OK, so I got this laptop in February 2009 as part of a mobile broadband deal.
The basic specifications of it are that is came with a Intel Celeron Dual-Core Inside 1.66GHz CPU, 160Gb HDD, 1Gb RAM and running Windows Vista Home Basic.
Upon first running of the laptop it was fairly quick to start up, but considering it was a new laptop with a fresh install of Windows, and nothing yet installed on it (other than what it came with), it was as fast a start up as I had expected. After installing a couple of browsers and programs and other stuff that I need for my computer usage to be sufficient, I found the laptop became very slow, very quickly. Start up (or coming back from hibernation) were always slow, having a lot of tabs open in my browser, having more than one browser open at a time or running a browser with several tabs open at the same time as running another program was tediously slow and severely hindered useability. I added 2Gb of RAM which I purchased seperately off eBay, and it improved it a lot.
The design of the laptop is nothing eye-catching or spectacular, but if you don't buy a laptop for it's looks, then considering the price, this would appeal as a good buy.
The first day of having my laptop, the left mouse button broke. This wasn't through bashing or heavily using, it was obviously not very good to start with.
A couple of weeks later, the power adaptor was damaged, as was the power socket. From having it plugged in, it was knocked slightly which damaged the wire so much it didn't work anymore and it also knocked the socket out of place (so it is now permanently loose and it makes it difficult to plug in the power adaptor). Needless to say, I was not best pleased. I purchased a new, cheaper equivalent power adaptor (as Toshiba ones were expensive) on eBay and it has worked flawlessly and without being damaged ever since (still going strong almost 2 years later).
Once the earlier problems were resolved, a few months later, the mousepad starting playing up - jumping around a lot, clicking by itself and so on. Eventually, not long after, it stopped working entirely, leaving me having to use an external mouse permanently.
I also noticed from soon after getting the laptop, there were numerous times that the laptop was overheating. So much so, that it cut out several times. I found that this was due to bad placement of the fan and air vents on the bottom, that are so badly situated, that it results in it overheating regularly. Thus, I was forced to buy a laptop cooling rest, which still did not help that much. The fan was also prone to regularly getting clogged up and I found that hoovering the fan regularly was a slight fix.
A few months ago, I noticed my external mouse started playing up too. The first thought was that I had damaged the wire, or it had just got damaged with time and use. It had started acting in a strange way or suddenly stopping working. I have an external hard disk plugged in for extra storage, but I had unplugged it, and as soon as I plugged it back in, suddenly the mouse started working again. I thought it was just a coincidence, but it happened again, a couple of times, and I realised it was not. Now, I have to have my external hard disk constantly plugged in, or my mouse won't work! It only works with the external hard disk as well - it does not work alongside any other USB product plugged in.
I have noticed other problems with the USB ports as well. Such as , they are very temperemental - I plug in my printer and the very slightest movement makes it stop working (not just the printer - any USB item does the same).
The battery has always been less than impressive too. Starting off lasting for about 1-1½ hours, but this quickly reduced to 30-40 minutes and now it lasts 15-20 minutes (if you're lucky) when on battery power.
On the plus side, I would say that when the mousepad worked for the first couple of months, it was easy to use. The screen is a nice size and gives a nice crisp, clean view. The built-in sound quality is quite good. It has built in wi-fi, 3 USB ports and it is easy to open up to add more memory or get to your hard disk. It also has a DVD multi-recorder which is good.
Basically, seriously understating it, would be to say that this has been a very disappointing experience. I have had nothing but problems with it since I got it and I am not at all happy. I accept that this is maybe among the cheaper range of laptops, but that does not excuse such poor quality, craftmanship and parts.
I look after my laptop more than the average person I would say, as I now how easily the parts can become damaged as I make, repair and upgrade PCs and laptops as an hobbyist and now more about what causes damage. The only reason I state this, is just to confirm that my laptop has never been treated badly, mis-used, dropped often or anything like that.
Hi - I have a Toshiba laptop and I have to say I am doisappointed with the quality as well, especially the mouse which has become very worn after just a few months - their advice was to get an external mouse. But if you have to get an external mouse why bother putting one on the computer in the first place. My old laptop which I had had for 6 years still had a mouse that looked like new. Also the mouse is very delicate and the screen keeps moving all over the plave. I bought this model because of the name and thought I was getting a good quality product but I won't be buying another one and certainly won't reccommend.
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