Toshiba Satellite M35-S456 Review by LAPTOP Magazine

Toshiba's Satellite M35-S456 is a slim, stylish laptop that shoehorns the power of a mid-range desktop and a bright widescreen display into a fairly portable design. This is also a notebook that respects your time; it can play CDs and DVDs at the touch of a button. At 6.1 pounds, this system isn't the lightest thin-and-light, but it's a good choice for work and play at home or on the road.

Although it's very wide, 14.2 inches, the M35 measures just 10.6 inches deep by 1.4 inches tall; in the other words, the system avoids the bulky appearance of the typical desktop replacement notebook.

The center of attention is the very bright 15.4-inch screen. In fact, it offers a brightness level that is about fifty percent brighter than the typical laptop. Additionally, while most notebook displays offer a contrast ratio of 250:1, the Satellite M35 hits an impressive 300:1. This makes colors on the screen look more vibrant.

Beyond its brightness, this display also offers a widescreen resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, which makes the M35 a great choice for watching DVDs or playing games. For the latter activity, Toshiba outfitted the notebook with an Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 graphics processor. Complete with 64MB of dedicated DDR video memory, this chip didn't have any trouble with Unreal Tournament, and even plowed through the demanding Far Cry with crisp image detail and fairly smooth motion. A 3DMark2001 score of 6682 backed up our impressions.

Although the 1.7-GHz Pentium M 735 processor isn't the fastest on the block, it handled all of our tests capably. The system yielded a very good MobileMark score of 176. Even video editing with the included copy of ArcSoft ShowBiz was a snap.

Thanks to the built-in DVD Super-Multi drive, you can burn movies onto DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, and even DVD-RAM discs. The included copy of InterVideo WinDVD Creator lets you quickly transfer your home movies onto recordable CDs or DVDs. With the inclusion of Sonic Solutions' Drive Letter Access and RecordNow! Basic, you can record data and audio tracks onto recordable or rewriteable DVDs just by dragging and dropping files.

A FireWire port on the left side of the system makes the M35 a great machine to hook up to a digital camcorder. Surprisingly, the Satellite M35 is designed to work with older analog camcorders, too, as the M35 also features a composite video/audio input. Plug the included dongle into this port and your analog video camera, and you have an instant connection.

Rounding out the system's collection of external interfaces are four USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output, headphone and microphone jacks, a PC Card slot, and a Secure Digital card reader. On the wireless front, there's integrated 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, as well as a built-in Bluetooth for connecting with other Bluetooth devices like PDAs, cell phones, and headsets.

Throw in a copy of Microsoft OneNote 2003 for notetaking, Works 7.0 to handle your productivity chores, and a comfortable keyboard and mouse, and there's not much more you could want from a laptop, particularly one priced under $1,900-with the exception of a remote control for the Express Media Player. Although the standard warranty lasts only 1 year, you can upgrade to a 3-year plan for just $149. Doing so makes this a worthwhile investment.

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Toshiba Satellite M35-S456

A bright widescreen makes a good entertainment machine even better.

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