Toshiba Satellite R25-S3503 user reviews

Pros Great new processor, fun Tablet PC features

Cons Small text on screen and screen latch is flimsy

Summary I got my Toshiba R25 two weeks ago now. I was quite surprised at the lack of reviews on the computer when I was looking to buy, so I now feel compelled to write my impressions of the computer. First, I love most things about this computer. The Centrino Duo processor is fantastic! I had a 2.8 Ghz P4 before this R25, and I can’t believe how much more information this R25 can handle. The difference is particularly noticeable when I’m running multiple programs at once. The keyboard is a great size for typing, the screen is nice and bright, and I love the battery life I’m getting. I’m particularly tuned into that because my Sony Vaio was pushing it to hope for 2 hours, and my R25 is 4.5 hours, and that’s running a lot of different programs. This R25 feels lighter than the 6 pounds the specs say that it is as well. I’m looking forward to traveling with the R25. I’m also planning on buying an external battery for it that will push the battery life to almost 10 hours, which is going to be great for that San Fran to Beijing route I take three times a year. Secondly, because this is the first Tablet PC I’ve owned, I’m definitely finding out that making the most of a Tablet PC takes some time. I think in the long run it will be great, and I know that there are features that once I learn them (like OneNote), I will really be able to utilize them. But computing with a pen takes some time, and I think that everyone could benefit from it. I’ve really enjoyed using the Windows Journal, which is a program that you can use to make hand written notes on the screen, and you can save them as your handwriting, or convert them to text. I’ve also like the voice recognition software that comes with the R25. I’ve used it for voice commands to open programs, and in MS Word to type documents. Especially with the price of the R25, it may be an extra $150 over similarly equipped computers to get the Tablet feature, and that was worth it to me to take advantage of the R25.

In terms of things I don’t like about the R25, there are two of them, and one is a bigger deal than the other. The biggest problem I have is that the icons and other text on the screen are noticeably smaller and take more effort to read than other laptops. In fact, even though I’m not using this computer any more than my Vaio it’s replacing, I’ve had noticeable eye strain with the R25. I keep saying to myself that it will just take some getting use to….. I sure hope so! I would say that if you already have eye problems, you will definitely want to keep this in mind and go to a CompUSA or Circuit City to test this out for yourself. In fact, after noticing this on my own R25, I went to my local Circuit city to test this out, and sure enough, when you look at the screen of the R25, the text is quite a bit smaller. Of course, on a web browser or word processor, you can zoom in, which is helpful, but as I’ve tried to adjust the screen resolution, while it makes the icons and text bigger, it also makes it fuzzier. The other thing that I’ve not liked is that the latch that holds the screen down when it’s in Tablet PC mode doesn’t grip very well, and the screen comes loose very easily. Of course, I can just re-latch it again, but it would be nice if the latch held a little better.

Overall, the R25 seems like a great ‘bang for the buck,’ and I’m looking forward to using it for years to come!