Never Again - Bye Bye Toshiba

I've had my Toshiba for over a year now (see specs in sig), and there's not one day where I'm just sick and tired of this Fusion Finish. The laptop itself isn't too bad, but this high gloss fusion finish has annoyed me to no end. Its constantly dirty and an absolute annoyance factor for me. Its because of this sole factor that I don't think I can ever buy another Toshiba again. As soon as December holidays roll around, I'm getting rid of this laptop pronto. The only thing stopping me now is because i need it for uni, and it will be too much of a hassle to transfer stuff during the middle of school.

I'm just wondering is anyone else sick and tired of this fusion finish? I really wish Toshiba would discontinue this, but I guess its probably not going anytime soon. Honestly, if I gave my laptop to the FBI, they would probably be able to trace every single person who ever used this laptop just from the ridiculous finger prints. And yes, I do use a microfiber cloth, but it defeats the purpose since it gets dirty right away. /rant

 

I'm about ready to buy a new laptop and am frustrated that almost everything new has a glossy finish and glossy screen. Apparently a lot of people like this, because literally every manufacturer has gone this way, but it's a big turn off to me to the point of where I'd wait another year or two if my current six year old laptop didn't have so many problems.

I can't believe how bad the displays look in the store because of glossy screens, but they are literally all that way.

 

see even with the glossy displays, at least they dont continuously get dirty, and actually look good when watching a movie or smtg. But with the glossy laptop finishes, your fingers are constantly touching it, which makes it ridiculous since the laptops get dirty right away.

So far only sony and macs are usually gloss free.

 

Glossy finish was the exact reason I went with the U500 over the M500, I had a HP for a short time that had a black glossy finish and the thing always looked dirty.

I'll give them this, the finish is pretty durable but it is not a good finish for day to day use as everything shows up on it if you're not consistently wiping it down.

Good luck on the search for a new laptop!

 

Hmm, I love the finish on mine. Looks so shiny and sleek. I'm sorry that you hate it.

 

I'm not saying it looks bad. It definitely catches eyes, but its just such a pain to keep clean, so I'm just very frustrated with it.

 

If you don't like it why don't you move to a business class machine? They typically don't look as... garish... as their consumer grade counterparts.

And they tend to be better built to boot

 

I was going to say the same thing, business machines tend to have matte screens and not a glossy case.
My 1340 has a glossy screen, lid and palm rest, it does get fingerprints and all but I have gotten used to it.

 

Its not the glossy screen that bothers me. In fact I prefer the glossy screen, since it makes playing games and watching movies enjoyable.

Business laptops are good but they are almost never spec'd approrpriately for good gaming. Right now my eyes lie on an Asus G51J and Sony Vaio FW series. The Asus is glossy in some areas but not on the palmrest or keyboard, which you'll be touching all the time.

 

For many laptops that have glossy areas you can buy a cover for, such as leather or rubber-I thought about getting one for my 1340's palmrest...

 

Look at the Asus N61. It is an awesome machine Cheap and pretty Matte.

 

I don't mean to be rude but to say that you will never buy another Toshiba because you don't like the finish is like saying you will never buy another Honda because you don't like the color YOU picked in the 1st place.

 

I have to agree with the OP - I have a U405 and it is a really good system except for the glossy (and cheap/flimsy) keyboard. I'm going to order a matte-finished KB off of Flea-bay to replace it. There are so many good things about the U405 - but typing on a messy/finger-printy trampoline keyboard is a no-go. I ordered it from the Egg and did not know about the trash KB until it was too late...

 

Yep, Im cool with mine

 

Well, I have an easy solution for glossy keyboard - buy a cheapo and easy to install silicone skin (official from Toshiba if you want to). Makes it a breeze to wash a keyboard too - remove, wash under tap, dry, replace.

As for notebook body, the InvisibleShield film or alikes can be put on to reduce smudgeness and protect gloss finish. Pretty easy to cut and put on flat palmrest areas.

 

Well its not the actual hardware I'm unhappy with, its the fact that all their Satellite notebooks have the fusion finish, so pretty much that leaves out any Toshiba laptop I might even consider in the future.

To Ingvarr: I actually do have a silicone skin for my keyboard, but it kinda makes it difficult to use, since the keyboard is not backlit. Also, I did consider the invisible shield, but its just extra cash, which I dont want to throw out. I'd rather just get a laptop that doesn't have a full gloss finish altogether. Overall though I'm still surviving with microfiber cloth that i constantly use to scrub the laptop. However, its getting to the point where its just plain frustrating.

I'm not against Toshiba or anything, the laptop itself is great (minus the battery that just died on me one day), its just I wish they didnt have this mega glossy finish on their laptops.

 

Personally I would like Toshiba not to put so much gloss and sensory buttons in too - it's not practical.

But features of Toshibas (speakers for instance) prevail for me, so I content with solving cosmetic problems instead of being unhappy with overall hardware And it's more effective in terms of price - I find high-end Toshibas to be quite affordable for their features.

Btw, technically you wrong that gloss finish "dirties more". Dirt is just more visible on it - but overall amount of dirt & grime deposited is the same

 

I'm 100% with you there. The Harman/Kardon speakers are definitely one of the best parts about Toshibas.

haha and yes I know technically the amount of dirt is the same, but remember ignorance is bliss

 

I still remember my first notebook which was a Toshiba notebook. In 2004, they came with only matte screens and less garish finishes. It ran for 2.5 years before the service engineers ruined it. However I have to admit, the hardware used in Toshiba Laptops those days were top class which makes today's Dell or HPs look cheapo.

 

i like the glossy finish. ive had an x300 for more than a year, and this thing is glossy everywhere from the lid to the keyboard, and i dont mind it. its not hard to clean at all, maybe just a wipe with a microfibre cloth once a week and its all done.

ive had it for a year and it looks brand new, not 1 scratch, crack or anything and i take it to school everyday. for me, i dont mind cleaning it, and dont find it annoying at all. matte finishes look so dull and plain, which is why i hate lenovos, they look so old and dull

this http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/46836.jpg

doesnt compare to this http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/40764.jpg

and i wouldnt like the other one just because i dont have to clean it once a week