Product Description

TOSHIBA A135-S4467 Satellite Notebook. Toshiba Satellite notebooks feature high quality PC technology at price points for every budget, offering the power and convenience of mobile computing at a great value. Engineered to deliver solid performance, these notebooks can handle todays most popular business applications. Their stylish, smart design is enhanced by features unique to Toshiba. And they are built to be durable and reliable, so you can be confident that you are getting a top notch product. Whether you are a first time mobile user or you are on a tight budget, Toshiba Satellite notebooks are the way to go mobile.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1891 in Personal Computers
• Brand: Toshiba
• Model: A135-S4467
• Dimensions: 15.50" h x 1.65" w x 10.80" l, 5.80 pounds
• CPU: Intel Core Duo 1.66 GHz
• Memory: 1000MB DDR2 SDRAM
• Hard Disk: 160GB
• Processors: 2
• Display size: 15.4

Features

• 6-pound notebook with 15.4-inch screen and 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5200 processor
• 160 GB hard drive, 1 GB installed RAM (4 GB max), multi-format/dual-layer DVD drive (8x DVD+/-R)
• Connectivity: 4 USB, 1 FireWire, 1 VGA, 1 S-Video, 1 PCMCIA, 5-in-1 memory card reader
• Tri-mode Wi-Fi LAN (802.11a/b/g), 10/100 Ethernet, Intel GMA 950 video card with up to 256 MB of shared memory
• Pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium (with Media Center capabilities)

Amazon.com Product Description
Easily mobile at just 6 pounds, the Toshiba Satellite A135-S4467 makes it easy to get your work done with a large, bright 15.4-inch widescreen LCD. The XGA-resolution screen (1280 x 800) permits side-by-side viewing of documents for increased productivity. It's also great for using as a media center, with Toshiba's unique Express Media Player enabling you to bypass the system and access CDs and DVDs with a touch of button. This notebook is powered by the 1.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5200 processor, which offers a 20 percent performance boost over its predecessor while using 28 percent less power--so you get the benefit of a powerful dual-core PC plus all the benefits of mobility. It provides an optimized, multithreaded architecture for improved gaming and multitasking performance. It also offers a 160 GB hard drive, 1 GB of installed RAM (4 GB maximum), dual-layer/multi-format DVD drive that also burns CDs, integrated tri-mode wireless connectivity (802.11a/b/g), and Intel GMA 950 video card with up to 256 MB of shared video RAM.

It comes preinstalled with Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, which includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center. In addition to easily playing your DVD movies and managing your digital audio library, you'll be able to record and watch your favorite TV shows (even HDTV). Vista also integrates new search tools throughout the operating system, includes new parental control features, and offers new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures.

The Basics

• Processor: The Intel Core 2 Duo T5200 processor has a 1.6 GHz processor speed, fast 533 MHz front-side bus (FSB), and large 2 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system's performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)

  The Intel Core 2 Duo processor has two computational execution cores in a single processor, providing greater system response when running multi-threaded applications simultaneously with no significant increase in power consumption. It's optimized for multitasking and is ready to support the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. It can simultaneously run multiple demanding applications--such as graphics-intensive games or serious number-crunching business productivity applications--while downloading music or running virus-scanning security programs in the background. Some of the advanced Intel innovations of the Core 2 Duo processor include:

  • Smart Memory Access: Improves system performance by hiding memory latency, thus optimizing the use of available computer data bandwidth to provide data to the processor when and where it is needed.
  • Advanced Digital Media Boost: Effectively doubles the execution speed for instructions used widely in multimedia and graphics applications.
  • Dynamic Power Coordination: Coordinates Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology and idle power-management state (C-states) transitions independently per core to help save power.
  • Deeper Sleep with Dynamic Cache Sizing: Saves power by flushing cache data to system memory during periods of inactivity to lower CPU voltage.
  
  
• Hard Drive: The 160 GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 RPM) is about double the average in size for notebook PCs. It provides more than enough capacity for storing documents and productivity software and allows for a good-sized digital media library. This SATA hard drive also quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data--akin to FireWire and USB 2.0.
  
• Memory: The 1 GB of built-in memory (PC4200, DDR2 SDRAM) is a good start for power users, and it offers a decently fast 533 MHz speed. It has two memory slots, enabling you to add up to 4 GB of RAM for worry-free handling graphics-intensive presentations and multiple open business productivity applications. To receive the faster data transfer benefits of the dual-channel DDR2 RAM, any RAM additions require memory modules of same capacity and clockspeed.
  
• DVD/CD Drive: The double-layer DVD drive is compatible with a wide range of formats, including both DVD+RW and DVD-RW discs, CD-RW discs, and dual-layer (DL) DVD+/-R discs, which can hold up to 8.5 GB of data--great for backing up your MP3 collection or your most important documents. It features the following speeds: 4x DVD+R DL, 4x DVD-R DL, 8x for both single-layer DVD+R/-R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 5x DVD-RAM, and 24x/16x for CD-R/RW. It reads DVD-ROM discs at 8x and CD-ROMs at 24x.
  
• Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a standard 85-key keyboard and electro-static two-button touchpad. It also offers a launch button for the Express CD/DVD media player and control buttons (play, stop, next, previous) as well as a volume control dial.

Screen, Video & Audio
This Toshiba Satellite A105 has a 15.4-inch TFT display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It also provides TruBrite technology, which makes images brighter and more vivid thanks to its anti-glare feature. Video is powered by the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, which uses Intel Dynamic Video Memory Technology (DVMT) and provides up to 256 MB of shared video memory. It also features an integrated audio card with headphone and microphone jacks.

Networking, Connectivity & Expansion
This Toshiba Satellite has an integrated tri-mode Intel 3945ABG wireless LAN, which is compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found in home routers and wi-fi hotspots) as well as 802.11a networks (which has a higher throughput, but more limited range--great for closed office environments). You get a good offering of connectivity options:

• 4 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
• 1 VGA monitor port
• 1 S-Video out
• 1 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type II, PCMCIA R2.01, PC Card16, CardBus)
• 1 headphone jack, 1 microphone jack
• 5-in-1 memory card reader that's compatible with Secure Digital (including SDIO), MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, xD Picture Card memory cards

It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.92) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Fast Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Operating System
Windows Vista Home Premium is the operating system for users with advanced computer needs, and it includes all of the Windows Media Center capabilities for turning your PC into an all-in-one home entertainment center for watching DVD movies and accessing your digital audio library. You can also use Windows Media Center to record and watch your favorite TV shows (even HDTV) and to access new kinds of online entertainment content. Computers that include Windows Vista Home Premium and an auxiliary Windows SideShow display will also allow you to access key data even when your computer is off. It is also easier than ever to share files between other PCs in your household and to manage your laptop computer settings to more securely connect to your favorite WiFi hotspot.

Every edition of Windows Vista provides the essential tools and technologies to help protect you whether you are browsing the Internet, connecting to a wireless network, or just reading e-mail. All editions of Windows Vista include new tools that can warn you of impending hardware failures long before you have lost any important personal data. And, all Windows Vista editions include parental control features that allow you to manage and monitor your family's use of games, the Internet, instant messaging, and other activities.

Preloaded Software
Toshiba software includes Disc Creator, Recovery Disc Creator, and Speech System. Third-party software titles include Microsoft Works 8.5, InterVideo WinDVD 8 SD, Google Desktop and Toolbar, Ulead DVD Movie Factory, McAfee Internet Security Suite (with 30-day trial), and Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition (60-day trial).

Dimensions & Weight
This notebook measures 14.2 x 10.5 x 1.45 (WxDxH) and weighs 6 pounds.

Power
It's powered by a 6-cell rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which has a battery life of up to 2.5 hours (depending on usage). It has a 4.5-hour full charging time.

What's in the Box
This package contains the A135-S4467 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a one-year limited hardware warranty.

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Customer Reviews

Nice Basic Vista Notebook
I needed a new notebook after my 3-year old Dell Inspiron 1100 stopped properly charging the battery. I wasn't looking for a gaming PC or a full desktop replacement. I just needed a reliable portable that could handle a small business and occasionally some entertainment. A little research and the comments of two other owners pointed me to Toshiba.

So here we go:

15.4" Widescreen
The display is nice and bright with good color and no faulty pixels noted. It does have a glossy finish which concerned me in terms of glare. While there is a bit of glare, in operation, I don't generally notice it. I did notice a hint of some lines, almost like interference, that occasionally zip up the screen (usually only visible on light colored screen areas). I am almost convinced that they appear when the hard drive is running a lot. If you weren't looking for the lines, you'd probably never notice them. The display is driven by an Intel graphics chipset. This is not a high performance gaming video system, but works fine for common home or business applications.

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5200
The system is quite snappy with most of my applications. Even when using the "Power Saver" power plan, the system is very responsive. There are Windows Vista Gagdets that allow you to graphically monitor processor utilization (or you can use the Task Manager). Either way, there seems to be plenty of power for my common applications (Web, Peachtree Accounting, Paint Shop Pro, VirtualDub, etc). I have not tried any real games; while I feel the processor would handle most tasks, the graphics chipset would likely slow down most modern games.

1 GB RAM
I've frequently read that Vista only works well with 1GB or more of RAM. With Vista Home Premium and most of my applications running, I still have about 300MB of RAM available and haven't noticed any disk swapping thus far.

160 GB Hard Drive
The drive seems relatively quick. The size (reported as 147GB thanks to HD manufacturers new math) has about 127GB free out of the box.

SuperMulti DVD Drive
It claims to read and writes a variety of disc standards. I haven't put it through it paces yet, other than to load software.

Vista Premium
Its here. There are plenty of reviews of Vista; find a few and have a read. It has some glitches and some really annoying new 'features'. It is visible stunning and it generally works well. So far no crashes. Time will tell. It runs my standard applications, although there are reports of compatibility issues for some programs out there.

Bundled Software
The system includes trial versions of McAfee and Microsoft Office. I removed most of the preloaded trial-ware and applets that were of no interest to me.

Other
The unit looks very nice. It is simple and functional. The display's outer lid (onyx blue) looks very nice, but starts to show fingerprints immediately. It doesn't feel 'cheap'. The weight is about 6 lbs and seems typical of systems of this generation. Some Toshiba notebooks actually have a external volume control wheel (on the front of this model's case), and a physical switch (also on the front) to turn the wireless network on or off. If you can get it to connect, check the switch before looking elsewhere.

Summary
The system is snappy, well equipped, and overall, I am happy with the purchase.

Toshiba Satellite A135-S4517 (aka A135-S4467)
First off it's important to know that the S4517 is simply the "retail" version of the S4467. I printed the detailed specs on both models from Toshiba's website and compared them line by line. Same exact hardware, same exact software. That being said I have found that the S4517 seems to be priced somewhat less.

I have only had the system < 1 week. I purchased it for $() from easttrades.com. The transaction was very smooth and it arrived in good shape. Staples.com had it for the same price, however I would have had to pay sales tax making easttrades the clear winner.

I am replacing a POS Compaq that I paid over $1500 for nearly 3 years ago. My kids use the laptop on a regular basis and the Compaq had many issues including the infamous BSOD due to overheating issues.

My requirements for this purchase were to stay under $900 and get the best price/performance ratio. I tend to prefer to stand behind the technology curve however with the S4519/S4467 I feel as though I am closer to the front of the pack. By that I mean it has the Core 2 Duo processor and comes with Windows Vista. Both of which are relatively new entries into the consumer mainstream.

The esthetics of the machine are certainly nothing special. i.e. Black/gray and a relatively cheap feeling touchpad setup. However, compared to the Dell E1505 and comparable other vendors I felt that the Toshiba was the clear winner.

The only downside that I decided to "settle" for was the mediocre graphics engine that is provided with the S4517/S4467. It comes with an integrated Intel graphics engine (Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950) that shares (steals) memory from the operating system. I was very concerned about the performance as Vista Aero is a 3d interface. I am happy to say that it has performed superb. Granted if you are a serious gamer/graphics user the Intel graphics offering may present a problem.

Being a complete skeptic about whether the dual-processor what worth the additional $ I decided to put it through a few unorthodox tests. For example, I inserted a DVD (Over the Hedge) and started creating other processes to see if I could make it "hiccup". The first thing I tried was to download a product from the internet that was approx. 20mb and install it. At the same time I was transferring some of the contents of the POS Compaq (approx 9gb). I kept expect the DVD to freeze or at least pause, however everything continue to multi-processing as advertised. Needless to say I am very impressed w/ the Core 2 Duo. (and this is all 32-bit code.)

Windows Vista is interesting. The fact that the S4517/S4467 come w/ the premium version is a perk as Aero is a part of Premium. It is not a part of Vista Basic.

The fact that the wireless network adapter supports all three forms of 802.11 is nice. i.e A/B/G. I use WPA-PSK and was able to quickly configure all adapter and get up and running. THis may sound stupid..no, it is stupid.. I have never owned a laptop w/ a built in wireless adapter. It took me a few minutes to figure out there is an OFF/ON switch for the wireless adapter....esp. seeing as I am "allergic" to books.

The hard drive is a nice size for our needs. One bit of consternation that I had was that drive was a 5400 rpm unit. I replaced the drive in the POS Compaq w/ a 7200 rpm drive to help the performance. It made a significant difference, however there are heat/energy trade-off considerations with the 7200 rpm drives. Any way, the drive performs reasonably well according the the computed performance index.

The screen is adequately nice. I did not want a 17" screen as they are overwhelmingly large and besides I didn't want to have to buy a new carrying case.

I thought the standard sound was actually pretty good when I was playing the DVD keeping in mind these were laptop speakers. I could definitely sense the texture of the sound as I played different medias.

Built in combo CD/DVD reader/writer is sweet. It is a dual layer drive that supports DVD-RAM. Not sure I will ever use that feature, however nice to know it is there.

The rest of the configuration is pretty standard. I do like the built in media reader. I am also interested in testing the Vista feature that supports the flash-ram in a configuration called ReadyBoost. From what I have read the performance improvements aren't real impressive however maybe this will improve.

The bottomline is that for the money I couldn't find a better deal that the S4517. So far I am impressed and hope to remain that way for the next couple years. The fact that my kids will be the main user of this machine will certainly put it to the test over the next several months.

Good product, bad software
The Good: Hardware is quite good (except for the shared memory between the CPU and the GPU; I will explain this further down). The price is good too
The Bad: Vista, and the loads of software (mostly trial versions)
The Ugly: The Aerio 3D interface just slows down almost any task.

I would say that the fault lies with Vista. For instance, I have a quality check application that has to scan through all the pages of my company's web site. A Centrino running XP or a P3 running Windows 2000 is able to complete the whole site of 3000+ pages within 3 minutes whereas Vista's 3D shared memory does not complete even 30 pages in 10 minutes. A Task manager check did not show much CPU activity either. I was wondering where the problem was, as this application needed strong display as well as string parsing "cycles". Disabling the 3D interface got it back to its old speed. Now I am using this in a "Windows Classic" mode to conserve memory and to speed up applications.I believe that the GPU prevents the CPU from accessing any memory while it is working (and not just the shared memory alone). This rather explains the low CPU cycles in the 3D interface. When the 3D interface is disabled, I could see CPU utilization going up to 95% and I even saw many of my applications performing faster than a single CPU machine.

The odd thing is about the microphone. Is it there or not? System says there is one, the quick tour manual says it is there on certain models. Anyway I guess I will buy the web cam cum microphone available at Aldi's for less than $17.00.

I do have plenty of Vista gripes, though. Linux seems very user friendly compared to this monster called Vista. An example is the dialog boxes. The file open dialog displays the new folder icons for software that is part of Vista. On the other hand, all existing software shows the older style of file open dialogs. Folder icons are vertical in one set of dialogs and horizontal in the other set of dialogs.

Coming back to the hardware, Toshiba always makes very good hardware, and this is no exception. I have bought Toshiba notebooks for the past 12+ years and I see no reason to switch from Toshiba. The only gripe I have is about the 3D interface, and all notebooks seem to have the problem right now.