Toshiba 15.6" Satellite P755-S5215 Laptop / Intel® CoreTM i3 Processor / 6GB Memory / 640GB Hard D

Bought this laptop from a bigbox store recently for $549 plus tax. Great deal. So far it's worth every penny. The Core i3 processor with 6 gigs of RAM makes it sufficiently fast. I bought it to replace my 4 year old Toshiba and have been delighted to know that it still has many of the features that I like and has improved or upgraded other features. Although heavier than most computers in it's class it is lighter than my previous Satellite of the same size. The screen is now a little longer and narrower than before. Colors I think are a little brighter. It has 640 gigs of hard drive but I can't imagine that I will ever use more than 100 gigs of that. The built in speakers were a selling point for me. They are very loud and clear, unlike many of it's competitors whose speakers sound like they were taken out of one of those stuffed animals that talk when you squeeze them. You can lock the touch pad when you are typing. The volume control is now a touch sensor instead of a little wheel. The only downsides that I can think of are the weight and the mouse buttons which are a little stiff. The frame of the lap top has a weird textured look and feel. I guess the idea was so that fingerprints don't show but its grainy, textured feel is a little distracting at first. I'm sure I will get used to it soon. This new model also has a key pad, HDMI, and USB 3.0 although I'm still trying to figure out which one it is as it is not labeled.

The P755-S5215 is the second Toshiba Satellite that I've owned and I've had it for 7 months now without issue, as I expected. The first one (a U205-S5057 bought in mid 2007) still works perfectly except for 5 bad pixels on the monitor. Both of these laptops take regular trips in the tail bag of my motorcycle with all the vibration and lack of climate control that goes with it.

The good...

It has volume and a few media controls near the monitor. Why are manufacturers making laptops without volume and media controls? This was one of the few, including many of the more expensive units, with at least some controls! Seems cheap and lazy to me.

The Harmon/Kardon speakers were some of the best in its price range. Even cranked up, voices are easily understood. Its headphone output makes good use of my Sennheiser PX200's and has enough power to make full volume uncomfortable.

The monitor has good color and contrast and is a pleasure to watch movies on.

Battery life is decent and even with the wi-fi on I had no problem watching the 162 min 'Watchmen' with headphones and brightness turned up. Mine seems to average about 3 to 3.5 hours and charges in around 30 to 45min.

The unit is well balanced and even with the monitor tilted fully it won't flop over on its back.

The keyboard has a great feel and seems solid and durable. The 'F' keys, arrow and number keys are separated enough to make them easy to find by feel in the dark.

The case texture looks slick but is easy to hold onto even one handed and, for those concerned, doesn't show fingerprints too badly.

The unit runs cool (unless you block the bottom vents!) and the fan is very quiet.

The power cord is nice and long and easily reaches inconveniently placed motel outlets.

The bad...

To me, the only bad I can think of are really just annoyances.

The mousepad buttons make a positive, but loud in quiet environments, 'click'. The pad itself is about an inch or so left of center and in the dark I find myself scrolling instead of moving the pointer.

Speaking of dark, I like to turn down the brightness to surf and read in bed at night. Annoyingly, there is a lighted 'Satellite' logo on the bottom left corner that can't be turned off. It's now covered with a piece of tape.

The monitor hinge closes positively but takes a firm two hands to open.

The only thing I can't comment on is Windows 7. The Vista installed on the U205-S5057 left a very bad taste in my mouth and after suffering for 2 months I switched to Linux Ubuntu. When I bought the P755-S5215, I used Windows just long enough to burn a system restore disc (in case I ever need to return the laptop) then immediately installed Ubuntu. I can say that Ubuntu runs perfectly except for the 'loss' of the 2 finger mousepad which Ubuntu doesn't support...yet. I say 'loss' because after playing with a friend's laptop so equipped, it didn't add to my experience enough for me to miss it.

I'll update this post If any issues come up.

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