Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980 Laptop Computer Review

Today I will be evaluating the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980. The major feature of this computer is its multitouch touchscreen. As I will explain later on, this touchscreen does have problematic aspects. Outside of this one feature, this is a decent laptop which also has some features that are above average. I will break down the positives and negatives on each part of the laptop.

Since the main gimmick for the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980 is the touch screen, we shall start there. The touchscreen is thirteen inches and it's resolution is 1280 by 800 pixels. This poses problems as this resolution is far too fine to function as a proper touch interface. Nor is there any stylus to help with this problem. One solution is to increase the font size. This solution, however, causes even more problems. It grossly reduces the usable space even further.

In addition, the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980's picture can be described as grainy. To top it off, the screen is also far too dim. But on the plus side, the placement of the hinge actually puts the laptop screen in the perfect angle when the laptop is fully open. Despite this, the end result is a display which has made too many compromises for an idea which has not been done practically.

In addition to these problems, the multitouch feature itself has some difficulties. When the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980 is upright, it is really awkward to reach forward and manipulate the bundled multitouch application. This bundled application should allow you to post notes and images in a fashion similar to a blackboard, but it is hardly practical.

It is not all negative. The touchscreen does make it a breeze to do on-screen drawing in a program like Photoshop. It is also useful for zooming in and out of websites or images.

Nor do the problems with the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980 stop here. The keyboard also has its own problems. Not only is it uncomfortable to use, the glossy, flat-surfaced, backlit keyboard is nothing but a pain. Not only is it made out of cheap plastic, but it does nothing but squeak as your fingertips slide across it.

That being said, there are some positives associated with the keyboard. The white LED backlighting is picture perfect and a nice change of pace from all the blue LEDs that are currently in the market. The touch-sensitive buttons which are located above the keyboard are nice. Although some users may find the keyboard style to their liking, I found it remains a gaudy reminder of Toshiba's over-glossed yesteryear.

There are more positive aspects of the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980. Although the screen and keyboard are problematic, the mouse touchpad, which also offers multitouch capability, is great. This provides you with a real alternative if the display via touch is not to your liking. The only real drawback to the mouse is that it is a bit on the small side.

Many of the other features of this computer do their job. The speakers, which are located on the body of the laptop and below the screen, are an example of this. The volume they provide is more than adequate. Even at sixty percent, the volume is still loud enough for either music or video.

The Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980 is a little on the bulbous side for a computer of its size. It weighs four point seven pounds and measures twelve point five by nine point one by one point five inches. Overall, I do like the look of the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980. The lid has a pleasing texture and the inside of the laptop gives a modern, toughened style with a comfortable texture for the palm rest.

The Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980 is firm. The chassis does not flex nor any cracks. Since it has three USB ports, a user has an excellent selection of ports. It even has a combo e-SATA port. There is also a ExpressCard slot. Another bonus is that these connections are very nicely placed as there are two USB ports located near the front. It also has a microphone and speaker jacks, VGA- and HDMI-video outputs, an olde-tyme modem port and a gigabit ethernet. There is an SD/MMC card reader at the front of the machine. And final positive thing is that this laptop uses a slot-loading DVD drive rather than the flimsy tray-loading ones which most laptops have.

Although it's nowhere close to being a speed demon, Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980's performance is reasonable. The four gigabyte of DDR2 is coupled with a fair sized five hundred gigabyte hard drive. This ranks highly with the best modern notebook drives. Although the two point two GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 processor is not outstanding, it is backed with four gigabyte of DDR2 RAM. When combine with its massive hard drive, the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980 scores an eighty seven in WorldBench 6. When everything is said and done, the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980 has everything you will need for general use. The high-definition media playback did work well. There were no hiccups nor are there any stutters. The Intel integrated graphics, however, do not want a serious gamer would look for.

As with anything, there is a trade off. In this case, it's reduced battery life. If you are lucky, you will only get three and a half hours out of the battery. This is much shorter than the average life of an all-purpose laptop, which is about four hours and fourteen minutes.

Although there are plenty of positives about the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980, its biggest selling point is also one of its biggest drawbacks. The user will have to use the most direct method of interacting with the laptop: the keyboard and screen. With the difficulties, it will drive people away, regardless of all the hardware that is under the hood. The poor visual quality brings the whole system down a peg. And to top it off, the multitouch touchscreen raises the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2980 price to around a thousand and fifty dollars.