Con: Keyboard layout (minor thing, but crouch will have to be remapped from control key to shift key for most FPS games), and the “turbo” button, while functional, is a bit gimmicky. Battery life is adequate (about 2 hours watching a video). Speakers are pretty clear but somewhat quiet, and can be slightly tinny-sounding at higher volumes and higher frequencies: I’ve heard much worse from laptop speakers, but I’ve also heard better. For some reason, only MSI’s video drivers can be used in Vista, but if you downgrade to XP, Nvidia’s most recent video drivers readily install without a problem. The processor is good, but not spectacular, and its limitations become apparent if you do CPU-heavy tasks (video/audio conversion, for example) versus GPU-heavy tasks (games).

Other comments: Mine had a defective webcam, but the manufacturer’s tech support responded to my inquiries very quickly and accurately (advising a product exchange with the vendor), and amazon overnighted a replacement at no cost. This laptop DOES have three USB ports, but the one on the right side doubles as an E-SATA port. It looks superficially different, but I’ve plugged USB devices in to it and it functions just fine. Additionally, this laptop is eligible for the free Windows 7 upgrade program, though it doesn’t say so on Amazon-be sure to go to the manufacturer’s website instead.

For everyone who cannot find the proper serial number, I feel your pain. I just spent a short amount of time looking for the solution and finally decided to check the disk. In VERY SMALL FONT on the right side of the disk you will see a WINDVD Serial Number, about 16-20 characters long. I have to say however that Toshiba did a bang up job putting the S/N on the disk which must be in the drive when you are trying to install it. Just remember to push the disk back in after you enter the number and before you hit >Next.

Hope this helps everyone involved. Please try and pass the word to any other sites you’ve posted your question to.

CONS:
- Short battery life (2.5 hours)
- Touchpad lacks horizontal scroll
- Super high-gloss screen is a pain in 80% of lighting conditions
- Comes pre-loaded with so much bloat-ware that it renders the computer unusable until you install your own OS
- Too heavy
- Its cheap for a reason–mine has been sent in for repair twice in 6 months

I really wanted to love this tablet. It was my first tablet and I had been looking forward to it for a while. Unfortunately I’ve been let down. After 3 months of ownership the RAM failed and I had to send it in for repair. After 6 months of ownership the tablet began making high-pitched digital noises, the SD card reader broke, and 1 of the quicklaunch buttons stopped illuminating. After getting it back from repair the second time, I posted it to eBay.

This laptop is really too heavy to be comfortably used as a tablet. It is impossible to use standing up, holding in the left hand and writing with the right. Your left wrist will quickly become exhausted.

As I said above, this comes loaded with so much proprietary software (bloat ware) that the computer is literally unusable. I reformatted the harddrive and installed Windows 7 beta and the laptop worked so fast that it was like an entirely new machine.

For the price, this tablet is unbeatable. Problem is that it is cheap for a reason. It is poorly made, it will break, it is a power hog with bad battery life. If you’re looking for mobility, get a netbook. If you really must have a tablet, buy something slightly more expensive from a better company and save yourself a hot of headache in the long run.

PS. HP customer support has been very responsive and useful. I have no quarrels with them–just with their products.

There is really only one advantage to buying a preconfigured laptop. You can get it quickly. But I would recommend people who really know what they want to do their own configuration. I wanted a computer that was really strong on media, so I opted for the 1 GB video card, a Blu-ray burner, and a TV tuner. I also got the bluetooth wife modem so that I wouldn’t have to use a transceiver. The computer has been exceptional in this regard. The screen is bright and unbelievably detailed. Blu-ray discs don’t look quite as good as they do on my Samsung high def TV using a PS3, but it is close. The built in speakers are amazingly decent for a laptop. Although I prefer using headphones for movies and videos, the speakers are good enough for two people to watch something together. But for music while I type I usually just use the built in speakers.

Just about everything else about the computer is great as well. I find the keyboard comfortable to use and the action on the keys are really nice. I don’t like the touchpad, but that would be true for absolutely any laptop.

If you are looking for a laptop that is superb at multimedia but that doesn’t have to be especially transportable, you can’t do much better than this laptop. My one piece of advice for anyone configuring a laptop is to put your upfront money almost entirely in things that cannot be upgraded easily later. Put off the printer if it means you can get a faster processor. Don’t worry about the size of your hard drive, because there great inexpensive external hard drives (you can get a 1 TB today for less than $150). But also plan on doing other things to extend the life of your computer. I got the Blu-ray burner, but I plan on getting an external DVD drive to minimize the wear and tear on the internal drive. I got a single battery now, but plan on getting a second one later. But it is pretty difficult to upgrade your processor speed or video card later. Of course, if money isn’t a consideration for you (it was for me), go ahead and get everything right now. But whether you have to economize or not, this is a great multimedia computer.

Amazon.com Product Description

Satisfy your multimedia and gaming needs wherever you roam with the thin, light Toshiba Satellite P105-S6114 laptop. It runs the powerful Windows XP Media Center operating system, which offers a wide assortment of features to make it easy to create and manage digital photos, videos, and music. It’s also great for using as an entertainment center, with Toshiba’s unique Express Media Player enabling you to bypass the system and access CDs and DVDs with a touch of button. You’ll enjoy fantastic DVD viewing as well as immersive gaming graphics thanks to the 17-inch TruBrite display.

It’s powered by Intel’s powerful Core 2 Duo processor, which offers a 20 percent performance boost over its predecessor while using 28 percent less power–so you get the benefit of a powerful dual-core PC plus all the benefits of mobility. The dual-execution core T5200 Core 2 Duo processor provides an optimized, multithreaded architecture for improved gaming and multitasking performance, and it features a 1.6 GHz speed, fast 533 MHz system bus, and large 2 MB L2 cache. This laptop also features a 160 GB hard drive, 2 GB of installed DDR2 RAM (4 GB maximum), tri-mode 802.11a/b/g wireless connectivity, Intel GMA 950 graphics processor with 128 MB of shared video memory, and multi-format memory card reader. This is a Windows Vista capable PC, and it’s also Windows Vista Premium ready.

The Basics

• Hard Drive: You’ll be able to store large libraries of digital audio, video, and photos on the 160 GB hard drive (5400 RPM). This Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive also quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data–akin to FireWire and USB 2.0.
• Processor: The Intel Core 2 Duo T5200 processor has a 1.6 GHz processor speed, fast 533 MHz front-side bus (FSB), and large 2 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system’s performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)

  The Intel Core 2 Duo processor has two computational execution cores in a single processor, providing greater system response when running multi-threaded applications simultaneously with no significant increase in power consumption. It’s optimized for multitasking and is ready to support the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. It can simultaneously run multiple demanding applications–such as graphics-intensive games or serious number-crunching business productivity applications–while downloading music or running virus-scanning security programs in the background. Some of the advanced Intel innovations of the Core 2 Duo processor include:

  • Smart Memory Access: Improves system performance by hiding memory latency, thus optimizing the use of available computer data bandwidth to provide data to the processor when and where it is needed.
  • Advanced Digital Media Boost: Effectively doubles the execution speed for instructions used widely in multimedia and graphics applications.
  • Dynamic Power Coordination: Coordinates Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology and idle power-management state (C-states) transitions independently per core to help save power.
  • Deeper Sleep with Dynamic Cache Sizing: Saves power by flushing cache data to system memory during periods of inactivity to lower CPU voltage.

• Memory: The 2 GB of built-in memory (PC4200, DDR2 SDRAM) is a great start for power users, and it offers a very fast 533 MHz speed. It has two memory slots, enabling you to add up to 4 GB of RAM for worry-free handling graphics-intensive presentations and multiple open business productivity applications.
• CD/DVD Drive: The double-layer DVD drive is compatible with a wide range of formats, including both DVD+RW and DVD-RW discs, CD-RW discs, and dual-layer (DL) DVD+/-R discs, which can hold up to 8.5 GB of data–great for backing up your MP3 collection or your most important documents. It features the following speeds: 2.4x DVD+R DL, 2x DVD-R DL, 8x for both single-layer DVD+R/-R, 4x DVD+RW, 4x DVD-RW, 3x DVD-RAM, and 24x/10x for CD-R/RW. It reads DVD-ROM discs at 8x and CD-ROMs at 24x.
• Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a standard keyboard and electro-static two-button touchpad. It also offers a launch button for the Express CD/DVD media player and control buttons (play, stop, next, previous). With Toshiba’s unique Express Media Player, you can won’t have to wait for Windows to boot up before you can start a DVD movie or CD. Just a simple press of the button bypasses the system and starts your media playing.

Screen, Graphics and Sound
This laptop has a 17-inch TFT display with a resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels. It also provides TruBrite technology, which makes images brighter and more vivid thanks to its anti-glare feature. Video is powered by the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950, which uses Intel Dynamic Video Memory Technology (DVMT) and provides up to 128 MB of shared video memory. It offers both VGA and S-Video output connections for connecting to monitors and TVs.

You’ll enjoy crisp sound via the built-in Harman Kardon stereo speakers, which can produce immersive SRS TruSurround XT virtual surround sound with SRS WOW sound enhancement. This notebook also features an integrated audio card with headphone and microphone jacks.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
Offering easy connectivity, this notebook comes with an integrated tri-mode Intel 3945ABG wireless LAN, which is compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found in home routers and Wi-Fi hotspots) as well as 802.11a networks (which has a higher throughput, but more limited range–great for closed office environments). It also includes a next-generation ExpressCard 54/34 card slot (in addition to a standard PCMCIA slot), which lets you take advantage of thinner, faster, and lighter expansion cards for even more advanced wireless, networking, storage, and security features. You get a good offering of connectivity options:

• 4 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals–from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link) port for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
• 1 VGA monitor port
• 1 S-Video out
• 1 PCMCIA (or PC Card) slot (Type II, PCMCIA R2.01, PC Card16, CardBus)
• 1 ExpressCard/54 Slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)
• 5-in-1 memory card reader (Secure Digital, MultiMedia, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, xD Picture Card)
• 1 headphone jack, 1 microphone jack

It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.90) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Preloaded System and Software
The pre-installed Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is essentially Windows XP Professional Edition with a variety of tools to help you to create, organize, and enjoy digital media ranging from music to home movies to photo slide shows. Additionally, it enables you to control your television with the included remote and record and pause programs (much like a DVR–or digital video recorder–such as Tivo or ReplayTV). It also comes preloaded with Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office OneNote 2003, McAfee Internet Security Suite and VirusScan (with 30-day trials), InterVideo WinDVD and WinDVD Creator, and Sonic Solutions RecordNow.

Dimensions and Weight
This notebook measures 15.5 x 10.8 x 1.65 inches and weighs 7.1 pounds.

Power
It’s powered by a 6-cell rechargeable lithium-ion battery (4000 mAh), which has a battery life of up to 2.25 hours (depending on usage). It has a recharge time of approximately 4 hours.

What’s in the Box
This package contains the P105-S6114 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It is backed by a one-year limited hardware warranty.

Cons:
Keyboard takes some getting used to
HDD could have been 5400rpm
Ram should have been 667 MHz.