Gift Guide: Toshiba Satellite T235 Review

As mentioned previously, when I visited AMD in Austin I was sent home with a couple of goodies to check out. One of the awesome gifts was a Toshiba Satellite T235. This is a beautiful little 13.3″ laptop built on AMD Power. The model we received is the T235-1345RD.

This is one slick looking computer. It is only about 1 inch thick at it’s thickest point. I love the glossy red finish. I won’t be skinning this one or sticking labels on it. 🙂

Product Features

• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• AMD Turion II Neo Dual-Core Processor K625
• Configured with 4GB DDR3 (max 8GB)
• 320GB (5400 RPM) Serial ATA hard disk drive
• 13.3″ diagonal widescreen HD TruBrite LED backlit TFT LCD display at 1366 x 768 native resolution

Processor, Memory, and Motherboard

• Hardware Platform: Unknown
• Processor: AMD Turion 64
• Number of Processors: 1
• RAM: 4 GB
• RAM Type: Unknown

Hard Drive

• Size: 320 GB
• Type: Unknown
• Speed: 5400

Graphics and Display

• Graphics Card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4225

Cases and Expandability

• Size (LWH): 8.8 inches, 1.03 inches, 12.7 inches
• Weight: 3.9 pounds

Since receiving this laptop, my poor netbook has taken a backseat. Why? Because this one is not even 2 inches thicker and only 3.9 pounds. I can still fit it in a small bag and it packs enough power to get REAL work done.

The battery life is pretty good. Actually better than good. Right now it is

reporting that I have 8 hours and 52 minutes left running on eco mode. WOW! Of course that is because it is just sitting on my desk and I am not using it.  But I have gotten some very decent battery life out of it.

The laptop, even though only 13.3 inches has a beautiful, bright display. The screen is glossy which can cause problems when viewing in the sun, but it is great indoors. I thought that smaller screen would bother me, but it doesn’t.

One problem that I have had with it is it never wants to return correctly from hibernate mode. I’m sure this could probably be fixed with a software update and I will delve into that later. For now I will just remember to shut it down when packing it in my bag. I’ll be putting on my tech hat and delving into fixing that when I have time. (HA!)

If you are looking for a small, but hard working laptop this Toshiba can definitely make you happy. It’s light, it’s pretty, and it’s powerful. The Toshiba Satellite T235 can be purchased for around $589 from Amazon.com