloat ware offerings, and honestly can't decide which of the DVD players, CD writers, Wireless purveyors, etc., would be the ones I would want to use.
But what some reviews have pointed out exposes the trade off in this case, i.e., the reason certain LT's (laptops) can be offered at such good prices is that the companies who provide the plethora of extra programs pay for that advertising, thereby allowing the lower price offered by the company offering the machine. Given that trade off, I'm willing to take time to decide what I want to keep and discard among the huge number of colorful icons grinning at me from my desk top, hoping I'll click on them and purchase from their trial offerings.
Everything I have so far installed and begun using has been easy for me, not a computer wiz, to accomplish, though I'm very thankful for the reviewers who mentioned the Windows VISTA habit of always asking via a dialogue box pop-up if the user or "administrator" (me) initiated the action. Even though this pop up sometimes feels disruptive, I've become more comfortable knowing I will be asked and informed before uploading and installation will occur from the hordes of automatic updates seemingly offered by everyone on every program on my computer.
I was thankful to the reviewers who mentioned that with VISTA drivers are often needed for installations of programs and hardware. I loved the Plug & Play capacity with XP, but can easily see why the incredible increase of hardware and software might have caused the necessity of a specific CD driver to be used for installation, and so far all programs and equipment have come with necessary drivers. The reviews, however, alerted me to this necessity, so I wasn't surprised by this seeming backward change from XP to VISTA, which to me, now, is clearly a forward motion taking into account the current and growing progress in the computer industry, and the plethora of variety available.
I was able to easily install the driver of the HP All in One (with FAX) I purchased, along with the wireless mouse and USB hub. I hope to have time to review some of those, too, because I'm butterfly thrilled with each of them!
I want to conclude by thanking the huge number of reviewers on Amazon, who commented on various brands of notebook PC's. Each of those reviewers was directly and practically helpful to me in one way or another. Personally, I would rather read Amazon customer reviews on computer hardware, before reading PC magazines or other more complex sources of information. For me, reviews from everyday people, purchasers/users of specific pieces of equipment, say just what I need to know, in an easily comprehensible language. I do a lot of research on Amazon's buying pages, under customer reviews.
Flying off to ready more of my novels for publication on KINDLE, I remain a wing-ed author at your reading service!
Linda G. Shelnutt
Author of several books on Amazon's KINDLE and Amazon Shorts