Toshiba PA3555U-1ETC USB Data Link Review

I needed to copy files from the IBM Thinkpad T43 (XP) to a Dell Latiitude E6400 (Vista) and thought this USB transfer cable would enable me to do so. After plugging one end to one machine and the other end to the other machine, the XP machine was able to open the application (EasyCopy) that was embedded in the cable. The Vista showed an error, indicating that EasyCopy stopped working. "A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available." The Vista was brand new and hasn't had any issues.

After finding the equivalent product on Toshiba's website, I called its support number, which, by the way, is not available on the weekends. When I reached their Support and explained the situation, they didn't bother to troubleshoot the error. Instead, they would rather send me a replacement cable, as long as I send the cable that didn't work. I was assured that I didn't need to pay for the shipping. After filling out an online form and getting their RMA (return merchandise authorization), its directions indicated that you need to print two copies and affix one of them on the outer package and use UPS to ship it.

This was not a label accepted by UPS. I would have to pay out of pocket $7.00 to ship it back to Toshiba. After I tried to contact Toshiba about not having to pay for the shipping, I got such a run-around by various people I spoke to. It was not their area. Then I was transferred to the Claim Department, where you had to leave a voicemail and they would return your call in 1-2 business days.

I'd rather stick to copying files from the XP to an external hard drive, disconnect the external hard drive, connect it to the Vista, and copy the files onto the Vista. I didn't want to go through another hassle in the event the replacement cable still doesn't work and get more runaround by Toshiba support.

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Toshiba PA3457U-1BRS Primary High Capacity 8-Cell Li-Ion Battery Pack Review

This battery is wonderful, it last forever compared to the standard battery that came on my laptop. I am able to get through full movies and then some before i need to recharge it. I would definatly reccomend that you get this battery over the smaller cell battery, you will not be dissapointed.

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Toshiba REGZA 52XV645U 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Black Review

After reading, exploring, researching and hands on comparison I do not regret the purchase of this Toshiba LCD TV. I feel it is an outstanding value for a 52 inch lcd class tv. Toshiba's new 5 gig processor combined with the 120Hz smooth's action transitions as well as delivering outstanding darks and vibrant colors. My family room is well lit with sunlight during the day and there is no screen glare. The picture is very clear and sharp as well. The set is extremely impressive with an HD signal. It does almost as well with just a regular digital signal from cable/antena. I also hooked up a older JVC DVD player using just the old RCA cables and was extremely surprised at how good the picture looked. very close to looking as good as HD. I am getting Toshiba's upscaling DVD player, its on order, and will be using it soon. The remote is a breeze to use. Its simple to find which format to use for displaying the signal. Toshiba has done their homework. They should get back some of their market share that they lost to Samsung. I would stack this LCD against any other 50+ inch LCD HDTV out there. I also am using a Philips home theater sound system and the audio is outstanding. The onboard speaker does an good job for every day viewing but won't compair to a home theater system. I would buy this product again, hands down. Look closely at this TV if you are looking at 120Hz LCD HDTV's. I also consitered the 55 inch 670U with the simulated 240Hz. Even if it was a true 240Hz I would have still opted for the 645U 120hz. I believe the 240hz to be over kill combined with the cost difference between the two. Over all I am extremely happy and well satisfied with this product.Toshiba REGZA 52XV645U 52-Inch 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV, Black

July 4th, 2009

I have used Toshiba's XD-E500 Upconverting 1080p Extended Detail DVD that I ordered from Amazon several times now. I am very pleased with this Toshiba product as well. The picture looks outstanding. HD quality. i am so pleased that I didn't get a Blue Ray player but opted for an upconverting unit instead. At $64.00 the Toshiba is at the top of its game. I did purchsase the 2 year replacement policy as some of the reviewers stated that they have had failures with theirs. All in all I am enjoying watching tv and movies at home like I have never before. The Ragza link also enables the use of one remote use for both the LCD tv and the DVD player. Nice. Look at these products if you are researching before buying. Just an awesome home entertainment center paired together. I never thought I would enjoy staying home to watch movies more than going to a theater. My family loves movie night with us or their friends. Again, very pleased with both of these purchases and they both perform beyond my expectations.

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Toshiba Mini NB205-N313/P 10.1-Inch Posh Pink Netbook - 9 Hour Battery Life Review

I've had the blue Toshiba netbook for three days now and mostly love it. The keyboard is surprisingly easy to use, the screen is gorgeous, the wizard made getting on my home wireless network a breeze (and I was nervous about that given some of the earlier reviews), and the touchpad is no problem at all (maybe the other most recent reviewer got a bad one). The unit definitely feels more substantial than most on the market, and so far, it appears the battery will, indeed,go for 8 or 9 hours.

Of course, given the size, there are some things to get used to. Yes, the bezel is wide, but that's no big deal. But the wide but not very tall screen means you have to scroll a lot to see enough of text and web pages to do any meaningful work. Yeah, that's probably a universal netbook problem, but it's a bit annoying. And my unit does indeed get pretty warm. I added a 2GB RAM card, and this baby gets downright hot right where that RAM's located. Doesn't seem to affect battery life, but I'm wondering if I need to get a chill pad. And of course, I had to get the external CD/DVD player-recorder, too, which brought total price to within shouting distance of a modest full-sized laptop.

On balance, this will be great for travel and general basic computing.

PROS:
--Stylish, substantial case
--Beautiful screen
--Easy internet connectivity setup
--Great battery life
--Great keyboard
--Good trackpad

CONS:
--Needs more screen resolution choices
--Gets hot
--Price, including 2GB RAM and external CD/DVD player isn't exactly "mini"

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Toshiba Gigabeat U-Series 2 GB Portable Media Player (Black) Review

I have had this for over a year and I am very pleased with the excellent sound and ease of use. I prefer to use windows drag and drop over windows media for transferring music files but either will work. Battery last a long time between charging which is done simply by connecting to usb port of pc. Only real drawback I have found is that I have not been able to get it to play continuously through all music directories but only one directory at a time. Not a deal killer at all.

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Toshiba 10.1-Inch Netbook Soft Sleeve (Black) Review

Designed to fit Netbooks and MiniNBs with screens up to 10.1-Inch, the Toshiba Neoprene Sleeve is a multifunctional sleeve that can be used as a stand-alone carrying case for those everyday bumps and grinds or easily fits into any other case for added protection. Whether you use it for carrying your Netbook or MiniNB back and forth to meetings or use it in your backpack for school, the shuttle gives that added protection with its double-sided neoprene and helps prevent scratches from everyday use. The heavy-duty neoprene stretches for a form fitted look.







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Toshiba Satellite A355-S6943 16.0-Inch Laptop Review

I bought this machine a month ago because its hardware config looked good at a good price, I thought. I thought I can live with Vista, maybe upgrade to XP7 later this year. I rated it highly at Toshiba's web site and here at Amazon. Now, after a month's experience, I have buyer's regret.

Toshiba's pricing strategy of near-zero pre-loaded software (Vista only) means a lot of the cost of ownership is 'shifted forward' meaning you have to buy almost everything, including a bluetooth stack. This is an excellent example of nickel and diming customers to death -- not a good marketing strategy.

This machine does NOT come with bluetooth support, you have to add a dongle. But I thought that like Windows XP SP2, Vista has the stack included. Sadly, no, it is not true. The situation gets worse. Toshiba does not use the 'standard' Windows stack but has a proprietary stack. If it detects a non-Toshiba dongle, the Toshiba OEM license expires. You have to uninstall the Toshiba stack and find/install a compatible stack. Sigh.

It gets worse. I was pretty unhappy that I was unable to install the official Microsoft Office Suite. After going a few layers deep in hardware configuration dialog boxes, I find that the CD-ROM driver is in error, it could not find a fix and, maybe this is a separate problem, the system cannot detect the drive!!!!! No driver download available from Toshiba's tech support web site. Talking to a live agent, she pointed me to a secure site where I was able to download a filter that seemingly fixed the problem. This is NOT the way a new PC should be. I have never encountered such a problem before, in 20-some years of using computers.

I now rate this PC only 2 stars because of the stupid Toshiba policy of NOT including a free to the end user, perpetual end user license to its bluetooth stack. The CD-ROM driver problem worsened my opinion. BTW, a third-party driver diagnostic program detected 26 out-of-date or erroneous drivers.

Toshiba's stupid marketing made two more bad mistakes:

1. The license to the stack is for the manufacturers of bluetooth dongles, not for end-users like me, so end-users are at a dead end. I suppose I could buy a new dongle that has a Toshiba license instead of using the dongle I already own.

2. End users who are not IT-savvy won't know what the hell this licensing esoterica means. There is no link from Toshiba's 'expired' message to ANY help for end users to solve this problem. On Toshiba's user forum, the question "How to buy a license..." is posted, but 'locked' so no one can post comments. There is NO ANSWER given, such as "buy xyz dongles because they have the necessary Toshiba license." That's a missed opportunity to co-market with OEMs that have bought a Toshiba license. I've searched the web and THERE IS NO ANSWER elsewhere.

Fortunately, I know that BlueSoleil, a vendor of bluetooth software, will support the dongle that I already have. After registration, I downloaded BlueSoleil 6, a stack that does all the things that the Toshiba stack does. And it doesn't seem to conflict with the Toshiba stack which I did not uninstall. Unfortunately, BlueSoleil is available for free for only a 15-day trial after which BlueSoleil will transfer files of up to 2 MB. The good marketing practice demonstrated by BlueSoleil is it gives you a link to its online store where you can buy a license for $29.99. They help you to solve the problem, not like Toshiba.

I am shocked and disappointed that Toshiba, a well regarded consumer electronics brand, does such a poor job of end-user marketing and support.

Oh, while I'm at it, let me warn you that Toshiba tech support, while free, is NOT AT ALL KNOWLEDGEABLE. F'instance, I called to say that I couldn't find the pre-loaded free trial of Microsoft Office. My call got dropped, no call-back. Had to go through the n-level deep voice messaging, call another number, again, to get to another random support person who suggested searching the hard drive for hidden sectors. The software was there. AND, after hassling the guy for a recovery disk, threatening to talk to his supervisor, he said he'd waive the rules and send me one. A month later, no disk arrived. Finally, a friend told me that that I don't need to buy Toshiba's recovery CD because the machine has a utility for you to create your own recovery CD. Sigh.


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