Rating: 
Summary: Great for the average user (like me)!
Review: I rec'd this laptop as a gift -- and once over the shock, discovered that it's probably one I would have picked had I gone out looking for myself. I'm a writer, and the last machine I used was a Mac Performa 550 (yeah, I'm on the ten-year plan). Aaaanyway, being more Mac-savvy than PC-smart, this ended up being a great pick. Perfectly suits my word-processing and photo-editing needs, lets me burn CDs with no trouble at all and watch DVDs wherever I like. If I was a gamer, I'd probably want more, but this more than does the trick for my needs, plus it's a nice keyboard feel (really important for people who spend hours a day pecking). I appreciate the floppy drive (never understand why Macs did away with this feature...you just gotta have a floppy drive sometimes) and added a mini-mouse for home use, although the touchpad had a nice feel and is very responsive. Can't wait to pack it up and roll down to the Starbucks to get some work done.
Rating: 
Summary: The best at this price point
Review: I was looking for a decent laptop for under $1000 and this Toshiba model fit the bill perfectly. I wanted a laptop with CD-RW and DVD drives, a minimum of 256MB RAM and 30GB hard drive space. Obviously, I was not looking for a professional laptop that is super-thin and light. I was looking for something that can be a decent replacement for a desktop without paying $2000 for the privelege.
This model has a very fast processor (it is Celeron, but if you are like most computer users, anything over 1 GHz is overkill!), pretty spacious hard drive and the ability to record CD's and watch DVD's. If you are into games that require 256MB of video RAM, this is not the laptop for you, but I watch DVD's on this laptop (on just battery power) and it plays back flawlessly.
The laptop also comes with MS Works software, software for creating CD's, WinDVD and other goodies. Overall, a steal for under $1000 (you can get it for under $1000 even though the list price is over $1100 right now). It also has a huge 15" screen as opposed to the 14" screens that most low-end laptops have.
The main disadvantages of the laptop that I see are: (1) no serial port. This can be taken care of by using up one of the 3 USB ports and a USB to serial conversion cable. (2) The maximum resolution of the screen is 1024x768 (I am used to 1280x1024, so this is a bit of a pain in the neck). (3) Only 2.5 hours of battery run time. (4) On the heavy side at almost 8 lb (including battery, not including charger, adapter etc.).
Rating:
Summary: NOT ACCURATE INFORMATION ON TECHNICAL DETAILS
Review: I was looking for an affordable laptop whith infrared port. When I found Toshiba Satellite 1415-S173 at Amazon.com it was described to have 3 usb ports,1 parallel port and 1 infrared port. I made my mind up and ordered it inmediately. Now I've found that this model does not have an infrared port. Although I'm satisfied with the quallity of all other features on this machine, this should be fixed. An update of the listed technical details should be done frequently to avoid inconvenients. Specially for international shoppers.
Rating:
Summary: Great for the average user
Review: I've had this laptop for about a week now and I'd have to say that I'm impressed by it. It's perfect for the average user. I upgraded to this from using a Toshiba 4005CDS laptop. The current version of the Toshiba Satellite 1415 does have 400 MHz front side bus and -- while the tech specs on Toshiba's web site say differently -- this one does have 256MB of DDR RAM. DVD playback looks good. I viewed my copy of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Special Edition and it looks great! Pulling up the subtitling and listening to the commentaries tends to slow it down just a tad, but it's hardly noticeable. It burns CDs easily and even comes with a built in floppy drive. For some of us, the floppy drive is still essential. It also has an ECP parallel port, for those who require bi-direction communication. I sync my laptop frequently with my desktop (using FileVan as opposed to LapLink), so this is an essential feature for me as well. And it has internet scrolling too. If you run your finger along the right edge or bottom edge of the touchpad, you can scroll your browser window, or scroll through any application window. Prior to the Satellite 1415, I actually checked out an HP laptop, but that didn't work out too well for me. It kept crashing while I was on the internet so I took it back after a mere three days. But I've had no problems with the 1415. I'm really happy about his purchase. I haven't tried playing games on it yet, but with the nVidia graphics card, it should do just fine for some of the less graphics intensive games. I suspect that if you want a mind-blowing 3D experience this is not the one for you. In fact, if gaming is all you do you're better off with a desktop. If that's not the case, and you're an average user like me (word processing, e-mail, DVD, multitasking, the occasional game), this laptop will do the job. My only gripe, and the reason I give it only 4 stars, is that the modem is a software modem and not a hardware modem. The modem on my old laptop was much better. But for those of you who have taken the leap into DSL -- I'll admit that I'm still using only a dial-up connection -- then this is something you won't have to worry about since this laptop has an ethernet port.
Rating:
Summary: The best you can get for the price !
Review: I've just received this unit and I'm very happy by its appeal even though it is a bit on the heavier side. till now it has performed flawlessly. It's a snappy performer as well. I tested some applications and the response time was good. The sound quality was average-good. The LCD is perfect (no dead pixels). However i was dissappointed when i found it did'nt have an IR as I would have used it with my Palm. In all, the product is quite good and of course it's a TOSHIBA (nothing to beat them in notebooks...
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely awesome value for the price.
Review: Initially I wanted to give this 4 stars because it performs up to specs but with the rebate, I think the price/value makes it a 5 star.
Rating:
Summary: It's a very multifunctional one. But it's heavy :)
Review: It's even fast (see its motherboard frequency with respect to CPU's one).
But having it all the time with me doesn't feel comfortable - it's 3.5kg heavy.
Rating:
Summary: A solid buy........
Review: Let me start by saying that my sole experience with laptops have been with IBM. That being said I was looking for a replacement for my old IBM and one that would be capable of acting as both a desktop and mobile. I started as most do by comparing a number of models, Dell, Gateway, HP, Compaq etc.. The final decision came down to 2 main points extended warranty and price. The capabilities of the machine came last as most are quite adequate for general use in this price range. First I will start off with price, I was able to buy the 1415 for $...with rebates. All other models reviewed with the same features would run 2-3 hundred dollars more. The second reason was the extended factory warranty offered by Toshiba ( a must have on any mobile device ) was far more comprehensive and less expensive then the competition. I like the fact that it is a factory warranty and not a 3rd party vendor. Since buying the 1415 in early December it has performed quite well with no issues, acting as both my desktop and mobile device. On the one occasion I spoke with Toshiba to look for updates they were EXCELLENT! As a desktop I have connected a 17 inch Samsung LCD monitor and wireless Logitech keyboard/mouse along with a USB hub making it a simple matter of connecting or removing 2 plugs. All in all a great machine, my only complaint was( No Track Ball ); a left over issue from using and IBM but solved by carrying a optical mouse in my bag. If it were not for that I would have rated it a 5 star.
Rating:
Summary: A pure perfection laptop machine!!
Review: Pros: Solid build quality, excellent screen and keyboard, perfect out of the box Cons: Heavy, so-so battery life, features only "average" for the price Summary: I really liked the keyboard, the feel of the keys being much better than most other low-priced machines, and the screen was very sharp and bright. One thing I didn't like is the weight, over 8 pounds with the battery, much heavier than the competition. After hearing so many stories about problems with laptops, I quickly unpacked it and fired it up. I was happy to see the solid case for the machine, it's plastic but it's quite strong. I was also very happy to see no dead pixels, something which seems to plague many or most laptops. In fact, manufacturers don't even consider a few dead pixels a defect, despite how annoying they are. I was happy to see the on-board tutorial which makes set-up a snap. Also, back-up CD's are provided for the system, something which many manufacturers are beginning to cut corners on. I also quickly tried out a DVD, something which many laptops stumble on. Playback was perfect, with crystal clear images and decent sound. The CD-RW capability also worked as advertised, again a stumbling point with some machines. Overall, I'm very satisfied with the Toshiba. It is heavy, no doubt about it, and battery life is only mediocre, at just over 2 hours. Speaker quality is decent, considering it's a laptop with tiny speakers. It certainly won't rival a good 3-piece desktop speaker set, but no laptop will. But everything works perfectly, and there are a few nice extras that many machines cut in favor of cost savings. Like the floppy drive, the CD controls on the outside of the machine , so you can play CD's without having to boot up the machine, and the volume thumb wheel on the front. This is much nicer than having to wade through menus just to adjust the volume. The Toshiba is well thought out with a solid, quality feel. It feels like they designed the computer to do a job and then priced it accordingly rather than deciding on a price and then cutting costs to meet it.
Rating:
Summary: A better battery would've earned this portable 5 stars
Review: The Toshiba Satellite really tries to match feature-for-feature most of the things you'd want on a laptop/desktop replacement. The LCD screen is bright and clear, the components that you need are all there--DVD, floppy, 30GB hard drive and a reasonably fast 1.8 GHz Celeron CPU. The system runs hot, however, because the battery on this unit is really NOT what I'd call good. It specs out around 2 hours but I get less time than that on mine. (Batteries can vary widely.) So, for long plane trips when you are stuck in coach with no AC outlet at hand, you are going to have to work fast before your system conks out, or else carry an additional charged battery. There are three USB ports, a network 10/100 support and a 56K modem that on my unit connects at almost the theoretical maximum speed. These connectivity features are essentials for a portable, along with the touchpad pointer. I am not a fan of touchpads, but the one on the Satellite works particularly well, allowing me to forgo my cordless mouse on a cramped airplane tray table. Neither the Celeron CPU nor the nVidia graphics on board this unit will be suitable for graphics-heavy work or games--it's a bit underpowered for these applications. If the Satellite only had a better battery, I'd rate this a top-class road warrior. As it is, this unit has almost everything you want but it's not a one-hundred percent laptop for extended off-powerline use nor a full desktop replacement. It's kind of a compromise, but for the price, a reasonably good set of trade-offs.
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