We love nothing more than a budget notebook that doesn’t look or feel like one. At $799, the Toshiba Satellite P305D-S8900 has a stylish design, a crisp 17-inch display, and good sound quality. The excessive amount of trialware and short battery life might turn some people off, but budget-conscious shoppers looking for a multimedia-centric desktop replacement won’t be disappointed.
Design
Like other Satellite notebooks, including the M305D and A305, the P305D has Toshiba’s Fusion finish. In a word, it’s slick. Inside and out, it has a glossy black finish with a gold striped pattern stretching across. Even the touchpad has subtle stripes (albeit, in a black-on-black color scheme). Throughout, you’ll also notice futuristic white LED lights: in addition to accents on the touchpad, palm rest, and front side is a panel of touch-sensitive multimedia controls above the keyboard, which responded to even the slightest tap.
At first glance, the glossy keyboard looks like it would be too slippery to type on, but our fingers settled comfortably on the keys. Although they have a plush shape, they barely make a sound. The keys also offered a good balance between sturdiness and comfort: we didn’t notice any flex, but the keyboard panel didn’t feel too rigid. Gamers will appreciate the full number pad to the right of the lettered keys.
In contrast to the rest of the chassis, the trackpad has a textured feel that makes it easy to move the cursor around with control. The rounded shape of the large silver buttons makes them comfortable to press; plus, they provide good tactile feedback and are relatively quiet, too. Although the touchpad’s left-of-center placement looks awkward, it’s in the middle of the keyboard (not including the number pad), which feels intuitive in practice.
At 7.2 pounds, this desktop replacement is lighter than it looks (some get into 8- and even 9-pound territory). The 15.7 x 11.4 x 1.5-inch body is compact enough to carry around the house; we just wish the glossy finish didn’t pick up fingerprints.
Display
The 17-inch (1440 x 900) display looked bright and sharp when we watched an episode of Heroes on DVD. And considering the glossy finish, the viewing angles were good, too. We were able to tip the screen forward and watch from the sides with a comfortable view. In short, the display might not have the cinematic 16:9 aspect ratio that pricier multimedia machines have, or the sharper resolution of higher-end desktop replacements (1680 x 1050, 1920 x 1080), but the movie-watching experience is enjoyable nonetheless.
Sound
Compared with other budget notebooks, whose thin speaker strips are nothing to write home about, the P305D’s Harman Kardon speakers are a true step up for multimedia junkies. When we watched movies and streamed music from Pandora, they produced loud, rich sound that didn’t become distorted as we cranked the volume. Our only gripe: the speaker grilles’ fan-like design detracts from the notebook’s otherwise sleek looks.
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