Toshiba Satellite A205-S4617

For a 15 inch laptop, the Satellite A205-S4617 looks and feels fairly slim, especially compared with bulkier mainstream systems such as the Dell Inspiron E1505. The A205's design lends it a more sophisticated look than that of the typical 15 inch laptop, such as the Inspiron E1505 or Toshiba's own Satellite A135-S4467.

The most striking feature is the single, long hinge that runs almost the entire length of the display and feels sturdier than the typical two hinge setup on most laptops. The dark blue speckled lid has a high gloss coating that makes it especially prone to fingerprints and smudges. The system's slightly beveled edges make it seem slimmer than it is, although it does weigh nearly half a pound less than the Dell E1505 (and a little more than the A135).

At just less than 7 pounds with the AC adapter, it's right at the weight that we wouldn't want to carry it around in a shoulder bag more than once in a while. The 15.4 inch wide screen LCD display offers a 1,280x800 native resolution, which is standard for a screen this size and the same as the Toshiba A135.

This provides for text and icons that are highly readable, and the screen is bright and stands out against the black screen bezel. Blue LED lights on the front edge give you updates about battery status and hard drive activity, while a row of media control buttons (play or pause and so on) sit above the keyboard, between the stereo speakers.

The speakers have a Harman Kardon logo next to them, which would seem to indicate a better quality audio experience than standard laptop speakers. The sound quality indeed seemed bright and less brittle than typical laptop speakers although some of that may be a placebo effect from the high end logo.