Toshiba Portege M205 S809 Tablet PC 1.5 GHz Pentium M, 512MB, 40GB Hard Drive, DVD CD RW Combo Drive

Customer Reviews

The best Tablet PC possible in the market right now

2004-01-18
-Screen, speed (response time in any application particularly graphics (as it is meant to be for), performance (3D Apps, video encoding!! watching codec-encoded videos and playing a few trial games) are all great.
-Size, weight, design and its class is on top (comparing to other Tablet PCs (convertible ones).
-Tablet mode, tablet pen, included software (OneNote, Windows Journal and.....) are all super-useful and easy to use.
-This machine has higher graphics and audio capabilities that you would expect from a business-oriented notebook, but they are there and make the user even enjoy movies (I wish there was a video-out port!)
-Lots of ports and connectivity, it's wireless is flawless!
-Price was in the higher side though, but if you see it you can't resist and you pay the extra to upgrade from an average notebook
- Tech support (can't comment), never needed to contact them, not because I am that good at computers (I have average knowledge) but because there was not any problem, and not only with this but with my two previous Satellite and Tecra notebooks from Toshiba I never needed to call tech-support, I think that rates their products (specially business line, Portege and Tecra) highly reliable.

If you think you need a convertible one around 4 pounds (and not a lighter version around 2-3 pounds) then I personally very much recommend it, either for business or academic purposes.

I normally do not write scathing reviews but... 2004-01-14
Summary: Extremely slow, and if u replace the hard drive u void the warranty.. no warnings... no stickers to stop you...

I have been using laptop computers and luggables for quite a long time and I must admit... I have never wanted to throw mine out of a plane window before until now. My wife bought me this computer as a gift for Christmas. I wish she had not because though the tablet features are neat, it is apparent that Toshiba has done what if could to keep the price cheap, including using slower memory and processor.

Ok, the machine is dog slow, but you get a neat tablet capability. I must admit, that is great on a plane or even sitting in the john.

But when only after 8 months the hard drive started to barf... I got a new one (same model) and replaced it. There is one screw that holds it in and there are no labels or warnings to tell u you void the warranty by opening it up. That is funny because Toshiba sent me instructions on changing the memory and they said changing the memory is just fine...

My last laptop was an Inspiron 5000 and I had 3 hard drives for it. Never had I had a problem before and never even heard of voiding the warranty by changing hard drives. In short, I have used Dell's, Sony Vaio's, Compaq's and I never had such performance and lack of support (yes even compaq was better).

I might be way too bitter to write a coherent review because a part of me is holding back just how angry I am. If you see a Toshiba tablet floating in the Hudson you will know it was mine.

Terrible Tech Support 2004-01-06
Toshiba may make good products, but their support is the worst i have ever come across. They have lost my laptop for over a month now and do not care a lick about it. They're tech support team is in Turkey and they dont care a thing about anybody. They kept hanging up on me and refused to help me saying it will take some time. When i called back- no one knew anything and had zero updates. DO NOT BUY TOSHIBA PRODUCTS! Get a Gateway or Dell instead...two companies that actually care about their customers.

Toshiba refuses to replace defective products 2004-03-30
Bought the M205 in January 2004. Took it in for repair a couple weeks later because microphone (too close to speaker) was causing feedback through the speaker (ear-piercing shriek). Toshiba authorized service rep. was unable to repair it (after ordering and installing a back-ordered part from Toshiba, about 4 weeks of effort on my part). Now Toshiba says a "Toshiba Engineer" must have a crack at it. Getting this thing repaired could become a part-time job. Perhaps if you're fortunate enough to purchase an M205 that does not have this problem you'll be happy, but if you ever have a problem, be prepared for a real struggle.....

Best Tablet Yet 2004-01-22
first of all, don't pay attention to either of the negative write ups here... the first guy (with the short write up) doesn't even own this product; the second guy (the angry one) isn't even writing about the *correct* product. and if he is, he very curiously got his hands on an M200 about a year before it was released.
without a doubt, this machine is outstanding. fast as hell, very responsive, wonderful screen (quite bright!), great upgradeability, etc. but that's just as far as the laptop functionality goes. as far as being a tablet pc, the M200 stands head and shoulders above every other tablet on the market. not only is it speedy, but it stays cool (even when the fan kicks in, you can barely hear it). the screen is the brightest and most readable i've seen on any tablet, and the viewing angle is greatly improved over the 1st gen. tablets. i've had both the acer c102ti and the c110ti, and the toshiba is the best i've owned yet. it's not just the main features either --- it's loaded with great small features that make a huge difference. for one, the screen 'texture' is tacky in comparison to other, slicker tablet screens, making it emulate a pen-on-paper feel much better than other tablets. the build quality is also far superior to my acer, and even to the 3500 series. the hinge is much sturdier, and the latch (just like on the 3500) is quite solid as well. battery life is between 4 and 4.5 hours, and the wifi works great (it is the standard intel 2100 chipset, but you can switch it out for a 802.11g card later if you like). the only complaint i've had so far is that it was pretty expensive (i paid $2300 for it), but you certainly get what you pay for with this one. i have absolutely no regrets, and could not recommend this machine more if you are serious about having a top of the line laptop AND the best tablet yet.

What else does all this? 2004-01-21
This convertible Tablet PC has met every expectation that I had: long battery life, good sized keyboard, fast performance. I was worried that the screen might be too small because of the high native resolution (SXGA+), but I can read the screen just fine, and the text barely blurs when you change to XGA resolution. The tablet has accelerometers that allow you to issue commands via shaking the device, so far I haven't found this to be very useful.

Pros:
- good sized keyboard (no shrinked keys, like right shift)
- hi res screen (hand writing looks more like a real pen)
- includes Microsoft OneNote
- fast change between screen resolutions
- not too heavy to use as a tablet
- good performance
- battery life ~4 hours
- you can get a 7200 rpm hard drive if you customize at Toshiba.com

Cons
- Touch pad isn't as fluid as others
- off angle viewing is horrible
- no firewire port
- screen appears a little grainy because of the protective coating
- short key stroke feels a little unsatisfying

Despite the cons, I still have to give this device five stars because there is no other convertible that has this tablet's combination of build quality, software, battery life, performance, screen, and weight.

A note on Toshiba Customer Service: I had to contact them a couple of times because my SD card slot wasn't working properly, and I had no problems. I received the same type of customer service that I've experienced with other big name companies like Sony.

I love mine 2004-01-18
This Tablet PC is actually a laptop computer with added functionality of digital ink, which is a very helpful tool in different tasks that I have. Screen is very bright and I can see from different angles, also good software were included free or well may be I paid for all that. Hand written recognition capabilities are among the best I have experienced and enjoyed in this industry after a while. lots of other good features.

Very good Tablet PC, Best Convertible 2004-01-18
Best screen, performance, design, graphics and sound possible in a Tablet PC.
Lots of good features, connectivity and software, OneNote is the best, it does everything.