The Toshiba satellite m30 pro is a thin and sleek laptop matching the looks and requirements for todays busy and on the move users. It is literally a desktop computer packed into a small, light and easy to use 1.6GHZ, 60 Gb memory HDD and 512 MB RAM machine. I have found it not only easy to use but also fun and hassle free most of the time. (With most problems the occasional usual thing that you get with computers)
Features: - dual Harman/kardon speakers - Infrared port - Wireless lan - Internal Toshiba software modem - Dvd-r burner - Dvd player features (play, stop , etc buttons on the side of the laptop) - IEEE
port - Serial port to add monitor - Expansion card slot - 3 USB ports - Multiple settings for battery use. Can alter power settings to extend the life of the battery to its maximum approx 8 hours life - Intel mobil centrino processor - nVIDIA graphics card - microphone and headset jacks
These are all the features that at least I can tell just through my experience with it. There may be more!!!
Aesthetics: The Toshiba satellite has a cool silver frosted look all around. When you open up the laptop, you are greeted by the same silver frosted look framing the keyboard which is in a nice black colour matching the silver décor. Above the keyboard is the two Harman kardon speakers circular in shape and framed by black circular rings like two eyes staring at you. To the left of the keypad is the power switch with a blue led indicating whether it is on or off, once again, smartly matching the décor of the silver look! The button itself is chrome with three smaller thin rectangular, chrome buttons beneath it. These are the hotkey buttons which by default connect you to the internet, the Toshiba console (which is a program which Toshiba has smartly put in to help users customize and fiddle around with the settings of their computer. It is not quite the control panel but is similar and not quite as extensive) and also to windows media player. The touchpad is just beneath the space bar and is a similarly frosted silver with the left and right click buttons just beneath that. All in all, personally I believe it is all very well set out and looks great! Has that great modern look that I used to believe only Sony could obtain. But now with the Toshiba satellite m30 I know this isn’t true. It is as good even or better aesthetically than the Sony range of laptops, which I regard as having a very aesthetically pleasing range of laptops.
Pros The toshiba satellite m30, besides its good looks, is very fast. Have had no problems with the computer being too slow. There have been a few times when it was a little sluggish but all in all, its been fast the majority of the time. Normally its been due to myself just installing a large program and thus requiring defragmenting or at least rebooting. Another pro is that the wireless lan is extremely easy to use. All you have to do is turn it on and itll connect for you. It also has a neat program designed by Toshiba to let you diagnose problems. It is called the Connectivity Doctor. Whether it be wireless lan or dial up, it can tell you what the possible problems with it are.
The speakers are also very very good. Harman Kardon I hear are one of the best speaker producers in the world and you can tell. Its great sound coming from such little speakers. Do not be deceived by their size, they will rival and beat any speakers on any other laptops around in my belief.
Cons: The biggest problem I have had with my m30 has been the software modem. Because it is internal, the makers have had to make it very small, which has caused problems in the entire range of Toshiba satellites and a few other of toshiba’s laptop brands. Its smallness has caused the modem solder joints to be extremely weak and thus crack, breaking the joint and causing the computer to not be able to recognize the modem. I had this problem and it caused me great distress!!! But no fear! Warranty saved the day and the problem was fixed in less than 5 mins free of charge. It is a good modem however. It is quite fast and I have had no other problems with connection. Another problem is with the infra red port. Im not sure whether the problem is with my m30 or with the devices that I am using it with but the infrared device has a very short range it seems. I have tried to use the infra red port to connect to an infra red printer and also to phones with infra red with little success. They work the first time and since then, have not been able to work with other IR devices since. This is a problem which must be looked into and tested if you are planning to buy an m30 and use IR a lot. When I tried to use it I needed to place the other IR Device with which I wanted to connect to my computer, right up to my infrared port on my m30. Not exactly helpful. Even then, it wouldn’t work. So this is a problem!!!
Besides this, there are no other problems. It is a fast computer that is amazingly automatic. It can do a lot of error fixing on its own and most problems can be fixed reasonably fast enough. Toshiba also has a lot of support so its easy to get errors fixed!
Highly recommend this laptop. It is fast for most use and is a great combination of flair, style, usefulness, techno wizardry and it is fun to use!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
(+) positive aspects include the speed, apperance/design of the laptop, and the enhanced performance. (-) i have a matt black laptop and it shows dirty finger prints.
Jun 9th, 2004
exceptional by (10%):
very helpful by (70%):
helpful by (20%):
