Rating: 
Summary: Shockingly good value for the dollar...
Review: I've had the S103 for a week, and for the price I paid (about 500 clams), this is a breakthrough model for value notebooks. Out of the box, this is ideally a supplement to an existing desktop or as a network machine rather than a desktop replacement, due to its lack of a CD burner or floppy drive, but you could add those externally.
Here are some of my first impressions:1) The computer is plenty fast for me so far. Word processing, high-speed Internet functions, movies, even a few year-old games, loaded no problem and play without a hickup. I haven't tried Warcraft III or Age of Mythology yet, but heard on Toshiba tech support message board that both cause major problems, but hopefully driver updates will resolve this soon.
2) Screen is the big selling point for me. It's a brilliant, 14-inch TFT, true color, 1024X768. Gorgeous.
3) Battery life is barely adequate, but what's new? It lasts almost exactly 2 hours, as stated in the instructions, and that includes a slightly less bright screen when in battery mode.
4) The build quality/design are not the best. My "Y" key requires too much pressure to click. The buttons for the touchpad are recessed too much for a poor tactile response. I'm considering trying to exchange it because of the stuck Y key.
5) The DVD drive is pretty loud. Better use your headphones when watching movies (plays movies fine, but the experience isn't so good when running on the battery due to the short life and dimmed screen).
6) There is no Floppy drive, and no way to buy an internal one (I checked with Toshiba). You can get an external floppy.
7) Memory upgrade is PC2100 SODIMM, not PC1600 as stated in some Toshiba documents nor regular SDRAM as stated in others. Check out tech support or open up your memory slot and look at your existing memory chip and you will see I am right. Certified 256MB upgrade from Kingston costs about 100 clams.
8) I added a D-Link wireless 802.11b card with few problems and am currently filing this wirelessly.
9) The fans do run from time to time, and they are jarring at first, but you get used to them. It's really not that bad IMHO. I have run down the entire battery with this thing on my lap, and though it gets very warm, I never felt uncomfortably hot. This issue is overblown.
10) The processor is a Mobile Intel Celeron 1.5Ghz processor, not a desktop model. I have confirmed this with Toshiba.
11) Haven't tried this yet, but laptop supports an external monitor at up to 1280X1024 at 100Hz, not bad. Video card is Radeon Mobility 6 with 16MB DDR Ram -- Not top of the line, certainly, but a lot more than I expected in a bargain-basement notebook and certainly better than some of those "shared memory" deals I have seen.
12) Neither the processor nor the video card are upgradeable.
13) There is no USB 2.0 or Firewire port. You can add PCMIA cards with these high-speed ports for about ($$$) or so, and through them add on high-speed hard drives, CD burners, printers, video cameras, iPods, etc. But this would be an issue if you plan on using high-speed peripherals a lot.
14) The laptop is 6.9 pounds and relatively thin. Compared to some of the 8.5 pound behemoths out there for four times the cost, this is truly a portable machine, but not an ultralight by any means.
15) Has Microsoft Works, Quicken 2001 (!) and a few other gizmos and doodads, but that's about it. You may view this as either great -- no detritus taking up disk and desktop space -- or as a minus. I personally prefer not having 20 programs installed that I will never use. If you look hard, you will find some great deals out there.
Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Perfect for my needs!
Review: My husband got this computer for me about a week ago and I'm very happy with it! Of course it's not the best computer in the world but remember you get what you pay for. If you want all of the bells and whistles then maybe you should look elsewhere. I will mainly use mine for my home business. I am a party plan consultant and this is perfect for me to take to my shows so I can put the orders directly into the computer instead of doing the paperwork at the show and then entering it into the computer at home. If you don't need all the extras then this is a great entry level laptop. I love mine!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for my needs!
Review: My husband got this computer for me about a week ago and I'm very happy with it! Of course it's not the best computer in the world but remember you get what you pay for. If you want all of the bells and whistles then maybe you should look elsewhere. I will mainly use mine for my home business. I am a party plan consultant and this is perfect for me to take to my shows so I can put the orders directly into the computer instead of doing the paperwork at the show and then entering it into the computer at home. If you don't need all the extras then this is a great entry level laptop. I love mine!
Rating:
Summary: Not top of the line, but certainly great bang-for-the-buck!
Review: Reading some of the reviews here, you'd think the notbook in question was supposed to be an expensive desktop replacement.
This notebook is great performer in the budget-notebook category. Here are a few of it's many pluses (and keep in mind, this IS a budget notebook): 1. 14.1" display (very usable).
2. Reasonably fast 1.5Ghz MOBILE Celeron processor on a 400 mhz system bus (dont listen to all the people saying that it uses a desktop processor. Intel doesnt even MAKE a 1.5Ghz desktop Celeron chip - look it up).
3. 20 gig hard drive - 4200rpm (true, not very large, but decent for a notebook under $1100 MSRP)
4. Decent touchpad with great mouse buttons (I've tried many laptops, and few have as good a tactical feel as this one - i.e. HP's new laptops, which have crappy touchpads with even worse mouse buttons).
5. Decent battery life (Li-ion battery). I've been able to run over 2 hours on a full charge, while surfing the internet AND ripping cd's the entire time.
6. Decent graphics capabilities. True, a 16mg(dedicated) Mobility Radeon isnt anywhere near top of the line, but the only thing it DOESN'T do perfectly is play the latest pc games (but im sorry, if you expect to get a kick butt mobile gaming rig for anywhere NEAR $1000 you are seriously deluting yourself).
7. Decent memory configuration with good expandability. This pc uses 256mg DDR RAM (PC1600), a very usable ammount. This can be upgraded to 512 with another 256 stick (which I plan on doing very soon).
8. Rock-solid stability. I've had this laptop for several weeks, and have done some major work on it. Never has it given me even an ounce of trouble. Here are the few things I wish were different on this notebook (bearing in mind I can certainly live with these inconveniences, escpecially considering how much they would cost me on a better equipped laptop $$$): 1. The laptop needs USB 2.0. This is probably the most major thing, since it has neither a cd-burner or floppy drive. 2. A cd-burner WOULD be nice (but I can add that later, as the beefed up model, the 1115-s153, has a combo drive).
3. A floppy drive. Not a very expensive addition, since there is a bay for it on the front of the notebook. (would've been nice since there is no cd-burner). The bundled software is OK, never been a huge fan of MS Works, but it will get the job done for most people (I put a previously purchased copy of MS Office on it). It also comes with the Bicyle Board game bundle as well, which is fun to poke around with on occasion. True, this laptop wont win any awards for speed, weight, or sound (the fan doesnt run that often, and the hard drive - which is an IBM 40gn btw, is not loud at all). But with a price well under one thousand dollars with rebates, anyone looking for a solid budget notebook should seriously consider the 1115-s103 from Toshiba. P.S. Just for clarification's sake, heres a few of the other features that some have said arent on this laptop. There IS a tv out...its a single s-video out connection (as well as a standard monitor out). There are 2 Type-II pc card slots, not 1. The MOBILE Celeron processor does not get THAT hot. Ive been able to use it for a full battery discharge on my lap wearing shorts without problem.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for people looking for a "portable desktop"
Review: This computer is cheap and powerful. You can't have both without a catch, and the catch is: This is really a desktop CPU. Intel tried to discourage Toshiba from doing this, but Toshiba did it any way. What's inside? How about a desktop P4 built on their 130nm process and based on the "Northwood" core. This core is smaller and cooler than the original P4 (based on the "Willamette" core) but it runs at a higher voltage than a true P4M (M for Mobile of course) which means it runs hotter. To deal with this heat Toshiba has a fan, which drains power from the battery, so you need to plug it in more. Because the Northwood core has pretty advanced thermal controls built in, your CPU won't run as hot as older Intel or current AMD CPUs, but it will get a little warm. And unlike another CPU on the market the internal sub-circuitry on the chip will shut off just about everything not being used, which saves a surprising amount of power. Through market studies, Toshiba discovered that many people do this anyway. And since a desktop CPU cost *less* than a mobile CPU they could under cut the competition by using their engineering muscle to develop a cooling system that could handle a desktop CPU in a notebook. Because the CPU is hotter, Toshiba uses slower, cooler SDRAM instead of faster, hotter DDRAM. This isn't a big deal for most notebook users but if you are a power users who wants to actually do some CAD on your laptop, you need to look at faster systems. The graphics sub-system is adequate for most games, but you won't want to try playing the latest 3D games on it. It doesn't have USB 2.0, but USB 2.0 PC Cards are pretty cheap these days and easy to install. I think the build quality is decent, but I *always* suggest going into a couple of stores and trying the different brands out first. There are little things that will sell one over another. I personally prefer the HP Pavilion xt125 Notebook over this computer. I cost about the same, uses a (slightly) slower, cooler, mobile Celeron (P4 variant) CPU, but faster DDRAM. All in all the performance is about the same with more battery life. It also has a better graphics sub-system that can handle a fair bit of 3D gaming and a CDRW drive. I think the build quality on the HP is better too.
Rating:
Summary: More than decent beginner/cheap laptop
Review: This is a great laptop for the value. If you get a deal with rebates then you can come out real good on price... I am not sure of Amazon.com's deal. But as for the price, is still a great deal. Especially for me, I am a college student who needs a decent mobile system on top of my desktop system at home. Comes with a built in network interface and modem (not that I'll ever use that really). All I need to do is add a wireless network card and I am done. My only problem with it is the missing built in floppy drive and a TV out adaptor. Other than that, its a great laptop. I don't need a CD-RW on my laptop I have that angle covered and I enjoy having a DVD-ROM (if anything I must have DVD capability). It would have been nice to make atleast one of those USB ports an IEEE 1394 firewire port. But other than those three major draw backs it again is a nice system. Microsoft Works isn't that bad. It is cross compatible with the Office software package. The 1.5GHz celeron is perfect, and 256MB of ram makes this thing even better. I LOVE IT! Pick one up. . . .
Rating:
Summary: Is it worth your money ?
Review: This is notebook model from Toshiba for first time laptop buyers looking a value priced notebook. Read ahead to decide whether you want this or not. Let me give 12 reasons to buy it,
1. You want a laptop.
2. You don't have much money to spend.
3. You don't care about its 45 mins battery life.
4. You don't want or don't care for top performance.
5. You have never heard of USB 2.0 or Firewire or Bluetooth.
6. You don't care for the noise or heat it will generate.
7. You don't care about system instability and overheating problems it may have.
8. You don't care for graphics performance or play any PC games.
9. You don't want to burn a CD for mp3 or data backup's.
10. You don't care about its 7 pound weight or big size or medium sized 14" display.
11. You don't care about irritating and noisy Hard Disk and CPU fans.
12. You are a student and will install Linux on it anyways ! Let me give you 12 reasons NOT to buy it,
1. Uses a desktop Celeron processor (costs much lower than a mobile version), not Mobile Celeron/Pentium/Athlon. This means laptop gets very hot, fans noisy & uses too much power/battery.
2. No new interfaces like USB 2.0, Firewire, Bluetooth or wireless access. (Doesn't have older serial port, PS2 ports either). And you have only one PCMCIA slot to expand later on for any of those interfaces.
3. It bigger and bulkier than previous models. Desktop CPU means more space for cooling it down etc.
4. Uses a slower memory speed DDR RAM PC1600, good luck finding a PC1600 SoDimm module when upgrading !
5. The keyboard isn't same a desktop, some keys are placed at different positions, some missing. But this might a case with most laptops though.
6. The video card is way too under-powered. You can forget about playing any games made in last 2-3 yrs. DVD's play fine though.
7. Because desktop Celeron runs so hot.
8. The hard disk a only 20GB.
9. Toshiba doesn't even include a OEM Windows XP CD. All it has is are recovery CDs to reformat the whole disk and re-install OS/everything all over again & deleting all your data. Norton AV is only trial version.
10. Toshiba doesn't make or design this laptop. Its designed/made by a [inexpensive] contractor in Taiwan and then sold as Toshiba brand.
11. The battery life is low.
12. Too much noise from fans etc. Wish it was quieter. Toshiba is good at giving rebate money back so you can count on its low price and this laptop will work great for most simple applications. But don't let the Intel 1.5Ghz label fool you, its missing too many things & will feel obsolete pretty soon. Spending some more money to get a model with mobile Athlon/Pentium processor, maybe 15" LCD, in-built CD-RW & USB 2.0 is well worth it. (Very soon USB 2.0 would be there in all laptops, its already there in most desktops.) There are reasons why Toshiba's selling it for so inexpensively and hopefully you understand enough not to regret later on. Update: A ignorant reviewer claims this has mobile CPU. Let me clarify again it has a desktop CPU, NOT mobile. Check detailed specs on Toshiba's website if there's still any doubt left. One local store has this for around 500 after rebates. If you find any such bargain price go for it, otherwise there are better models out there.
Rating:
Summary: Great for the Price
Review: This laptop is wonderful for the price... if you pay more than 750.00 for it i would look into something else with more features though (like floppy drive, bigger hard drive). I've had for a couple weeks now and have had no problems. No over heating issues that other people have wrote about, etc...
I highly recommend this for what i paid for it 650.00 after rebates. Have fun!
Rating:
Summary: Good value for money!
Review: This laptop won't blow any other model out of the water with its specs, but considering I paid $389 after rebates, its the best bargain available. Even if you find it for twice that amount, you will get a solid performing laptop. Yes, it gets warm, battery life is low, and the specs aren't awe inspiring - but this is an entry level machine and its not meant to do high end stuff. I am 100% satisfied with my purchase. You will be too, if you can find it for a smokin' price
Rating:
Summary: Entry Level - But excellant quality
Review: This laptop won't blow any other model out of the water with its specs, but considering I paid $389 after rebates, its the best bargain available. Even if you find it for twice that amount, you will get a solid performing laptop. Yes, it gets warm, battery life is low, and the specs aren't awe inspiring - but this is an entry level machine and its not meant to do high end stuff. I am 100% satisfied with my purchase. You will be too, if you can find it for a smokin' price
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