Toshiba Satellite A215-S5815 15.4-inch Laptop (AMD Turion 64 X 2 Dual Core TL-60 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, Vista Premium) Reviews

• Try them in the store first!

  
  By A3RUY1Y0ZPNUJ4 on 2008-02-08
  This is basically a nice laptop. But I wish I would have purchased it today, since is $50 cheaper than when I did two weeks ago. Amazon loves to play with prices. I've learned to tame my impulses and check prices over a period of time (2 or 3 weeks). Amazon prices go up and down regularly. Some days a third party vendor might have the item, next day Amazon will have it. Back and forth. OK, enough of that.
  This computer is beautiful to look at and has a gorgeous screen. Wide and bright. The keyboard is uncluttered, but has all the necessary functions. The keyboard, however, seems to have a large weak area on the right side, where it flexes noticeably whenever a key is pushed. Seems like a sign of low quality. The computer has no internal mic. There are
  four USB ports, but they are located on each side towards the front. Whenever peripherals are plugged in, they are very obtrusive, especially
  on the right side where most people would like to move the mouse around.
  The really BAD thing is that all Vista users should plan on an extra outlay of $$ for more memory to prevent the sluggishness of this inferior operating system. To do over again, I probably would have ordered the
  Thinkpad R61e with XP Pro from NewEgg online. Same price. More solid. And
  XP. Hope I helped.
  
  
  

• Absolutely love it.

  
  By A2C3LN3XJ68B1Y on 2008-01-11
  I am a broke student so I had to choose very carefully when selecting my laptop. I thought this would be good, and I was absolutely right. It's very quiet and battery efficient (at least from my experience), and it's specs are pretty good for this price.
  
  Windows Vista comes included, but it may not appeal to many people. It looks great, but it does have a lot of bugs. I have owned this laptop for less than a week and it has already frozen on me four times.
  
  I would definitely recommend this to someone looking for a laptop primarily used for student activities or basic usage. It's not really meant for business due the lack of bundled software, such as full version of MS Office, nor is it really for gamers or multimedia enthusiasts looking for a desktop replacement. For me, it suits me perfectly. The last laptop I had was a high-end 3.2 GHz Pentium 4 desktop replacement. It was a disaster for me as a student because it was the fans were too loud to really use in a public place and the battery life was less than half an hour.
  
  

• Purchase at Risk

  
  By A3HA8VXMG07VMT on 2008-02-23
  Before purchasing this computer, do a search for "Toshiba black screen" (aka "the black screen of death") - you'll find many entries. For no reason at all, the screen goes black - not black like off, but black with a light behind it. The only thing you can do to correct the problem is hold down the power button. When you power the computer back on, you get the option to start up normal or start up in safety mode.
  
  Toshiba support is aware of the problem, but do not have a real "fix." They do have a work-around which is to set your computer to 100% performance which is not good for long term use of the computer.
  
  Obviously this is very annoying when surfing the internet, but when it occurs while working on a document and you lose everything you have been working on, it is beyond annoying - it is purely unacceptable.
  
  The Black Screen of Death occurred for me about once every 90 minutes (give or take 30 minutes).
  
  Apparently, the problem occurs with many A200-series of Toshiba laptops (I had the A215-S6804 model).
  
  

• Ignore The Rubbish. This is a great buy!!

  
  By AZJHU77G4SDCJ on 2008-02-09
  I'm not too sure what the other customer review is freakin out for. This a quality laptop, for a very affordable price. I am in the US Army, and my job is basically working on computers. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprise with this laptop. It's got a gorgeous screen, and the USB ports are great. They shouldn't get in your way, unless for some strange reason you feel the need to move the mouse around RIGHT NEXT to your Laptop. Personally, I like a little space, so the USBs never bother me, or get in my way and I use 3 of them daily. Like I mentioned before, the screen is wide and bright, and crystal clear. The mouse pad is very responsive, and the Wi-Fi is GREAT.
  
  Now there is one or two cons I have to mention, but neither is severe. For one, I was disappointed to find out this model DID NOT come with the advertised DVD buttons (play,stop,next,previous). However, who needs them, when you use Windows Media Player or any DVD player program? With WMP you can easily move to ANY point of the movie you want, or pause it, with a simple click. So that's not a big deal. However, as most of us know, Vista is a RAM hog and a half. The inital 1gb of RAM, while sufficent, will probably not satisfy you if you like to play games, or use big programs. I recommend buying more RAM. Next week I will be buying 2 2gb of RAM for $150 of Toshibas website. If you register your Laptop, you'll get a 15% off code, plus they are 10$ off already. So I'm saving $50 on them. But once I max out the RAM to 4GB, I have NO DOUBT this Laptop will run smoothly as ever.
  
  All in all, this a good, quality laptop, especially for the price. I mean, how can you complain so much when you spent about $600?? If you want a laptop, and can't spend too much, this is the Laptop for you. At least it was for me. I love it.
  
  

• "Black Screen of Death" fixed with safg BIOS Flash utility!

  
  By A1W618KMJM4WJQ on 2008-03-03
  I recently reviewed this product very poorly because of the "Black Screen of Death" problem, but Toshiba, at the end of February, released a fix.
  
  
  IMPORTANT: Toshiba has released a fix for the "Black Screen of Death"; a BIOS flash utility called safg v1.70 or v1.90, depending on your model number, which seems to fix the problem... It was a long time in the coming, but better late then never.
  
  
  With the blank screen problem fixed, this computer is a good deal and an adequate performer. Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne works well with all settings at low, even Half Life 2 (but NOT Episode 1 or 2) works with low settings.
  
  
• BIOS problem fixed. A fantastic value for the $
  By A3RAZZPK5BVS9W on 2008-03-14
  Forget about the "black screen" problem that is/has been reported on the entire A200 line. Just download the BIOS flash file from Toshiba and install it. This laptops has more features and horsepower than most other PCs in it's price range. No comparison. I love it.
  
  
• Great Laptop For The Price!
  By A3VV78XVR45WDP on 2008-02-08
  Worked perfectly right out of the box. I do like a little more speed so I added 1gig of ram, now it runs like my other Toshiba laptop that I paid over a thousand dollars for. I would suggest to everyone to always purchase an "accidental plan" with any laptop. I worked in a repair center and it is very expensive if you drop the laptop or spill liquid on it. I consider Toshiba a very reliable brand. I've had my other laptop for 2 years and never had a problem with it other than my husband liked it so much I had to buy another one for me! Amazon service was excellent as usual, it was delivered before the estimated date. Amazon always has the best prices.
  
  
• Incredible laptop, wonderful price !!
  By A26VIQ1G83IGAR on 2008-02-17
  We picked this up retail for $399. We just wanted soemthing that could travel with us if we needed it too and to keep downstairs for wireless purposes. This has worked out great. Alot of complaints about the keyboard worried me, but we have had no issues. For the great price, it is a great laptop.
  
  
• Black screen
  By A37WGGYOOSL2U on 2008-02-29
  We bought the Toshiba a215-s6804 from another source. Nearly immediately, we found that the screen would go black, but was clearly still holding power. Our only solution was to reboot the machine, losing everything we were working on. We exchanged the machine once and got a new one that has only done this once in the last 2 days - but it's still doing it.
  
  I just want to reiterate what the other gentleman says. Based on hearing that Toshiba has no viable solution, I think we are going to look into a different machine. Its a shame too - because we really like the structure and features of this one.
  
  
• Good value
  By A1F9FZMIXE48DE on 2008-02-26
  I have mostly good things to say about this computer, and I picked it up for $549.99 with free super saver shipping. The only improvement I can see is that it needs more memory, 1 GB is no enough to run Vista. I upgraded it to 4 GB and have no complaints. I'd recommend this computer.
  
  
• It could be better
  By AAMKGC17ZLGZL on 2008-03-03
  I bought this laptop as a tool to access the internet, play DVD movies, and do basic (non-gaming) functions such as word processing, spreadsheets, maintain school information.
  
  I searched other brands (Dell, HP/Compaq, Sony, Gateway, and several others) for price, perceived quality based on reviews, speed, HD space, etc - all the typical features. Overall, for what I needed a laptop to do, the Toshiba seems to fit.
  
  This Toshiba (sold by Amazon) beat the others only because everyone else was charging shipping and California sales tax. Otherwise, I would have purchased an HP model. I had even checked Costco (my preferred retailer), but the costs were much higher compared to Amazon.
  
  This computer came with 1 GB SDRAM and Windows Vista Home Premium. Everything is perfect for what we need this laptop to do. This computer is NOT being used for gaming or any sort of complicated programming. So, the 1 GB of SDRAM is fine, even with Windows Vista Home Premium. And the sound design is somewhat better than expected - using a variable wheel rather than a push button.
  
  The negatives are relatively minor. The power cord is plugged into the laptop on the same side as the DVD drive. Second, I'd rather have XP than Vista. Vista seems like a slightly glorified XP. A few button changes and you get Vista. I did have difficulty loading a simple medical dictionary onto it. Last, the location of the WLAN button isn't obvious. Toshiba uses a black slider switch located on the black base.
  
  
  
• "Freakin' Sweet" bios Flash solves "black Screen of death".
  By A1W618KMJM4WJQ on 2008-03-05
  IMPORTANT: Toshiba has very recently released a fix for the "Black Screen of Death"; Toshiba released a BIOS flash using Toshiba's safg v1.70 or v1.90, depending on your model number, which seems to fix the problem... It was a long time in the coming, but better late then never.
  
  This computer is an adequate performer, that had been hampered with the problem of the screen intermittantly going blank, leaving you high and dry if your work had not been recently saved. In the computer lore this problem was known as the "black screen of death", which affected most of Toshiba's Satellite A215-xxxxx laptops. This was a very frustrating problem that drove many consumers to violent daydreams, but it seems Toshiba has finally released a fix.
  
  For the price, this computer is an excellent performer, able to run Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne, and Half-Life 2(excluding episodes 1&2) at a playable level on low settings. A RAM upgrade is highly recommended (get kingston or corsair: $50-$60 for a 2 GB sodimm) and everything seems to run just fine.
  
  
• toshiba laptop review
  By A3NHZNHZUAGU5T on 2008-04-03
  I bought a Toshiba notebook two years ago, on the first year it a really delighted to use this laptop. The speed and its function is really amazing. But then I moved here in Calgary. The suddenly encountered many problems such as problem with the loss of power of the lcd screen, to the breaking down of the hard disk. Right now I am thinking ways how to dispose it and get a new one. Any recommendation except Toshiba I will consider.
  
  
• Good Laptop, lame battery life
  By AXYKXBB3P3Q3N on 2008-03-13
  First of all, I ended up paying only $524 for this computer, after the amazon-visa discount. The laptop itself is very nice. It has a great key board that is comfy to type on. The screen is very brite and beautiful. The battery however does not have a long life. You have to keep it plugged in if you want to do some movies or even on the web. If you have it off the charger for an hour, it is almost out. My other complaint is that number 9 key seems to not function properly and I have to press down on it hard. I was entering in a password and I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong until I watched the stars come up when I pushed the buttons and I noticed that it was the culprit. Not sure what is up with that. Overall, it is a good product. I noticed that the color is listed as "Onyx Blue", but it is just plain ol black. I would wait for this to go on sale again or compare other web sites. If you hold out they go on sale all of the time.
  
  Update, November 19, 2008
  I still think this is a good lap top with a really crappy battery. It does run out fast. There is also a problem with an abrupt crash. It has probably happened 6 times since March, which is still too many. The screen will all of a sudden go black but the power is still on forcing you to hold the power button down until it totally shuts off. Then it goes thru the recovery process.
  For durability it is damn good. I have a Doberman puppy. Before I got my mobile broadband I would take my laptop and hijack someone's wifi signal. Anyway, I had it under my arm, leash with dog 75lb dog on the other. He jerked really hard and my laptop bounced on the concrete. It is a little scratched up around the casing, but here I am! Still works.
  Hope this info. helps. Sorry for the long stories..
  
  
• This laptop rocks!
  By A34CY4D5Y4NJS5 on 2008-03-14
  Come on guys! Buy this laptop with confidence. You will not find such a loaded machine of such a great brand. Black screen - its not the Toshibas fault. Blame uncle Bill and his new overprised Vista. I am trying to get an exchange for XP and get rid of that horrible looking PS. I also loaded Linux on that machine and it Rocks! Crystal clear fonts, fast. Its a great laptop with huge hard drive, video cam, two gigs of memory. Personally I only have black screen only once. If you prefer Vista just update the BIOS driver as previous reviewer suggested. I recommend this great laptop for everybody who wants to get a great productivity without spending 1000s of $$$.
  Regards,
  Mr.P
  
  
• Save Yourself the Headaches
  By A1VYWTZVANOQFT on 2008-04-15
  I purchased a Toshiba Satellite and have regretted it ever since. Owning a Toshiba product has been the worst experience of my life.
  
  In short, within less then 6 months the computer won't turn on. After hours on hold (and being hung up on) I got through to Toshiba customer service representative, then I had to drive over 45 minutes to take it to an "authorized service provider". In the year I have owned my computer it was being repair for more than 5 months of that time. I caution anyone buying a Toshiba product not to. Toshiba provides the worse customer service I have ever encountered. Save yourself the aggravation and headaches and never buy one of their products. I never will again.
  
  
  
• suck
  By A396M5GDARLOP6 on 2008-01-24
  I bought a new one. but the wireless did not work well. I sent to Toshiba authorized repair center, they could not fix it. Then I sent to Toshiba repair depot, they still failed to repair it.I called to the customer center manager, she was not patient. She said the only way I can do is repair, repair, repair...
  
  
• I'm in Love!
  By A2P87RI85X38EK on 2008-02-08
  I absolutely love my Toshiba laptop. It was a great deal and I can't put it down. I did make a few tweaks to Vista to get some extra speed, but other than that it is great. A little on the heavy side but Toshibas can take a beating!
  
  
• Excelente laptop
  By A3C03IBQ1KH742 on 2008-02-10
  Con 1gb de RAM y 200gb de HD es suficiente para mi trabajo, me permite almacenar muchas fotos y musica, su velocidad de 2Ghz la hace muy rapida. Estoy muy conteno con esta lap, es una buena opcion y a muy buen precio.
  
  
• Great for basics
  By A29Y2J8D6871VC on 2008-02-13
  I've had this laptop for three days now. It's well worth it considering that i bought it for 549.99 instead of the price listed. Once i seen the price compaired to newegg (their prices jus went up) i jumped on this one and honestly i thought i'd regret it on impulsive buying but lol i dont regret it a bit. I jus wish it had at least 2gigs of ram instead of the one but its live-able right now. Its more than enough for what I'm gonna use it for. Plus amazon got it to me three days earlier than when it was due so I was pretty excited about that. I give it four outta five jus because it could use an extra gig of ram. Anywho thanks amazon!
  
  
• Wrong Description
  By A33R99FY4U4CPI on 2008-03-02
  The description says that this computer has an included WebCam, but it is wrong, it is a good computer but the webCam did not show up.
  
  
• get the new Bios
  By A2KVR4P7ZFDXLJ on 2008-04-05
  The black screen issue has a fix on the Toshiba site. Just go to support and follow the promts to your machine number. I downloaded the fix to my desk top and when you activate it it flashes the bios while your still in windows. Not as scary as the old DOS days. It even backs up the old bios for you. Other than that it appears to be a great machine.
  
  
• Terrific laptop at terrrific price
  By A1M9NPKGZSXY6D on 2008-02-08
  Really attractive shiny black case with effective hardware and software for the average user. Highly recommend.
  
  
• great overall BUT WATCH OUT FOR THE SPEAKERS!!!
  By A3JFYWHOZDY6Z0 on 2008-03-07
  this is my latest toshiba laptop and my third one, after the first i got a NEC before my previous Toshiba. Im not going to talk much about the processor and screen or keyboard or speed or whatever, it's great overall, well, of course, if you use windows system instead of vista, i never use vista anyway so im speaking only for windows on this new baby.
  
  one unbelievable flaw needs to be watched out!!!
  
  me buddy got one similar model, not sure if it's M215, but also come with a round shaped Harman Kardon speaker pair, the 'incredible' thing with this supposed to be superb speaker is its soft volume!!!! i mean, my previous M50 has thinner rectangular speakers on the top panel, and it's loud and powerful, but this M215 and my friend's has this terribly mushy and low volume, why is that? i once thought it's because of the EU volume limit law that says about any device with an earphone plug, but i bought mine in Beijing, so apparently it's not that. plus, other brands and models on the shelf don't have this problem, even if they don't have HARMAN KARDON.
  
  can anybody explain this?
  
  
• Great lap top
  By AKD9VDVY93MB4 on 2008-03-28
  This is a great lap top that does everything I need. Oh and the price is awsome.......
  Super fast and great at surfing the net and downloading your music. The dual layer DVD burner is a big plus. Battery life is good, and the screen
  seems bigger than it really is.
  If you are looking for a great deal on a lap-top you just can't go wrong with this Toshiba Satellite.
  
  
• excellent for the price
  By A19WDDCEPIMYRE on 2008-04-08
  Experienced shipping problem ... laptop got lost even if tracking showed delivered status. Excellent response from Amazon who re-ship again free of charge the laptop.
  
  For the price the laptop is an excellent product which includes all that you need for the daily use. Not designed for heavy games.
  
  Of course I recommend an apple.....
  
  
  
• specs are not the same
  By A3DWGOJJ2BP0C1 on 2008-04-11
  The laptop is fine, but be warned, mine had no webcam, isn't blue and the hard drive is 184 (with 1.14 hidden) gig not 200.
  
  J&R offer no explanation but gave me a 20 dollar credit. I bought webcam from them and then paid 9.95 for postage.
  
  still the computer I got is OK it seems. Has the usual amount of rubbish on the hard drive though.
  
  
  
  
• Great laptop
  By ARWULO9EAAW2G on 2008-04-17
  The Toshiba A215-S6804 15'4 laptop is an excellent laptop. It exceeded the specs of my computer and runs so much faster, even with Vista on it. It's definitely a multi-taking laptop. I haven't had to face the "blank screen" problem or whatever it is called. The BIOs for that was in the laptop, so I just double-clicked it and installed. Runs smoothly and had no problem so far.
  
  The only problem might the video card. It's not bad but its not exactly a gaming laptop, so its more likely that it won't run a high-end game. It runs not-so-demanding games, so personally I don't mind.
  
  
• I like it
  By A3KIT5YGCUP9UB on 2008-04-19
  I have not once got the black screen, could be a little faster, but i love the laptop
  
  
• Great for the price!
  By A1LD4P7WVTR8DQ on 2008-04-22
  A pretty good computer for the price. I can't fault Toshiba on design, simplicity of use, and overall computing power. My one complaint is that of many which is Windows Vista, not the actual machine.
  
  

• Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 Standard [OLD VERSION]
• Microsoft Office Standard 2007 FULL VERSION
• Nero 8 Ultra Edition [OLD VERSION]
• Windows Live OneCare 2.0 (Up to 3 Users)
• QuickBooks Pro 2008 [OLD VERSION]

• Targus TCM004US Messenger 15.4" Notebook Case
• Kingston DTI 4 GB USB Flash Drive
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• Samsonite L35 Notebook Case
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