Amazing battery life and lots of features make the Toshiba Satellite Pro M15-S405 appealing for travelers.
WHAT'S HOT: Want great battery life from just one power pack? Equipped with Intel's new power-saving 1.4-GHz/600-MHz Pentium M processor, the Toshiba Satellite Pro M15-S405 lasted an amazing 6 hours and 5 minutes in our battery tests--a breakthrough performance for a full-size portable. The slender black unit not only includes most legacy notebook connections, it boasts a laundry list of newer features, too, including 802.11b wireless readiness via a built-in antenna, a FireWire connection, and a Secure Digital memory slot.
WHAT'S NOT: We had trouble with our unit's touchpad. The cursor was too jumpy, but when we adjusted its speed down, the cursor became cranky at selecting text, each time requiring several swipes of the finger. The eraserhead worked fine.
WHAT ELSE: The 1.4-GHz Pentium M-equipped M15-S405 earned a PC WorldBench 4 score of 98--about 19 points slower than the other Pentium M-equipped notebook we looked at this month, the Gateway 450X. For a notebook of average weight--6.4-pounds--the M15-S405 is an impressive jack-of-all-trades. It has a removable combination DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, which can be swapped out for an optional second hard drive. Although you may not need it, a second, less powerful battery is available for the modular bay. With both batteries in place, Toshiba estimates that the M15-S405 will operate for 9 hours (we did not test this claim). Like most current notebooks, the M15-S405 offers a TV-out port for using a TV as a monitor--and a hotkey above the keyboard lets you switch the picture at the touch of a button.
The keyboard is everything you need it to be to get work done fast and comfortably. Quiet and rock steady, it's easy to type on, despite having a slightly shallower keystroke than standard (2.7 millimeters instead of 3mm). It boasts two user-programmable launch buttons as well as a touchpad and an eraserhead, each with its own set of mouse buttons. We found the dual design to be a little confusing at first: The eraserhead's right mouse button is embedded in the top of the touchpad like an on/off button. For music, the M15-S405 provides dedicated audio buttons above the keyboard. One button powers up the optical drive so you can listen to a CD without turning on the notebook. A volume wheel on the left side of the case adds further convenience. However, the sound, while clear and fairly loud, is no great shakes. The impressive-looking pair of built-in Harman/Kardon speakers doesn't match the richness we've heard from Toshiba Satellite notebooks that have subwoofers.
The M15-S405 is designed for easy upgrades, including a docking connection on the bottom and a hard drive that slides out the side. A handy switch on the front of the unit turns wireless communications on and off.
Documentation is less impressive. The only print manual is a guide describing basic operation and troubleshooting procedures. The electronic guide, though thorough, is inelegantly designed and difficult to use. It's buried in the Help and Support Center, and it's located halfway down the Help Center menu. The guide's index isn't hyperlinked to its topics, making it virtually useless for navigation.
UPSHOT: If you need a full-featured notebook with stupendous battery life, put the Pentium-M-powered M15-S405 on your short list.
|
|
| Processor |
| Processor Type |
Intel Pentium M Processor (Centrino) |
| Data Bus Speed |
400 MHz |
Cache Memory |
| Installed Size |
1 MB |
RAM |
| Installed Size |
512 MB |
| Technology |
DDR-SDRAM (DDRRAM) |
Storage |
| Hard Drive |
40 GB |
| Drive Controllers |
IDE (ATA/EIDE/ATAPI) |
Optical Storage |
| Type |
DVD/CD-RW Combo,
Hard Drive |
Display |
| Type |
Active Matrix LCD (TFT) |
| Graphics Processor / Vendor |
NVIDIA GeForce4 420 Go |
| Video Memory |
32 MB |
| Max. Resolution |
1024 x 768 (XGA) |
Networking |
| Data Link Protocol |
Wireless Ethernet - 11 Mbps IEEE802.11b |
Expansion |
| Expansion |
SD Card |
Miscellaneous |
| Input Devices |
AccuPoint,
Touchpad |
| Included Devices |
AC Adapter,
Modem,
Speakers |
Operating System |
| Operating System |
Microsoft Windows XP |
Battery |
| Average Run Time |
5.8 hour(s) |
Dimensions (W x D x H) |
| Unit |
11.5 in x 13.1 in x 1.6 in |
Weight |
| Unit |
6.8 lbs |
|
|
= Comment
= Outstanding
= Good
= Poor
= Bad
