No talk about Toshibas? Better than Dells

[Guest]

I know this is a ThinkPad forum but I am truly shocked about there is no talk about Toshibas on this forum. Toshiba as far as I now and have been advised are the only notebooks in terms of quality that can compete with thinkpads. I have had a Toshiba notebook for 5 years now and I have never had a problem. Despite being five years old it sounds like its keyboard in terms of quality is better than any Dells. Dells seem to be the computers compared the most is it because of cost. The Toshibas cost a little less than IBMs but much more than Dells. Anyone agree? I have been checking out the Toshiba M35 series which seems to the most compatible with the T series. The pros it has over the T 41 (for the same price) is the better quality of the screen however a con is that is it 15.4 inches. Also it comes with a 60 HD bigger than the T's 40 GB. But it is at 4200 rpm.

I most likely will get the T 41 or 42 however because with 3 year warranty a T42 I configured ends up being the same price. However a bigger screen and a bigger hard drive are major considerations for me because I plan on having these notebooks for another four years.

[Daniel]

I've had bad experiences with Toshibas in general. It was probably just my luck though. I also dealt with the lower end ones, in particular, the Satellites.

[dcdomain]

I've had great experiences with the mid-90's Toshibas and so-so experience with the newer ones. My last Toshiba was a low-end Satellite and the Portege 2000. My brother hasn't told me of any problems with the Satellite, but the Portege 2000 definitely does not live up to the Portege 3020CT. If I had a chance, I would have bought something other than the Portege 2000, that's how awful it is. I'm glad to be moving on to a Thinkpad T42.

[snife]

I would admit they are better than DELLs (most are though) but i still dont think they really comete with ThinkPads - i dunno what it is there is nothing particularly wrong with the one i have (admittedly only a satelite pro) but there just isn't much wow factor with it. Couple of nice features like the partial aluminium casing and led placements etc but id still choose a T4* over any Tosh - in terms of good design and build quality the only other laptops i really like are Sony VAIOs but again id still choose a ThinkPad

[Mofongo]

My fiance has a 6-month-old Satellite and it's really nice. I especially like the keyboard on it...it's the only one I have used so far that seems as nice as the Thinkpad. So far she has had absolutely no problems with it (knock on wood).

In other respects, the Thinkpads are still superior, but for the price I think the Toshibas are much better than the other pieces of c**p out there (HP/Compaq/Dell). Everyone I have known who has/had an HP or Compaq swears they would never get another one. Sony's are OK, too, but the price is too high and by that point you might as well get a Thinkpad.

Another good manufacturer is Fujitsu. They are not quite as bulletproof as Thinkpads, but they are still very solid and much less expensive...way better than anything else (except perhaps Toshiba) in their price category. Accessories for them are also very inexpensive.

Basically, I recommend to my family members to get a Thinkpad if they can afford it. If they can't, then consider a Fujitsu...if they still can't, then a Toshiba.

Mofongo

[jr_birdman]

I had an old Late 90's Toshiba 440CDT that traveled well and never died. The only thing in 4 years of hard work that needed replacing was the CD drive that I wore out playing CDs...

With that in mind, I bought a Satellite 3000 in late '01. This has not been a good exerience. I have had 4 screen inverters fail, 1 screen, 2 motherboards, and plastic case cracking problems (Thank goodness I bought the extended warranty!! ). I contacted Toshiba about my "lemon" but they kept saying since they fixed it, "it should be good now". I have not had success escalating it and have given up. It is now in the shop for another inverter. The whole experience has been a big let down, both in letting me down on extended trips, as well as my perceived quality of Toshiba notebooks. My extended warranty expires this summer so I have bailed on Toshiba and just ordered my first Thinkpad...

[NecessaryEvil]

Satellite 3000?

that right there is the reason I don't buy Toshibas(or reccomend them) to anyone.

my Satellite 3000-S353's mobo had to be replaced (out for a MONTH...luckily it was during the summer when I wasn't needing it for school).

the chassis' plastic cracked in over a dozen places.

the mobo went out on it again, resulting in some keys not working unless you pressed VERY hard on it.

*sigh*

it was 600 bucks cheaper than an Inspiron 8100 of comparable make, IIRC.

I think it's time to hug my Thinkpads.

[sktn77a]

I've had good experience with a Toshiba sattelite (2.4GHz celeron) - got it for $699 at christmas. It's no T4X but great for routine web surfing, word processing, calendar and driving embroidery machines (it's my wife's and she has it connected to various sewing machines).

There's a good Toshiba forum here:

http://forums.compuserve.com/vlforums/d ... iba&loc=us

[sktn77a]

Oops!!!

[edelrc]

What about the Tablet M205?

I love Thinkpads, but if Toshiba had a M205 with a slot with DVD-RW, I would trade it anytime.

(or put it in other way, if the T42 were a tablet PC, I would pay $4000 for it!)

[Chun-Yu]

Last time I checked, the M205 is really plasticky (basically the whole thing is plastic) and has a horrible keyboard and mouse. I'd trade being able to write on the screen for the ThinkPad quality any day.

[cynic]

I have so far seen four M205 models with the hinge broken or breaking. That's a big problem in my book.

[dclee012]

on the T4x series, isn't the monitor ribbon exposed and bending as you open/close the cover?

it is covered by plastic in the R series i think..

[JHEM]

on the T4x series, isn't the monitor ribbon exposed and bending as you open/close the cover?

Not really "exposed", it resides in a cutout in the display frame and isn't flexed as much as you might think.

Regards,

James

[dclee012]

on my t42, i can see the ribbon while im typing. it's right next to left hinge

[JHEM]

on my t42, i can see the ribbon while im typing. it's right next to left hinge

I can see mine in the same place on my T40. So what?

Regards,

James