Friday, October 7, 2011

Toshiba : Please stop making laptops - they are not designed to last

Toshiba is without a doubt a successful company. Unfortunately, I have been convinced never to buy one of their products ever again since I have got a Satellite L770 for a relative. I was going for the warranty and the processor. Using it for a little while outside the shop, my impression is that the laptop feel very poorly made. First off is the keyboard : a lot deflection when typing and the Shift or Enter keys are rather short making typing a little frustrating if your are used to using a real keyboard or something modeled off a real keyboard (eg Dell Precision or Lenovo ThinkPad). I should also note that the keys are not curved to fit the tips of one's fingers. Secondly the Satellite laptop is not well balanced. If you open the computer, it does not stay flush with the desk making it rock and and feel unstable. Thirdly the screen bounces when you type. Either the hinges are not well adjusted or that the screen is too heavy for the rest of the machine.

Lastly the most frustrating thing about your Satellite laptop is how its drivers, installed or not, do not resolve the access to ever so important functions like screen brightness or access to the microphone. I tried calling customer support for the screen brightness, but I was told that I will be contacted in a few days with the solution.

What positive things can I say about the laptop?
Minimal design - no extra buttons for navigation, volume etc
Fan is relatively quiet
Inexpensive


To summarize why Toshiba makes mediocre laptops :

Build (not sturdy, poorly balanced and keyboard deflection when typing)
Drivers do not work (brightness, microphone)
The keyboard has a strange layout

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