List Price: $674.99
Sale Price: $546.00
Today's Bonus: 19% Off
I bought this laptop on sale. I couldn't find a better performance value than this unit at the time. My friend custom built the same laptop on Toshiba's site and ended up paying about $200 more for the same specs with Windows 7. I figured I'd give Windows 8 a shot for $200 less.
Performance
This laptop plays back 1080p video without any issues. I've played a few games of Civ 5 on medium settings without any hiccups. I'm impressed with the Intel 4000 graphics. Office and web browsing are smooth and easily handled.
Screen
The screen generally looks pretty good. The vertical viewing angle is a little narrow for my taste, but it's still decent for a mid-range laptop. I noticed a bit of screen door effect at first, but it hasn't really bothered me too much.
Keyboard
The keyboard feels nice and has a nice response. My only complaint is the shift button seems to require more pressure than I tend to apply. I have to backup and fix missed caps occasionally. The keyboard is nice and simple. I like that there aren't a bunch of gaudy buttons everywhere. The functions keys have all the standard settings like volume and brightness plainly and tastefully labelled.
Battery Life
My expectations for battery life are pretty low. I'm able to stream entire movies on the tv without having to mess with plugging it in. It's good enough for me. I'll try to update my post later as the battery ages.
Windows 8
Windows 8 isn't that bad. I installed Classic Shell and it pretty much feels like Windows 7 with a few updates now. I found the thick borders around desktop windows generally distasteful. There are registry hacks and free tools out there to get rid of it. I'm a big fan of the new file transfer dialog. It has a nice plot of transfer rate versus time. I just don't use the tablet oriented UI features.
Built in Camera
The camera has a decent picture and works well for Skype meetings with my boss.
Audio
I was disappointed by the audio when plugging in headphones. There's not much base and adjusting the Windows equalizer settings doesn't help much. I usually end up just hooking my headphones into my cellphone for fuller sound. The speakers sound reasonable for a laptop. I'm able to watch a movie without being distracted by the sound quality.
Construction
The plastic shell is pretty non-descript and reasonably sturdy. I like that it doesn't waste power lighting up a manufacturer logo or any other nonsense.
Shipping
Amazon Prime shipping was timely and efficient as always.
Edit:
The screen broke this week. I adjusted the angle of the screen during a meeting, and everything turned blue. None of the red pixels are working at this point. I've been very careful with this laptop, so I don't think I damaged it. I called tech support and they are having me send it in for repair. My experience with their support staff so far has been very positive. I'm bummed that I did have to pay for shipping though. I'll update my post once my laptop is repaired.
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typical of a Toshiba product...well built and reliable I recommend it highly as an excellent product for general computing email web surfing etc...Best Deals for Toshiba Satellite L55-A5284NR 15.6-Inch Laptop (Mercury Silver in
For some reason, this one kept going to sleep after a minute or two of no use. I obviously checked the power settings and that was not the problem. I don't think it's a common problem as I have a 17.3" Toshiba and have had zero problems. (Hopefully I won't jinx myself) I did return this one and utilized Amazons superb return process. I would say just be aware of what happened to me and go from there. Hope this helps your decision process.Honest reviews on Toshiba Satellite L55-A5284NR 15.6-Inch Laptop (Mercury Silver in
very light and well built butmouse pad does not good, feels plasticy
keyboard does not illuminate
laptop is very fast
windows still needs lots of work
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