Customer Reviews
Great for $400! add more RAM & battery and it's even better! 
2005-12-23
I agree with the previous reviewers that this laptop a great entry level. The screen is GREAT, integrated wireless works well, and a 60GB hard drive are nice. The two major weaknesses of this product are the tiny amount of RAM (if you try running more than one application at once the thing is unuseable) and the short battery life.
I also agree with previous reviewers that if you add another stick of RAM to this, it rips along quite well.
I purchased this as an entry level machine and use it for web-access, MS Office, watching DVDs on the go, uploading and sorting through digital photos while away from home.
The Celeron processor really struggles if I try any heavy photo editing but I generally try save that stuff for my desktop machine.
Don't buy Toshiba Labtop 2005-12-23
Exactly one year passed, the AC power adapter stop working. So I ordered it from Toshiba and I have to deal with really annoying attitude customer service. Toshiba has the worst customer service.
It is okay once you upgrade 256 memory to more than 512 (You need to buy PC2-4200(DDR2) memory, unless it won't work).
Pros:
- Good price
- Very bright screen
- Reasonable speed
- Good technical support
Cons:
- Noisy fan
- Short battery life with standard battery
Really annoying customer service
Don't forget to turn on wireless funcation by pushing button in front of laptop, I learned by calling Toshiba technical support.
I really like my laptop!! 
2005-12-06
This laptop is very user friendly, and has a lot of unique capabilities. The screen is thin, and wide for a fantastic crisp looking screen display; however, the price is the biggest downfall of this product. (...)
Toshiba L25-S119 - After a Week 2005-11-30
I couldn't be more pleased with the machine after using it for a week. I had spent over 6 months researching and comparison shopping. When that Friday after Thanksgiving sale hit, I was in line and lucked out.
Out of the case:
Not that I am into it, but this is a stylish, sleek, attractive laptop (here I am comparing it to my daughter's dull Dell 2200, if you have ever seen one). The desktop wallpaper is a modernist graphic painting that I have no desire to even change.
Boot-up:
The L25 boots quickly. Granted, I keep my start-up menu slim but with Zonealarm firewall and AVG firewall, my desktop lumbers a bit. Not the Toshiba and I have it configured the same.
Performance:
I use the laptop merely for surfing and simple word processor/spreadsheet applications. It is more than adequate for that. If you are a heavy gamer (or graphics user), you know you need a faster processor and more memory. Regardless, I bought an extra stick of RAM at newegg.com (shhhh!) since there are two slots and I just feel more comfortable running with 512 or more.
"Feel:"
One of the things I like best is the feel of the machine. The keyboard is more than adequate (I have very large hands, male's XL gloves). The touch is crisp and not sluggish. The touchpad gets a 5 out of a 5 as well. The response is fast and crisp (my daughter's Dell 2200 -- same price range -- sometimes misses my taps and I have to repeat the process).
Battery
Here is a shortfall for your mobile-madness types. The battery lasts 1 hour and 15 minutes. But, having researched that, I knew that going in so I wasn't a bit disappointed. I use my machine plugged in, both at home in the lazy chair and as well, our coffee shops have a ton of outlets. For me, the short battery life is a non-issue. If I needed a 4 hour battery, I would have stepped up the line and bought a higher priced Toshiba.
Warranty
Keep in mind, regardless of where you buy this machine, you can buy a warranty for any Toshiba product from Toshiba on line. I bought a three-year warranty from Toshiba (shhhh!) for $129, total labor and parts. I can either run it into an authorized repair shop 7 miles from my house or they will pay to have it shipped. My choice. Excellent warranty for the price.
Loaded software
The minor Office Works or whatever it is comes loaded. I don't use MicroSoft anymore. I have converted all my word processing and spreadsheets to OpenOffice.org applications. They are completely free and interchangable with any Microsoft documents. Google them before you give Uncle Bill Gates $200 for Microsoft Office. The machine also came with 6-months (?) of McAfee's product (anti-virus) but I quickly uninstalled it after working thru my daughter's PC problems. She had McAfee and it ruined the registry on her Windows 98. I had to do a complete reinstall. Instead of McAfee, I use AVG, a European anti-virus, free for the download. Superb product.
At the end of the first week
I am delighted with this purchase. Further, Toshiba has won me over from Dell. I have bought (or configured for others) 6 computers/laptops and have become disenchanted with Dell's quality and customer service. Buy this little fine laptop with Toshiba and you too might move away from a Dell.
Enjoy.
A brilliant machine! 2005-11-29
First of all, before all else, this is simply a very beautful laptop. It doesn't seem so in pictures, but when you use it, the experience is really nice.
With 60 GB, I as a student have all the space I need. With built in wireless LAN, it's easy and instantaneous to connect to the internet. The TruBright screen really does allow you do see it at many angles, even laying it sideways on a bed. It also has a few convenient little features that makes use easy and quick.
However, there are a few little things that could be better.
1. The 256 MB RAM is a little small. I'd suggest adding at least another 256 MB. (You can add up to a total of 2 GB of RAM.)
2. The battery life is short. It's a little over an hour long. I'd suggest getting an 8-cell battery.
Those are the only two drawbacks to buying this. I got mine in a Black Friday deal, so it was only $50, but I think it's worth every penny.
Perfect for my Needs 2007-09-26
I am very pleased with this machine. I bought it for myself almost a year ago and still love it and use it daily. I have to spend 12 hours a day in bed hooked up to my own machines and did not have room to set up a desktop. With the limited space available to me on the hospital table, and limited funds, I needed a notebook. Everyone in my sister's office used one of these and told me they were very durable. And they were correct. I have accidentally pushed it off the table and had it crash three feet down to the floor. Not even a scratch, and the floors are wooden here and not carpeted.
Having limited mobility I was very pleased to see that it worked great right out of the box. And open as far as ascetics go, for use or closed it looks quite stylish, not that I found it an important factor. It boots up with a decent speed has three USB ports that I found most useful.
I almost always use it on the AC adapter, so the battery life is not important to me. But on the rare occasions that the outlet was needed and I went on battery; it was consumed very fast. It seemed almost immediately that it turned off, when in reality it was about an hour. So I hope one day to get an external battery donated for use with this laptop for those rare times I am able to be away from my bed or desktop and still want computer access. Like on a clear winter day when I may be able to be outside on the porch.
This small Toshiba performs all the functions I want. The WiFi allows me to gain access to the available wireless Internet connection provided here with no work at all. It is as if I have a hardwire connection. Of course I only use it for word processing, e-mail, and listening to conferences, lectures or music (mp3) that have been donated to me. I used the software that came loaded on the machine and they meet all my needs.
The touch pad works well. But I have much better access and easier use now that I have a wireless laser mouse attached to it. Which I was able to plug the receiver into one of t he USB and the mouse worked without any additional software. It is perfect for all my computer needs while stuck in the room in which I use it. One note: I do not play any games on it. So I do not know how it would work in that environment. But I bought it knowing that it would not be used for games.
If I had to buy a Notebook Computer today, I would be willing to buy this one again.
Simple Laptop 2007-01-01
This laptop is great for me. I have had it for over a year now and it works very well............. most of the time. It was a good value for the price. I am a graduate student and this is what I could afford but it has served me fairly well. I intend to keep it for another 2 years until I graduate.
actually, my unit is the L25-S1216 variant of this excellent model 2006-06-05
After 4 months of use, here are some things I consider notable:
+ Clean exterior lines, glossy-black exterior with sharp-cut edges contrasting with simple, polished silver interior
+ No annoying, high pitched capacitor whine
+ hibernation/sleep/wake is flawless
+ sweat from your palm does not permanently stain the enamel finished palmrest
+ fan noise really low after April 2006 BIOS release update
+ included Microsoft OneNote 2003 is quite useful with great UI
+ LCD: LG Philips LPG6500 15" XGA TFT
+ HDD: Toshiba MK4026GAX 40GB 5400RPM with 16MB cache
+ Takes power efficient DDR2 4200 Memory (compared to DDR) (Hynix DDR2-533 1.8V 256MB preinstalled)
+ Optical Drive: TSST TS-L462C
- Noisy optical drive (unless you set the quiet drive utility manually, which always defaults into "noisy mode")
- Celeron Processor does not throttle down even when doing nothing
- Left palm area warm
- BATTERY LIFE (~1hr, 4 cell 29 Watt hour basic pack)
- no card reader or IEEE 1394
All in all, Toshiba really packs some high quality components into this nicely designed/built "budget" notebook. Also check out the Tecra L2-S011, based on the same chasis.
Great starter/basic laptop 2006-03-08
This is an excellent first laptop. I bought this laptop for study needs.
Pros:
+Fast
+Good speakers
+Good buttons,touchpad,etc.
+Easy to use
+3 USB ports
+Headphone/mic jacks easy to find/easy to plug in
+Play,Pause,Stop,RW,FF buttons
+Battery charge indicator light
+Easy to install/remove battery
+CD R/RW Drive, DVD R only
+Projector/monitor port
Cons:
-Sometimes randomlly freezes
-Only 60GB hard drive
-Cheap screen, mine has a dead pixel and they aren't willing to replace
-No built in LAN
-No DVD burner
-No volume button, you have to hold the FN button and up or down
-No memory card slots that are on other Toshiba laptops
-No port to connect to printer
Overall, good laptop for college students. Not recommended for CEO's,etc.
Great Laptop For Home Use 2005-12-29
I cuurently use this laptop for home use and to surf the internet and other small programs. This is my first latop. I got it for $499 at Best Buy, and I'm planning to upgrade it to 512MB-1GB RAM.
Pros:
-Very, Very Light
-Screen is very bright and good looking
-1.5Ghtz processor (compared with 1.4 with others at price)
-Toshiba Reputation
-Very Sleek
-Big Keyboard
-3 USB ports (Compared with 2 with others)
-Very Easy and Quick Wireless Networking
-Handy Toshiba Programs
Cons:
-Very Poor Battery Life
-Limited Programs
-Limited Inputs (No SD Card Slots...)
-Only 256MB RAM
-90 Day Standard Warrenty
I would recommend this program gladly.
