Customer Reviews
Good for the normal everyday use... 
2008-05-05
This is a great laptop.. works great for the everyday use. it was easy to set up and get going.
Decent 2008-05-02
The laptops works fine however it caught me by surprise when it came with an OEM version of the old windows vista. Had some problems with problems that kept malfunctioning.
Very Pleased & Satisfied 2008-04-30
I reviewed a lot of laptops and I choose this model because of the specs and the price.
I knew what I was getting and I was not disappointed. I like everything about this model especially the 2GB of Memory, the large screen, the large keys, and all the Preloaded Software. After turning it on I was set to go within twenty minutes.
The only two things I would criticize about this model is there are only two USB ports and they are on the left-hand size; extremely awkward when using a mouse. However, I knew that drawback before I purchased this laptop. When reviewing all the other brands and models I felt those two minor faults were minimal compared to all the other qualities.
I also appreciated that this model came with a Master CD with all the preloaded Software--that's great! I have seen too many systems requesting that you do a Full-Backup after setup, and that can be tedious.
So I would give this model an A-. The speed is great too and I believe that's because of the memory. From all the reviews everyone complained that Vista was extremely slow with only 1GB of memory.
Finally, I knew that Toshiba is a good brand so I was grateful to be able to get this model. I hope to enjoy it for years to come.
Good laptop for the price 2008-04-19
I bought this toshiba satellite a205-s5804 at bestbuy for $450 a couple of months ago. After making several research, this laptop seems to be the best for tis price. I upgraded the ram to 2 GB , I bought kingston 1gb kvr667d2s5/1g from Newegg for $18.99/each, I installed it with no problem. This is my second laptop after my IBM R40, i guess it makes sense to buy a new laptop than to repair the old one. So far, I have no problem. I disabled all the startup program except the sidebar, and my computer opens fast. The only problem I had was, I was not aware that you have to turn on the wireless internet connection by switching on a button that is on the front edge of the notebook, it lights up once you have it on. I have to use a cordless mouse because the tab on the mouse pad is not soft to touch and you will hear a loud tapping sound everytime you press on it. I have a black laptop, with a white keyboard. I never realize that it is easier to read the letters on the keyboard when it is white. Keyboard is soft to touch and wide enough for people with big fingers.The sound is good, after my experience with the IBM's lousy sound. I like the wheel on the front edge of the notebook to adjust the sound.
Save yourself a headache 
2008-04-15
I purchased a Toshiba Satellite and have regretted it ever since. Owning a Toshiba product has been the worst experience of my life.
In short, within less then 6 months the computer won't turn on. After hours on hold (and being hung up on) I got through to Toshiba customer service representative, then I had to drive over 45 minutes to take it to an "authorized service provider". In the year I have owned my computer it was being repair for more than 5 months of that time. I caution anyone buying a Toshiba product not to. Toshiba provides the worse customer service I have ever encountered. Save yourself the aggravation and headaches and never buy one of their products. I never will again.
Maybe 
2008-07-10
This computer was okay for me at first. But after less than a year, now it's having some major problems. It holds a charge with the new charger I had to buy(the old one broke easily) but it will not charge itself. The charger also falls out easily(as it did with the original charger as well). I had to buy a new battery for it, but it turns out that wasn't the problem. I now have to by a new charger for it, but I don't think that's going to be the problem either as the charger is managing to make the laptop stay on.
I think it's actually that piece that you connect the charger into on the computer. And if it is, I have no idea how to fix that. Not to mention I've already spent over 100$ trying to find out what's wrong with this thing.
Far too many problems for being less than a year old. Not to mention, it's running Vista(granted, sadly, all computers are nowadays).
Terrible Design 2008-06-27
Toshiba's A205-S5804 is one of the worst put together laptops I've seen, and as a PC repair technician I've seen quite a few. There are only 2 USB ports on the left side of the machine - which means you need a long USB mouse cord to loop around the back of the machine (for right handed people).
The USB ports are extremely close together and parallel to each other, so any devices you have MUST have an extension cord. Large flash drives, MP3 players, and USB modems will block the 2nd USB port. You must purchase USB extension cords and/or a USB hub. This is extremely frustrating to anyone using Vista's readyboost feature, which allows a flash drive to be used as extra virtual memory.
An Express Card slot allows you to slide a card into the machine, the only problem is that there IS NO Express Card hardware. It is amazingly frustrating to spend 20 minutes trying to line up pins for a device that does not exist.
Preinstalled software includes a gigantic program for controlling Bluetooth (a wireless device like WiFi mostly for printers and phones). This might lead someone to believe that Bluetooth is built into the machine... it isn't. Massive amounts of RAM are devoted to running software controllers for hardware that does not exist.
Also preinstalled are (1) Games you can play only once before having to pay Toshiba to play again (2) Resource hogging anti-virus software that expires in 30 days before demanding hundreds of dollars to keep using it (3) MS Office suite with 30 day expiration
All in all, a badly put together machine. For the same price you can get a refurbished Dell Inspiron with a faster processor, three times the RAM, double the hard drive space, and an integrated 2 mega pixel webcam. HP also makes excellent machines, both refurbished and new. Avoid Toshiba.
Great time to buy 
2008-06-24
I bought this computer March 12, 2008 for just under $750, right before it jumped to almost $1100. Excellent laptop for what I payed for it definitely 5 star material. The screen is incredible I often forget that it is only 15.4", Lots of RAM and hard drive space for advanced software suites, and multiple operating systems. I have put up to 3 Linux partitions in addition to the existing vista partition at one time (I was testing some diffent distros out) and I have had more than enough space to do that and put 3000 songs and countless movies on it with more than enough room to spare.
Hard to say? 2008-05-15
Let's jump right in. I have a u205 toshiba model a A215 AMD based Laptop same toshiba . For some reason the A205 model well while a good basic laptop
better than Acer anyway . Well the A205-S5804 from Toshiba just sucks if u are looking for a solid performance and reliable laptops from toshiba look towards the A215 models and U Series from the maker.
In conlusion i gave this model from toshiba 2 very big thumbs down.
Not as described 2008-05-14
Just ordered two of these, arrived, opened up one to check it, found there is no web cam integrated into the bezel whatsoever. Also the case is black and not 'Onyx blue metallic'. Amazon's own description of this laptop is misleading and incorrect. Buyer beware. Amazon has been contacted and these laptops are going back to them, at their expense. No genuine 'sorry' given. They said they will update the product description with the correct information. Too little, too late!
