The Toshiba Satellite L505-S5966 proves that consumers can get much, if not all of what they need in a system that costs less than $600. Priced at $549, this mainstream notebook features a 15.6-inch screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio—ideal for watching widescreen movies. While those looking to play the latest 3D games or do serious multitasking will be disappointed, consumers who need a notebook for simply surfing the Web, running Microsoft Office, and listening to music should be more than satisfied with the L505.
Design
For a sub-$600 system, the Satellite L505 is attractive but not exactly striking. Its lid and keyboard deck sport Toshiba’s Fusion Finish with a grey Breeze pattern—essentially, lines running diagonally across the system. Both the lid and deck are glossy, but the neutral color hides any fingerprints. The design carries across the touchpad, making it all but invisible when viewed from certain angles. While a clever touch, the fact that it is also flush with the deck had us looking for it a little harder than we should have. The keyboard and bezel are a matte black that contrasts nicely with the rest of the chassis.
At 15.1 x 10.2 x 1.6 inches and an even 6 pounds, the Satellite L505 isn’t exactly travel friendly, but it’s a reasonable size and weight for a 15.6-inch system.
Above the keyboard is the power button, plus four media playback buttons: Play/pause, reverse, forward, and mute. Unfortunately, there are no volume buttons; Toshiba continues to use an old-school volume wheel, which in this case is on the front edge of the L505.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The black keyboard on the L505 provided very good feedback, although we did notice it had a bit more flex than we would have liked. Thanks to the wide 15.6-inch screen, Toshiba was also able to cram a full number pad to the right without sacrificing the size of the keyboard.
The touchpad is decently sized, and its slightly rough surface resulted in almost no friction when moving our finger across it. As we mentioned previously, however, its nearly seamless blending with the surrounding deck made it difficult to locate peripherally. The silver mouse buttons below were huge, and were decently crisp, too.
Display and Audio
The 15.6-inch screen on the L505 was suitably bright, and its resolution of 1366 x 768 is more than adequate for its size. However, the viewing angles of the glossy screen could have been better; we had to tilt the display back further than we normally do in order for it not to appear washed out. When set at the ideal angle, though, watching movies on the 16:9 aspect ratio display was enjoyable. During an explosion in a clip from The Hurt Locker, we could make out the individual bits of gravel and dust stirred up by the IEDs.
The stereo speakers on the top of the deck were decently loud, but, as is to be expected, lacked a low end; we could easily hear Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body” from across a room, but missed the bass line.
Ports and Webcam
Arrayed along the right side of the Satellite L505 are two USB ports, modem, and a Kensington lock slot; on the left is a VGA out, Ethernet, headphone and mic, and an eSATA port that doubles as USB; unfortunately, this port doesn’t include Toshiba’s Sleep-and-Charge technology. Also lacking is an HDMI port, which, while disappointing, is far from a dealbreaker in this price range.
A 1.3-megapixel webcam and microphone above the display provided decent images in a video chat over Skype; while a little drab, a caller could make out the color of our eyes. However, there was a bit of motion blur when we waved our hand about two feet away from the webcam.
