Toshiba Satellite Laptop A100

I am after a budget laptop and I was thinking of buying the Toshiba Satellite Laptop, A100-200 from John Lewis in the UK - Price £499.

http://www.johnlewis.com/Computing/Computers/Computers/Laptops/398/230404042/Product.aspx

I don't want to game on it, just use it for the internet/office applications/DVD's & music and to use it on my home wireless network (orange/livebox).

I would appreciate any advice on value for money and what the limitations are? Its got Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology & Core Duo Processor T2050 which is great at that price.

I have had a look at it in store and it seems ok, but it has only got the ordinary WXGA TFT display not the TruBrite WXGA TFT display, its only 16 bit audio and its only got 512Kb ram. How does it compare with something like Fujitsu Siemens AMILO Pi1505, another similary priced laptop i looked at?

Any advice/opinions would be most welcome.

 

Very good value for money ! for your requirements the nootbook will be fine !!! My A100 series arrived a few days earlier, and it runs nice ! I got Truebrite though...The ram runs got to, at 533 DDR2 its good, well the 16 bit sounds nice 2 me !!! im 24/7 on winamp and a big music lover and got a decent 2.1 setup, very nice clarity !!!

 

Thanks Zlic3r for your reply - much appreciated. It's so easy to get confussed with all the different specifications. Reliability is very important too and I don't think Toshiba are that bad from what I've read.

 

Yes obviously ! for me being a student reliability is number 1 concern !!! i dont want it to bomb out when doing a project now do i ? hehe, nah Toshiba Rox...

 

Have a look at the Toshiba A100-147 At Currys. http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/sto...=Product&sku=058358&fm=1&sm=0&tm=0&tabIndex=1

Much better spec and as long as your purchase is after 26 October 2006, you will get a Free? upgrade to Vista Premium.

 

Thank you Wheel_Nut. I have just found out that PCWorld are offering the same deal on the net. See

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/st...dhhmdgml.0&page=Product&sku=058358&tabIndex=1

I have also been told by John Lewis that they have discontinued the A100-200 anyway, so I'm looking around again. I agree, the A147 is a better spec for the same money - twice the memory and with TrueBrite screen.

Thanks for you help - much appreciated

 

Hi there, I have just purchased the A100 - 147 Toshiba. How do you get the upgrade to Vista Premium?

Thanks
Mark

 

Hi Mark, I picked my A100-147 from Currys today and so far, I am delighted with it.

The announcement of the upgrade programme is here:

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/ebtext.to?page=vistaExpressUpgrade

and the Toshiba Registration page is here:
http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com/cgi-bin/ToshibaCSG/registration_basic.jsp?service=UK&event=

I am confused about the two PC Card slots. Is one of them CardBus and the other PC ExpressCard?

W_N

 

hey, I just bought the A100-147 today for 750 euro in PC World. looks good so far....

 

hello i am thinking of buying A100-147 Can this laptop copy dvd

 

can the A100-147 copy dvd please let me know because i am looking at buying one

 

yes it does.

 

i got it for 499.99 pounds at currys, whilpe pc world sells for 599.99, i think i got a bargain
I am happy with the stylish look of my A100-A147, but what worries me are the following:
i can not download my Office package, meaning i can't use word
intel core duo T2050 processor advertised, but intel centrino sold
memory size advertised is 1024mb
and the Laptop is slow to boot slow to shut down, i think itis basically slower than a pentium III.
processor speed on it is 1600Mhz, but1.6Ghz advertised
Ms works is not loading up as well
CAN SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE BEFORE I RETURN THIS LAPTOP, EVEN THOUH I LOVE IT TO BITS

 

The PCWorld Website price is £497-98 though the in-store price is £599.

The Processor is indeed a Core Duo 1.6GHz (1600MHz = 1.6GHz). If you look at the Performance Tab in the Task Manager, you will see the split window showing the usage of each processor. You will also see the Memory Usage.

Can you explain what you mean by "cannot download my Office Package" and "Ms works is not loading up as well". I have Office XP loaded on mine with no problem.

 

i see what you mean, so how long av you had yours for, and how can i make it to start up for less than 50 seconds.. someone suggested deleting all programs that came with it, that i do not need.
and also can you tell me if the microsoft office you downloaded is 2003
and did the office come with the laptop

 

No, the Office XP2003 didn't come with the Laptop. The Laptop comes with a MS Works CD which I haven't loaded.

The delay in startup and shutdown is the time taken to load all of the applications that you see on the Toolbar. If you really think you don't need them, you can uninstall them. The biggest delay is the Norton Internet Security loading.

I have had mine for 3 days. If you want a faster startup, try hibernating the machine instead of shutting down and re-starting it.

 

nah...did it came with XP pre-installed ? ...format and install a fresh copy !! works believe me...did it a few days ago...

 

do we get an upgrade to Windows Vista when it launches? is the upgrade free?

 

Yes, I believe that we will get a free upgrade to Vista Premium though there may be a charge for P&P. See my earlier post for linkies.

 

thanks for that. think I got a bargain with this laptop. 750 euro (in Dublin). usually we pay more for everything here.

 

is the windows vista upgrade available for the Toshiba Satellite Laptop, A100-200,

 

See the linkies in my previous post. If your receipt is dated on or after 26 October 2006, you should qualify for the relevant upgrade. Note that the upgrade from XP Home is NOT free and there is a P&P charge for the other upgrades.

 

Hi there,

Thanks for that.

Sorry I am not really computer minded to know what all the stuff means on them yet.

I got mine online for £449 as I found a 10% discount code. There are other discount codes for dixons as well,
THEAA25 = £25 off over £300, then enter another code laptops20std off a standard one = total £45 off.
THEAA25 = £25 off over £300, then laptops40slim for £40 off = £65 off a slim one.



Thanks again
Mark

 

I'm looking at the Toshiba Sat Pro A100-830 which has C2D 2ghz and it costs £1k. Anyone got any experience of this bit of kit? or Toshiba support? I'm seeing comments about bad support experiences for from Toshiba? This is my first laptop...

 

Nice one Mark. It's not like me to miss a trick but I missed that one. Well done!

 

Does anyone know any other websites to get the a100-147 other than currys,pcworld and dixons, as they are all sold out.

 

The A100-147 is a special configuration for Dixons Group and this is why it is branded EQUIUM. You won't find it anywhere else.

Try phoning around your local stores or better still, go into a store and charm one of the staff into looking up the stock situation at all of your regional stores.

I am not surprised that they are sold out. My local store was claiming to be selling 12 units every day when I bought mine.

 

With the laptop turned off, is it safe to leave my Toshiba Satillite a100 plugged into the ac power adapter if the power adapter is not plugged into 120 volt ac? Can this condition affect the battery if left this way over night?

yocal

 

Yes and No.

 

Seriously considering purchasing this notebook, however I am in two minds whether to hold off till the week after xmas and see if Dell for example have any deals. For £450 its a bargain.

Saw it instore today, and the funny thing is that PC World charge £599 for it instore, but directly next door at Currys, they charge £499 for it. The wonders of the Dixons group...

Two little questions, is the UMA 945 graphics the same as GMA 950?
The reason I ask if that the GMA 950 is said to be Aero Compatiable, which is a must have for me.

Also what speed is the hard drive? 4,200rpm or 5,400rpm?

 

Qupte from the Intel Site:

The Mobile Intel® 945GM Express chipset's low power design enables up to 28% less average power consumption compared to previous generations. Featuring the Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950, the Mobile Intel 945GM Express chipset delivers up to 2x improvement in graphics performance over the previous generation chipset. The Mobile Intel® 945GM Express chipset enables up to 25% higher data transfer rate compared to the previous generation bus speed. Additionally, it features PCI Express* x16 graphics ports and PCI Express x1 I/O ports, next generation Serial ATA, and Hi-Speed USB 2.0 connectivity.

Although the PCW In-store price is £599, their Web price is £497-99 which is £2 cheaper than Currys'. Then there is the discount code anomaly discussed earlier.

Don't know the disk speed but I think it is SATA ..... though I could be wrong.

 

Thanks, I take it from that they are the same thing.

Also, anyone that has bought one, what's the battery life like?

I've narrowed it down to one of these or a Inspiron 6400.

Only thing that is bugging me about the Toshiba is the recovery disc's, instead of the proper OS discs.

 

I just tried ording one of these, but the web price now seems to be the same as the in-store price (£599 or £540 using the 10% discount code). Wish I had ordered a couple of weeks ago instead of dithering.

 

You should still be able to get it in Currys for £499

 

The Toshiba A100-200 is really good in price i think! I have asked for it for Christmas!
The specs are well above average, and its even a Core Duo! Thats amazing!

I have kept an eye on the Toshiba A100-147 from PCWorld, or Currys. Both were £499 in Oct/Nov. As soon as Dec started, they went up to £599.
Look..

http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/sto...058358&tabIndex=1&page=Product&fm=1&sm=0&tm=0

Couldn't believe it! - And if this model of Laptop is higher, than it must have a discount in John Lewis. For only £499, i think thats really good!

I would get one quick, before they eaither sell out, or go up in price!
I know my parents have already brought me one!

Norfolk_Lad - Dont worry about 512mb of Ram. I have a eMachines with only 2.6ghz Pentuim4 and 512mb of Ram, and that runs well! So this Core Duo 1.6ghz, is going to be really fast! - Plus i only want it for the net and things, i may put some games on!

What you lot think? - I mean its very good in price, but spec wise?

 

Sorry is this the Toshiba A100-200 your talking about?

 

I went with Dell in the end - bought the Inspiron 1300.

For details see my post in the Dell forum:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=90860&page=30

I am well pleased with the purchase and quality of the notebook and after sales support.

I got fed-up with Toshiba and trying to find the A100-147, which was better than A100-200 I was originally interested in. I rang then up for some information and they were unbelievably rude.

 

the A100-147 is only available in PC World, Dixons and Currys...

 

Dixon's and Currys didn't have it in stock (£499) and unable to say when they would have it in, PC World were charging £599 for it. John Lewis didn't have the A100-200 in stock as well.

 

I gave up with this model, when the price went up £100. I couldnt find it no where for £499.
So i just went with the A100-200. The only thing different is the RAM isnt it?
The A100-147 has : 1024mb and the A1000-200 has: 512mb.

Apart from that, i cant see anything different. Please correct me if im wrong!

 

The harddisk may have been different and with the John Lewis model, you got an extra years warranty (2 yrs).

 

Jumping on the current thread as it refers to the A100-200.
I purchased mine from John Lewis for £499.00 and have been delighted with its performance. The only shortcoming is that the sound setup does not allow "setreio mix" so direct rewcording to Audacity is out.

I have just received my FREE? copy of Vista and thought I would upgrade the RAM, hopefully to get a decent performance. I have however come up with a problem which perhaps someone else has experienced. The manual tell you to remove the memory cover by removing the single screw holding it down. Fine, but it won't lift up and I am concerned that something will break if I force it. Anyone got any help in this respect???