A Review of the 15.4" Toshiba Satellite A305D-S6835 Notebook

The Toshiba A305D-S6835 is a high end yet affordable notebook. Having those two qualities it's no surprise that it is one of the best selling notebooks currently on the market. I have gotten my hands on one of these and I'm going to let you know what it is capable of and who will get the most out of purchasing one of these. First let me get started with a few of its stats.

Hardware

Imaging: Webcam integrated into face

Processor: 2.2 GHz 64-bit dual-core AMD Turion

Storage Space: 320 GB hard drive

RAM: 3GB (Expandable to a 4GB maximum)

Optical Drive: CD R RW with an integrated dual-layer DVD +/- R RW burner

Graphics Accelerator: ATI Radeon X1250 graphics (uses up to 831 MB of dedicated and shared memory)

Demensions and weight: 14.3" x 10.5" x 1.5" and weighs 6lbs

This notebook has a powerful 2.2 GHz 64bit AMD processor as its powerhouse. I love this chip; it is remarkably powerful and sips energy. The small size and relatively light frame at 6lbs makes this Toshiba a mobile monster. The ATI manufactured video card is very capable for the gamer as well as the multimedia professional.

The first thing you notice as this sits on the shelf is the beautiful 15.4" TruBrite screen operating at 1280 x 800 (producing a 720p HD resolution for those familiar with HD televisions). If you haven't seen these Toshiba satellite screens in person you really should run down to your local electronics retailer and check them out, they're on par with Apple and Sony as far as quality (even though the resolution isn't tremendously high).

Connectivity

Integrated Wireless (so you can connect to wireless LAN's)

1 Ethernet Port (so you can connect to a wired network)

4 2.0 USB ports (this is used to connect your laptop to printers, digital cameras, and mp3 players)

1 FireWire port (this port is used for high speed data transfer between other PC's and digital camcorders)

1 ExpressCard port (where you can insert a cellular modem or Bluetooth adapter)

1 VGA out (a typical monitor connection)

1 S-Video out (usually for connecting to a projector or compatible television)

1 audio out / 1 mic in

1 digital audio out

1 56K modem input (so you can dialup)

5 in 1 memory card reader (you can use this to directly insert the memory from you mobile devices)

As far as connectivity this is fairly standard. The only thing my A305D-S6835 is missing is a Bluetooth adapter. These are typically integrated with most higher-end models and I'm surprised I don't see one here. I wouldn't mind seeing some sort of HD output either although it would purely be a bonus.

The price on this notebook is currently just shy of $1000. This is a great price for a versatile, highly mobile notebook. I would expect to see this notebook drop this summer or as late as the fall when the computer buying season hits (coinciding with the start of school). This would be great for most computer users, including students and professionals.