For the money it is very good but not without its flaws (Toshiba A200-195)

Member Name: pcspinheiro

Product:	Toshiba A200-195
Date:	31/07/09 (20 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast, good screen, excellent customer support

Disadvantages: Battery life, screen hinge, volume control, bit heavy

After having enjoyed my Asus laptop for about 6 years I decided it was time for a change. It was just getting too slow and the "immense" 10 GB hard drive (that's what I thought when I got it...) was constantly full, not to mention that the battery stopped charging all of a sudden... Anyways, I shopped around the net for quite a while before deciding on this one. The main decision factors were it's good specs, looks and, very important, the low price. This one came for about £400, the Asus had cost me almost £1000

Aesthetically it is a very eye catching machine, with its silver keyboard frame and grayish keyboard, the shiny screen and the midnight blue screen top boasting a shiny silver Toshiba logo. This is not without its problems since it catches finger prints like a magnet and it always looks dirty...

Performance wise, having switched from such an old computer I was amazed at how fast the programs would start or documents open. It operates rather quietly, although when the fan turns on it can be rather annoying. The screen is bright and held by a sturdy looking hinge. This, however, does not prevent the screen from rocking quite a bit if your on a train or car ride, which can also be hard to tolerate. The sound is quite flimsy and with all the room available for a nicer set of speakers one is left wishing for more.

Connectivity is pretty much standard and a dual layer DVD writer will make sure you can backup you data onto almost any type of media. The recorder is reliable and, when a disc burning went wrong I could most often trace it to the disc itself. The tray however, does not open properly anymore and I have to use a finger nail to pull it out, especially when the computer is hotter. Something must bend with the heat... Toshiba also put a turn whel for the volume instead of the very popular Fn key access to volume control. This was fine at first but mine now only very reluctantly will decrease the volume. Battery life is pretty average and bellow my expectation for a modern machine but in power saving mode I can squeeze about 2h 20 min.

I cannot finish without praising on Toshiba's customer support and warranty. My keyboard had some keys that were somewhat lazy and this was very frustrating so I contacted them, they arranged for pickup, replaced the keyboard and sent it back. Total cost: zero. Then, when returning the computer to me the screen was smashed on its way back. Contact them again, "no problem" they say, arranged for new pickup, replaced the screen and sent it back again. Quite fast too.

Summary: If you need good processiong power for a reasonable price this one is a good choice

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