Is bigger better?
Written: Aug 09 '03 (Updated Aug 28 '03)
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Pros: Huge screen, good sound, integrated wireless connectivity, DVD-R, and desktop cpu
Cons: very large (due to the screen), short battery life and pretty heavy about 10 lbs
The Bottom Line: Good for movie buffs and college students, not so good for your lap.
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| nova21's Full Review: Toshiba Satellite P25-S507 (PSP20U-00VY3V) PC Note... |
The first thing you notice about the P25 S507 is the huge screen. At 17 inches, it is probably as big as you can get while still being "portable." After you get past just the size of the screen, you will find a fairly potent laptop. Although I say laptop very loosely as you will see.
First off the specs:
Desktop: Pentium 4 with Hyper threading 2.8 GHZ
Screen: 17 inches
Weight: about 10 lbs
Storage: 60 gigs hard drive
DVD: DVD R/RW, yes you can write DVD!!!
Internet: Ethernet and integrated wireless adapter
Connectivity: 4 USB2 ports and an IEE Port
RAM: 512 mb
Video: GeforceGo 5200fx 32 mg VRAM
Battery Life: About 2 hours, roughly 1 1/2 with heavy use.
Operating system: Windows XP
Impressions: The extra wide screen size and ability to burn your own DVD's lends this laptop to be consider an extremely good movable movie theater. It has really good sound, with two stereo Harmon/Karmon speakers. The screen is pretty clear and crisp, so movies and pictures are pretty good. Though not quite as good as a HDTV, but not too bad either. I'm a pretty big movie buff, so the ability to watch my favorites movies anywhere is a big factor for me. Plus with the extra wide screen format, it lends itself perfectly for movies. Preloaded programs also makes it quite versatile. I found the Quicken program the most useful as I can balance my finances. I especially like the integrated wireless modem, since I have a wireless network at home. Connecting to the internet was quite easy, and did not require a lot of tinkering. Though lots of web pages are not made in the extra wide format so, there will be wasted space on your screen. Playing games on this machine is great, the high specs on the machine allows me to play a game like FreeLancer at good frame rates. The game actually is in wide format so I get the see more of the game than a regular laptop. You will have to buy an external mouse, since the touch pad is not really made for games. I have not try it yet with a graphics intensive game, but when Doom3 or Half2 comes out, I'll let you know. I have not been able to find a program to uses the hyper-threading aspect of the CPU, so I can not give any impressions on that.
Drawbacks:
While this is consider a laptop, I really think of it more as an movable movie theater. Why? Well, at 10 lbs it is pretty heavy thing to lug around. Plus, with the extra wide screen, you can not fit it in an average laptop bag. The size of the laptop itself makes it harder to move from place to place. You can probably movie it from room to room or from house to house, but I would not recommend using it in where your lap is your only option. This laptop requires a desk.
If you do want to bring this laptop, you will find it hard to find a bag that will fit a 17 inch screen. I've found one, but it barely fit and requires some squeezing.
Bottom line.
Great for movies, not so great for your lap.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1800
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: Greater than 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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Epinions.com ID:
nova21
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Reviews written: 31
Trusted by: 4 members
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