Toshiba Portege M405-S8003 (Core Duo T2400 1.83GHz, 1GB RAM, 100GB HDD, XP Tablet 2005)

First off, DO NOT BUY THIS. If you want a computer for gaming, this is the last one you should get. God help you if you have already bought one for gaming. In fact, if you want a computer for anything, this is the last one you should get. In software, hardware and physical construction it is inferior in every way I can think of. The only good thing about it that I can think of is that it's a tablet, but if you want a tablet (for art or the like) you'd be much better off getting a good tablet. (The closest one to this is the Toshiba M700, which is decent in gaming performance and has touch screen as well as stylus capabilities. Essentially it's a fixed up version of the M405.) As for uses, this is model goes well with a sledgehammer for when you need to relieve stress. Or if you need laptop mulch. Or if you need something to burn for a science project. Sounds harsh, but you will understand if you make the fatal mistake of buying this "computer."

While the underlying principle of having a tablet PC is a nice idea, Toshiba quality appears to have taken a nosedive. If you buy this computer, you may risk the problems I have had, such as a latch with small plastic pieces that broke with normal use within a month, and more importantly, an AC adaptor wire whose insulation behind the computer-side plug has worn away after about four months of use, exposing wires into the air. It seems I am at risk of having a short-circuit or electrocution as a result of this manufacturing defect. I called support and was first lied to, told that they would cover the adaptor and ship me another. I waited a couple of weeks and called back today, asking where it was. I was told that they had never said they would ship an adaptor (completely untrue, wish I had recorded the first conversation with "support") and that I had been informed it was not covered by warranty (also completely untrue). The woman put me on hold to speak with another representative, but so far, to no avail. The next level of customer rep wouldn't help me either. I offer this as a cautionary example of what you may expect of both manufacturing quality and support quality. This is a hazardous situation I have now, and given the recent Dell battery recall. I wouldn't recommend this or other Toshiba notebooks, as the defect appears to include their adaptors as well.

Other annoying defects: the computer screen sometimes goes off to save battery power, but won't turn back on no matter what you do. The only solution is to completely turn off the computer and then turn it back on again, losing all data. At other times, it can be put into standby and back to get the screen back on, but not always.

MY FIRST TABLET, this system has all the right specs, very light weight and perfect size not to small or too big. great bright screen and easy to use in tablet and or pc mode. The perfect hardware, it has everything you need at the right price, truly a laptop that means business. The best software is the HDD harddrive protector that stops the read head with any vibration to prevent damage; also the biometric feature is pretty cool when it works. the 5 in 1 Memory card reader is a rarity most comps only read 1 or 2 at most. the super fast DVD writer is very convenient (when at your friends house needing to copy cds/dvds quickly)and the battery while small is very long lasting. now for the

NEGATIVE...almost all the bundled software is useless waste of resources which slows your comp, McAffe Anti-Virus is the first thing I uninstalled, unfortunately many toshiba utilities are required and may conflict if you disable them. Occasionally there are problems with the system coming back from standy by or monitor off. while there is nothing else in the market for the size and features as this one the software is a huge turn off which will make me think twice before buying toshisa, im strongly disappointed at it sometimes being slower then my old P3 mainly at start ups, also would like bigger touch pad & buttons even if i realize this is a trend with many newer laptops which have the smallest uncomforable pads/click bottons. also an extra pen stylus would be nice. I checked and recheck my comp and there should be no problems with my 3rd party software.. everything is system hogg tosiba slowing the computer.

FINALLY IF the required software was better I would rate this a perfect 10.