Toshiba Satellite M305

Toshiba Satellite M305 Review

Model: Toshiba Satelite M305 - 14.1' widescreen Laptop.

Design & Features

Model: Toshiba Satelite M305 - 14.1' widescreen Laptop
At a Glance: Nice finish, good connectivity, Lableflash Drive, 14.1' widescreen with TruBright Display

Design

It's obvious that the new Satellite lineup from Toshiba is taking a direct line towards fashion friendly. Its Fusion finish is a simple delight in an otherwise mundane world of 'normal' looking laptops.

It features the sort of gloss and appeal that makes this laptop seem to fit in a rather more expensive looking crowd. Not a bad thing to achieve, however - it still seems a little thick for our tastes, especially running with a 14.1' LCD, we felt that the weight of the unit seemed a little bulky, and that the LCD seemed excessively thick. On the plus side, the unit did feel pretty sturdy and wasn't overbearing when it came to transportation.

The lid isn't overstated, but it isn't understated. We noticed some nice coloring, and it got nods around crowds when observedand as with any Toshiba branded laptop, its bold chrome was there to remind anyone what I was using.

Upon opening the M305, you will be very (shocked, impressed, startled, stumped) to find a very new trend: a very glossy black keyboard. I'll state this right away - I love the look, but I'm a stickler for form and function. I didn't (and really don't) see the point of the glossy keys. Not that they look bad in any shape or way (as they don't, they look rather impressive) but I just know, that the clean freak in most business professionals will find it's way to this keyboard. And it found it's way to methe fingerprints of the quick chicken strip basket you hammer down whilst on the moving walkway will find it's way onto your keys, and much more quickly than you had hoped. I thought immediately to myself, 'this should prove interesting.'

You'll notice that the layout isn't obtrusive or strange, normal layout although the delete key could be closer, and if you're used to the switched version of the FN - CTRL key layout, be prepared to yet again re-learn common shortcuts. Surprisingly, the actual use of the keyboard wasn't that bad. Tactile feel was nice, noise was minimalbut, right away, I did notice that if you didn't wash your hands in the last 10 minutes or so, you're leaving your mark on them.

On the top of the keyboard are lighted touch sensitive multimedia controls. Nothing really new or impressive, but a nice touch - harmon/kardon speakers align either side of the laptop. More on those later.

The trackpad was another entity entirely. It has a nice glowing bar above it, which is actually nice because since this is a flush mounted trackpad - unless you're really familiar with the laptop, it's sometimes hard to find! But that illumination plays a dirty trick tooit gets really, really bright in dark places - almost annoyingly bright. However, the trackpad does continue the 'Fusion' finish throughout, making it tie in rather well.

However, it might have been the drivers, or maybe just the fact that it was really that un-responsivethe trackpad suffered from major delays, odd scrollingand just had a really odd shape to it. It just didn't seem to 'track', and when you finally got used to it, you found out that the 'pad' was too short on height which made you monster truck over the edge and wonder what happened to your cursor! I never got used to it and was definitely a let down on the device.

There is another lighted portion to the M305and that is it's branding aspect.

Again, kind of annoying in the dark, but otherwise a nice mood light during normal ambient lighting.

Connectivity
Connectivity with the M305 was pretty standard - nothing flattering, and nothing too advanced. Given this is the more budget friendly line-up for the Toshiba Satellite series; we weren't taken back at this price point.

The front houses just two input/connection items. The card slot and wireless switch - however, one thing that I'm now very appreciative of, is the dedicated volume switch on these units.

I've come the conclusion that I HATE trying to find the FN plus whatever F key I need to mute, turn up or down the volume in the dark! No, with this handy control on the front, it's a no brainer and really quick. Love it Toshiba, and don't get rid of it!

The left side houses a standard RGB output, fan, FAKE HDMI output (which leads me to believe other units may poses this function, or at least this chassis will get that upgrade) two USB 2.0 ports, a mini-firewire port and audio out/ mic in. It also has an Express card slot tucked above the latter ports, which offer some benefit to using newer technology.

The right side of the unit houses the DVD-RW Labelflash drive, another USB 2.0 port, Modem and Ethernet port, along with your standard slot-lock.

The rear is really simple - housing only the power jack.

Display
The LCD display features the TruBright feature and is at the native resolution of 1280x800 pixels.

Nothing out of the ordinary, however, it was a really nice, crisp, glossy display. Especially given that resolution is normally slotted for another inch and a half with 15.4' models. It was welcomed real-estate space for sure. Colors popped well, brightness was even and there was no flickering. The bezel surrounding the display was rather large though, I'd like it to be a little less beveled and more slim - just preference perhaps.

Viewing angles weren't too disappointing, but not too stellar as noted from the pictures below.

Fade and washout were imminent and it was sometimes hard to gather a wider range for viewing the laptop when it was on my lap, but side to side viewing was rather well. I couldn't get the lighting to work on those pictures, so I guess you'll just have to trust me.

Size & Weight
Even though the M305 is a 14.1' unit, it feels a bit chunky. Although we like the robust feel, it could definitely shave off some plastic feel to make this unit a little more classy. Weight rang up to about 5 and a quarter pounds whilst the dimensions of the unit are 13.2 x 9.53 x 1.29. At nearly 1 and a half inches, the laptop seems thick - most notable again in the LCD bezel.

Upgrade Ability:
Our unit came configured with a 2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8100, a 250 gb Sata 5400 drive, 3gb of RAM, and an Intel X3100 with shared memory. Upgrading looks slim to none with no obvious improvements unless you went with more RAM or a faster hard drive - but even then the RAM woulnd't be used by the 32bit Windows Vista Home Premium operating system. And at this price point, why bother.

Features
This laptop has one feature that sets it apart from most out there - and that is Toshiba's newest 'innovation' for its 'Sleep and Charge' USB ports. You can now charge most USB devices with a USB cable, whether the laptop is on, off, or in standby mode. I can see a use for it on the road when I want to charge multiple devices at once with only one outlet, but other than that - it's more of a novelty.

The M305 does include a very decent pair of harmon/kardon speakers. Even though they are smaller, they are by no means useless and offer a decent audio experience. Bass sucked, and some high notes were distorted a bit, but otherwise they offered a nice experience whilst I ran the DVD test.

The M305 does feature wireless A/b/g/ and also houses a 1.3m effective webcam at the top of the LCD. This is becoming a pretty standard feature now, but it's still nice to see it at this price point.

Something that is missing however, is that this model does NOT come with an internal Bluetooth device. Something that I feel is sort of a skimp on Toshibas end, being classified more to the ultramobile, I think this should and could easily be remedied, but it's something to note.

Performance & Conclusion

Performance
Here at laptop logic, we try to provide a consistent format for testing each unit. But sometimes, life throws some quirks at you and you have to provide what you have, with what you have. You can read more about our testing methodology here: http://www.laptoplogic.com/about/test/. And in order for most these tests to run smoothly, you have to uninstall all the 'bloatware' that comes with a PC to make sure that you aren't getting conflicts (and even though we do this a lot, sometimes we still DO get conflicts). It's good to note, that the M305 came with it's fair share of 'partnered software' - I'm sure to keep the price down on this line-up, but it was noted that we do wish to opt for laptops WITHOUT all the trial office, skype, vongo stuff out there. Moving on...

PCMark Vantage Pro
Since about early April of this year, PCmark and 3dmark went their courses of being updated. That being said, we've encountered some funky conflicts with this program, mixed with our Worldbench program. It's also happening with the Asus M70 we're testing as well - but we did get some runs done although we had to use the older versions of 3dmark. Also note, that this is only our second posting with PCmark Vantage edition, so our only reference was the TX2000 we just recently reviewed.

The Toshiba M305 gathered some decent productivity numbers - this is no powerhouse by any means, but the upgraded PCmark program does task the processor so it does fall into line with other similar spec units. The unit performed well, especially with the 3gb of RAM and a decently capable T8100, but it did fall behind the Tx2000 we just recently reviewed powered by the Turion x2 processor.

It's a pitiful score as far as 3dmark goes, but this laptop made no claims to being a 3D powerhouse - but interesting enough, it managed to squeeze past all other recent "integrated" graphics units we reviewed! Nice work! In a nutshell - the M305 has excellent productivity and decent 3d ability (not mind blowing), so I stand by this number with somewhat of a 'good job, mate' attitude.

Unfortunately, Worldbench6 had issues with installation and conflicts we could not resolve in time. We have no worldbench score for this model - I rest my case with Vista on this one. *EDIT*
On a final run, we cut out the DVD program we used to test this model and the numbers finally came back with results. Not too bad of number holding it's own with our recently reviewed E8410 by Fujitsu.

Battery Performance

Battery performance offered just over 2 hours of uninterrupted entertainment the DVD test. However, if you did manage to tweak your power settings to minimal useage and no wi-fi, I managed to read an e-book and fill in other menial tasks for about 2 hours and 52 minutes before the warning bleep came on.

Conclusion
The Toshiba Satellite M305 didn't exactly wow me, but it didn't leave me unimpressed. It wasn't the lightest, it isn't the fastest - but what it does offer at this price point is decent connectivity, a nice screen, impressive (although unnecessary) glossy looks, and a decent form factor for a business minded consumer. I'd love to see the updated unit with a dedicated graphics option, a thinner bezel, a little better battery life, a docking station capability that isn't USB based, and a lot less bloatware - otherwise, this is a pretty worthy somewhat road companion, especially ticking under the $1,000 mark.

Pros:

• Great style
• Smaller Form Factor
• Decent Connectivity
• Price Point
• Dedicated Volume knob!
• Great Glossy Screen

Cons:

• Weak Graphics option
• Trackpad needs vast improvement
• A little on the heavy side
• Thicker than most
• bloatware galore
• so-so battery performance for a 14.1"

Bottom Line:
If you're looking for a laptop slightly smaller than the run of the mill 15.4 inchers out there - and don't mind the glossy keyboard and lackluster 3d performance - the M305 is a very nice option for the budget minded individual looking for productivity on the mobile computing road. Just make sure to pick up an external mouse, and pick up another battery and you will find a decent productivity laptop.

"

Design & Features

Model: Toshiba Satelite M305 - 14.1' widescreen Laptop
At a Glance: Nice finish, good connectivity, Lableflash Drive, 14.1' widescreen with TruBright Display

Design

It's obvious that the new Satellite lineup from Toshiba is taking a direct line towards fashion friendly. Its Fusion finish is a simple delight in an otherwise mundane world of 'normal' looking laptops.

It features the sort of gloss and appeal that makes this laptop seem to fit in a rather more expensive looking crowd. Not a bad thing to achieve, however - it still seems a little thick for our tastes, especially running with a 14.1' LCD, we felt that the weight of the unit seemed a little bulky, and that the LCD seemed excessively thick. On the plus side, the unit did feel pretty sturdy and wasn't overbearing when it came to transportation.

The lid isn't overstated, but it isn't understated. We noticed some nice coloring, and it got nods around crowds when observedand as with any Toshiba branded laptop, its bold chrome was there to remind anyone what I was using.

Upon opening the M305, you will be very (shocked, impressed, startled, stumped) to find a very new trend: a very glossy black keyboard. I'll state this right away - I love the look, but I'm a stickler for form and function. I didn't (and really don't) see the point of the glossy keys. Not that they look bad in any shape or way (as they don't, they look rather impressive) but I just know, that the clean freak in most business professionals will find it's way to this keyboard. And it found it's way to methe fingerprints of the quick chicken strip basket you hammer down whilst on the moving walkway will find it's way onto your keys, and much more quickly than you had hoped. I thought immediately to myself, 'this should prove interesting.'

You'll notice that the layout isn't obtrusive or strange, normal layout although the delete key could be closer, and if you're used to the switched version of the FN - CTRL key layout, be prepared to yet again re-learn common shortcuts. Surprisingly, the actual use of the keyboard wasn't that bad. Tactile feel was nice, noise was minimalbut, right away, I did notice that if you didn't wash your hands in the last 10 minutes or so, you're leaving your mark on them.

On the top of the keyboard are lighted touch sensitive multimedia controls. Nothing really new or impressive, but a nice touch - harmon/kardon speakers align either side of the laptop. More on those later.

The trackpad was another entity entirely. It has a nice glowing bar above it, which is actually nice because since this is a flush mounted trackpad - unless you're really familiar with the laptop, it's sometimes hard to find! But that illumination plays a dirty trick tooit gets really, really bright in dark places - almost annoyingly bright. However, the trackpad does continue the 'Fusion' finish throughout, making it tie in rather well.

However, it might have been the drivers, or maybe just the fact that it was really that un-responsivethe trackpad suffered from major delays, odd scrollingand just had a really odd shape to it. It just didn't seem to 'track', and when you finally got used to it, you found out that the 'pad' was too short on height which made you monster truck over the edge and wonder what happened to your cursor! I never got used to it and was definitely a let down on the device.

There is another lighted portion to the M305and that is it's branding aspect.

Again, kind of annoying in the dark, but otherwise a nice mood light during normal ambient lighting.

Connectivity
Connectivity with the M305 was pretty standard - nothing flattering, and nothing too advanced. Given this is the more budget friendly line-up for the Toshiba Satellite series; we weren't taken back at this price point.

The front houses just two input/connection items. The card slot and wireless switch - however, one thing that I'm now very appreciative of, is the dedicated volume switch on these units.

I've come the conclusion that I HATE trying to find the FN plus whatever F key I need to mute, turn up or down the volume in the dark! No, with this handy control on the front, it's a no brainer and really quick. Love it Toshiba, and don't get rid of it!

The left side houses a standard RGB output, fan, FAKE HDMI output (which leads me to believe other units may poses this function, or at least this chassis will get that upgrade) two USB 2.0 ports, a mini-firewire port and audio out/ mic in. It also has an Express card slot tucked above the latter ports, which offer some benefit to using newer technology.

The right side of the unit houses the DVD-RW Labelflash drive, another USB 2.0 port, Modem and Ethernet port, along with your standard slot-lock.

The rear is really simple - housing only the power jack.

Display
The LCD display features the TruBright feature and is at the native resolution of 1280x800 pixels.

Nothing out of the ordinary, however, it was a really nice, crisp, glossy display. Especially given that resolution is normally slotted for another inch and a half with 15.4' models. It was welcomed real-estate space for sure. Colors popped well, brightness was even and there was no flickering. The bezel surrounding the display was rather large though, I'd like it to be a little less beveled and more slim - just preference perhaps.

Viewing angles weren't too disappointing, but not too stellar as noted from the pictures below.

Fade and washout were imminent and it was sometimes hard to gather a wider range for viewing the laptop when it was on my lap, but side to side viewing was rather well. I couldn't get the lighting to work on those pictures, so I guess you'll just have to trust me.

Size & Weight
Even though the M305 is a 14.1' unit, it feels a bit chunky. Although we like the robust feel, it could definitely shave off some plastic feel to make this unit a little more classy. Weight rang up to about 5 and a quarter pounds whilst the dimensions of the unit are 13.2 x 9.53 x 1.29. At nearly 1 and a half inches, the laptop seems thick - most notable again in the LCD bezel.

Upgrade Ability:
Our unit came configured with a 2.1 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8100, a 250 gb Sata 5400 drive, 3gb of RAM, and an Intel X3100 with shared memory. Upgrading looks slim to none with no obvious improvements unless you went with more RAM or a faster hard drive - but even then the RAM woulnd't be used by the 32bit Windows Vista Home Premium operating system. And at this price point, why bother.

Features
This laptop has one feature that sets it apart from most out there - and that is Toshiba's newest 'innovation' for its 'Sleep and Charge' USB ports. You can now charge most USB devices with a USB cable, whether the laptop is on, off, or in standby mode. I can see a use for it on the road when I want to charge multiple devices at once with only one outlet, but other than that - it's more of a novelty.

The M305 does include a very decent pair of harmon/kardon speakers. Even though they are smaller, they are by no means useless and offer a decent audio experience. Bass sucked, and some high notes were distorted a bit, but otherwise they offered a nice experience whilst I ran the DVD test.

The M305 does feature wireless A/b/g/ and also houses a 1.3m effective webcam at the top of the LCD. This is becoming a pretty standard feature now, but it's still nice to see it at this price point.

Something that is missing however, is that this model does NOT come with an internal Bluetooth device. Something that I feel is sort of a skimp on Toshibas end, being classified more to the ultramobile, I think this should and could easily be remedied, but it's something to note.

Performance & Conclusion

Performance
Here at laptop logic, we try to provide a consistent format for testing each unit. But sometimes, life throws some quirks at you and you have to provide what you have, with what you have. You can read more about our testing methodology here: http://www.laptoplogic.com/about/test/. And in order for most these tests to run smoothly, you have to uninstall all the 'bloatware' that comes with a PC to make sure that you aren't getting conflicts (and even though we do this a lot, sometimes we still DO get conflicts). It's good to note, that the M305 came with it's fair share of 'partnered software' - I'm sure to keep the price down on this line-up, but it was noted that we do wish to opt for laptops WITHOUT all the trial office, skype, vongo stuff out there. Moving on...

PCMark Vantage Pro
Since about early April of this year, PCmark and 3dmark went their courses of being updated. That being said, we've encountered some funky conflicts with this program, mixed with our Worldbench program. It's also happening with the Asus M70 we're testing as well - but we did get some runs done although we had to use the older versions of 3dmark. Also note, that this is only our second posting with PCmark Vantage edition, so our only reference was the TX2000 we just recently reviewed.

The Toshiba M305 gathered some decent productivity numbers - this is no powerhouse by any means, but the upgraded PCmark program does task the processor so it does fall into line with other similar spec units. The unit performed well, especially with the 3gb of RAM and a decently capable T8100, but it did fall behind the Tx2000 we just recently reviewed powered by the Turion x2 processor.

It's a pitiful score as far as 3dmark goes, but this laptop made no claims to being a 3D powerhouse - but interesting enough, it managed to squeeze past all other recent "integrated" graphics units we reviewed! Nice work! In a nutshell - the M305 has excellent productivity and decent 3d ability (not mind blowing), so I stand by this number with somewhat of a 'good job, mate' attitude.

Unfortunately, Worldbench6 had issues with installation and conflicts we could not resolve in time. We have no worldbench score for this model - I rest my case with Vista on this one. *EDIT*
On a final run, we cut out the DVD program we used to test this model and the numbers finally came back with results. Not too bad of number holding it's own with our recently reviewed E8410 by Fujitsu.

Battery Performance

Battery performance offered just over 2 hours of uninterrupted entertainment the DVD test. However, if you did manage to tweak your power settings to minimal useage and no wi-fi, I managed to read an e-book and fill in other menial tasks for about 2 hours and 52 minutes before the warning bleep came on.

Conclusion
The Toshiba Satellite M305 didn't exactly wow me, but it didn't leave me unimpressed. It wasn't the lightest, it isn't the fastest - but what it does offer at this price point is decent connectivity, a nice screen, impressive (although unnecessary) glossy looks, and a decent form factor for a business minded consumer. I'd love to see the updated unit with a dedicated graphics option, a thinner bezel, a little better battery life, a docking station capability that isn't USB based, and a lot less bloatware - otherwise, this is a pretty worthy somewhat road companion, especially ticking under the $1,000 mark.

Pros:

• Great style
• Smaller Form Factor
• Decent Connectivity
• Price Point
• Dedicated Volume knob!
• Great Glossy Screen

Cons:

• Weak Graphics option
• Trackpad needs vast improvement
• A little on the heavy side
• Thicker than most
• bloatware galore
• so-so battery performance for a 14.1"

Bottom Line:
If you're looking for a laptop slightly smaller than the run of the mill 15.4 inchers out there - and don't mind the glossy keyboard and lackluster 3d performance - the M305 is a very nice option for the budget minded individual looking for productivity on the mobile computing road. Just make sure to pick up an external mouse, and pick up another battery and you will find a decent productivity laptop.