Toshiba Satellite A215-S4757

Toshiba's Satellite A215-S4757 offers a decent assortment of multimedia components at a reasonable price, but its low-end AMD processor is no match for similarly priced Intel-based notebooks.

 

The 6.3-pound Satellite sports a shiny Onyx Blue lid, which is so dark that it actually looks more black than blue, and as is usually the case with high-gloss finishes, it's a real fingerprint magnet. The front edge of the lid is tapered, allowing access to a set of bright blue LED status lights mounted on the lower edge of the chassis, along with a 5-in-1 card reader, a Wi-Fi switch and amber indicator light, microphone and headphone jacks, and a volume dial. The keyboard deck provides plenty of wrist room, and the full-sized keyboard was comfortable and responsive, as was the wide-aspect touchpad. The two mouse buttons are a bit too small, however.

 

The 15.4-inch TruBrite widescreen display delivered a crisp 1280 x 800-pixel resolution picture with sharp color reproduction, but it tended to be too reflective when viewed in a bright lighting environment. The screen also provided a wide viewing angle from either side with very little color shifting or image degradation. It has a 1.3-megapixel webcam and microphone located on the screen's upper bezel, and we like the full set of multimedia controls positioned along the upper keyboard deck. Two smallish speakers embedded in the deck are adequate for system sounds and video chats but were too trebly and tinny for playing music.

 

This model comes with an 8X SuperMulti DVD burner and a spacious 250GB hard drive that spins at 4,200 rpm. The optical drive supports the Labelflash etching technology, which, when used with Labelflash media, allows you to burn custom labels directly onto the surface of the disc. The system comes with Windows Vista Home Premium and Ulead's DVD MovieFactory (which supports Labelflash) preinstalled.

 

Powered by a relatively low-end 1.8-GHz AMD Turion TL-56 and 2GB of RAM, the Satellite A215's PCMark05 score of 2,865 trailed every other system in this roundup, as did its MobileMark 2007 score of 55. Likewise, its ATI Radeon X1200 graphics engine turned in a score of 1,257 on our 3DMark03 test, which was also the lowest of the bunch. Still, this configuration is capable of fulfilling everyday computing needs and was able to display Vista's Aero effects and sidebar gadgets.

 

The battery gave us 2 hours and 56 minutes of juice while running productivity tests, which is a little below average for this class of system. However, its wireless throughput scores of 20.8 Mbps and 19.7 Mbps at 15 and 50 feet from our access point, respectively, were strong.

 

The Toshiba Satellite A215-S4757 won't blow you away with blazing speed or 3D muscle, which makes it tough to recommend. On the other hand, you do get some nice multimedia features and a large hard drive.

 

HP Pavilion dv6500z
An excellent choice for anyone seeking a multimedia notebook for under $1,000.

 

Fujitsu LifeBook V1010
A good Wi-fi notebook lacking in some multimedia features.

 

Sony VAIO VGN-NR160E
The NR160 offers a stylish exterior, but an average performance.