Toshiba Satellite P25-S676 17" Notebook PC (3.40 GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD Super Multi Drive)

Rating:
Summary: Multi-Media Powerhouse, but not very portable
Review: I bought this as a desktop replacement, and so far this notebook has surpassed all my expectations. Fit and finish are top-notch, this laptop is gorgeous even without turning it on. This thing is big though, I mean big! I live in a smaller town and have yet to find a store that has a bag big enough to fit this notebook. So if you're a road warrior you might want to consider a smaller choice, not to mention this thing is pushing 10lbs without any accessories. Comes with two remote controls, one for XP MCE and a small credit card sized Toshiba brand remote used exclusively for movie watching or listening to CDs, not sure why they included two since the Media Center remote will do all that and a lot more, but oh well. Also comes with a trial version of Office 2003 student edition, a nice touch that wasn't listed in the specs. Has quick launch buttons on the right for internet, mail and a tv-out feature for displaying on a TV. The LCD is extremely bright and the picture is uniform from corner to corner. Best features by far are the component out video ports and the 5.1 surround digital out for surround sound. If weight and size aren't an issue I would definitely recommend this notebook.

Update!: Finally got around to using the component video out ports and hooked it up to my HDTV, you can set the output all the way up to 720p if your tv supports it, incredible picture! If you want to take advantage of the surround sound capability of this laptop you will need a toslink adapter for the headphone jack, you can find them for a few dollars. This will allow you to plug in a digital optical audio cable. Once I got that hooked up and put a dvd in it looked and sounded just as good as my sony home theater setup. The only drawback is having to figure all this out myself, the toshiba user manual is not very friendly.

Rating:
Summary: NICE LAPTOP!
Review: I looked for months before deciding on this one. I've had it for nearly 6 months and it has been great. I use it with numerous graphic programs and simulators and it continues to amaze me. The few times I've had to call for tech support, they were great. The big screen is perhaps the the best feature. As you might expect it's heavier than most and the battery life is pretty short so get an extra battery or bring your adapter. If you've compared prices, you already know it probably has the best features in this price range. I can tell you that quality isn't sacrificed.

Rating:
Summary: Toshiba does not care for its customers
Review: In the beginning it was the DVD drive: it broke down only a few weeks after acquiring my laptop. It took Toshiba 3+ weeks to change it. Then the HD crashed. It took them 2 weeks to repair it. Probably a quick and dirty repair, since the HD broke down again a few weeks later. That was 4 ago and since then they are trying to repair my laptop - which beyond the HD seems to have more problems. Despite all these problems, Toshiba will not replace the laptop for one that works and ask me to keep waiting...

In summary, during the last 4 months, my computer has been in the repair shop for 2 months; I have wasted many hours trying to get a reasonable response from the customer relations team and I lost my data twice due to hard drive crashes.

Avoid problems and buy a laptop from a company that cares for its customers.