Toshiba Satellite U500
Specifications
Notebook: Toshiba Satellite U500 (Satellite U500 Series)Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T6500
Graphics Adapter: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500M
Display: 13.3 inch, 16:10, 1280x800 pixels, glossy: yes
Weight: 2.2kg
Price: 700 euro
Average of 14 scores (from 20 reviews)
Reviews for the Toshiba Satellite U500
Source: Good Gear Guide
It may be a tad heavy and have underwhelming standard battery life, but the Satellite Pro U500 has plenty of features, performs well for the most part and it's comfortable to use. We'd like it if a more powerful battery was installed by default and we also hope that Toshiba updates the fingerprint software on all its shipping models. We also wish the fingerprint utility would also work with Firefox.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 11/08/2010
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: CNet
Laptops with 13-inch displays are usually decent, as they tend to offer a great blend of performance and portability. But this isn't the case with the configuration of the Toshiba Satellite U500 that we reviewed, the U500-1EX. It's heavy, it's cumbersome and its gimmicky touch-sensitive display spoils the image quality so much you'll think there's something wrong with the laptop
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 03/11/2010
Rating: Total score: 66%
Source: Reg Hardware
When you think of Italian superbike marques, you think of the colour red - a vigorous, powerful, thrusting hue. Yet Toshiba has chosen to deck its Ducati-themed Satellite U500 out in - dare we say it, slightly feminine - white. Superbike branding does not a super laptop make, though this bulky notebook's performance isn't bad for the price.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 03/09/2010
Rating: Total score: 75%
Source: Mobile Tech Review
The Toshiba U500 is about affordable multi-touch. The included Microsoft Touch Pack works smoothly and shows off the responsive touch screen well. But while we’re bullish on Windows 7 touch, there aren’t a lot of apps that make good use of it yet; and the standard notebook design isn’t the best to take advantage of touch. It’s slightly awkward to reach over the keyboard area to touch the screen in a coordinated manner vs. using a touch screen on a convertible notebook that folds flat.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 01/18/2010
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: Comp Reviews
Toshiba's Satellite U505-S2940 features a realtively compact 13.3-inch display, but it is really pushing its portability because of the excessive large battery that bulges from the back hinge area. This does give it long battery life but at the cost of portability. The laptop does provide some unique aspects including a large number of peripheral ports including eSATA and ExpressCard that many 13-inch laptops lack. It is too bad that Toshiba has a less than stellar keyboard otherwise it would be a decent choice for those needing long running time with higher performance.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 09/18/2009
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: It Pro
It isn't often that IT PRO sees laptops for home users, but with its unashamedly glossy looks and home entertainment features, the Toshiba Satellite U500 could be a superb travelling companion, particularly for those who like to fill long train or plane rides with the odd film. Good for entertainment, but not so hot on battery life or professional credentials.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 09/17/2009
Rating: Total score: 50%
Source: PC Mag
A full day of classes rarely occurs in one location, so the last thing you want is a laptop that feels like a bigger anchor than your textbooks. The Toshiba Satellite U505-S2930 ($800 street) strikes a good balance between weight and having enough screen real estate to keep you from scrolling incessantly. Though made out of plastic, the lid's textures are reminiscent of a fancy leather case and the parts are current enough to get you through several years of school. The Toshiba Satellite U505-S2930 doesn't break the bank, and its design and features should satisfy most back-to-schoolers for at least several years.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 09/03/2009
Rating: Total score: 70%
Source: CNet
We've reviewed a lot of Toshiba laptops lately, mainly because they've released a veritable flood of midrange laptops onto the market over the last few months. Slotting into a range of similar-looking products, the Satellite U505-S2940 looks like an iteration on the compact design of the Satellite M505, focusing on portability while including some higher-end features such as a backlit keyboard and a slot-loading optical drive. The stylish design and high-end feel of the Toshiba U505-S2940 don't make up for mediocre ergonomics and performance that can be had for less in other laptops.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/21/2009
Rating: Total score: 76% performance: 80% features: 80% mobility: 80%
Source: Notebookreview.com
The Toshiba Satellite U500/U505 is a good general-purpose laptop but it has tough competition from other 13-inch notebooks currently on the market. Toshiba clearly listened to some of the criticisms about last year's U405 and made some improvements on this year's model. Unfortunately, Toshiba might have shot themselves in the foot when it comes to the price of their higher-end configurations. I have a hard time believing that most students would be interesting in buying this Toshiba for the full retail price of more than $1,000 when that same student could buy a brand new 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro for roughly the same price.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/05/2009
Rating: price: 40% performance: 80% mobility: 40%
Foreign Reviews
Source: Tom's Hardware
DE→ENSingle Review, online available, Medium, Date: 12/31/2009
Rating: price: 40% performance: 80% mobility: 50% workmanship: 70%
Source: PC Welt
DE→ENSingle Review, online available, Medium, Date: 10/03/2009
Rating: Total score: 73% price: 60% performance: 100% features: 76% mobility: 32% ergonomy: 31%
Source: T-Online
DE→ENSingle Review, online available, Medium, Date: 10/03/2009
Rating: Total score: 73% price: 70% performance: 100% features: 76% mobility: 32% ergonomy: 31%
Source: Techno Zoom
IT→ENSingle Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 10/30/2009
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 80% performance: 80% mobility: 70% workmanship: 80%
Source: PCM
NL→ENSingle Review, online available, Short, Date: 10/07/2009
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: NotebookTV.hu
HU→ENSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 12/30/2009
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 80% performance: 80% display: 70% ergonomy: 80% emissions: 80%
Source: Prohardver.hu
HU→ENSingle Review, online available, Long, Date: 11/19/2009
Rating: features: 80% mobility: 40%
Source: Terminal.hu
HU→ENSingle Review, online available, Medium, Date: 10/28/2009
Rating: mobility: 80%
Source: Nonstop Mobil
HU→ENComparison, online available, Medium, Date: 07/17/2009
Rating: Total score: 80% price: 60%
Source: Notebook.cz
CZ→ENSingle Review, online available, Medium, Date: 05/06/2010
Rating: emissions: 50%
Source: CDR-Hard
CZ→ENSingle Review, online available, Medium, Date: 11/23/2009
Rating: price: 80% performance: 80% display: 80% mobility: 40%
Comment
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500M: The graphics core of the Intel GL40 and GS40 chipset features a slower clocked GMA 4500MHD (400 versus 533 MHz). Because of the slower core speed, full Blu-Ray Logo support is not given and the gaming performance is a bit worse.
Only some 3D games with very low demands are playable with these cards.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Core 2 Duo: This is the Core Duo and Core Solo successor with a longer pipeline and 5-20% more speed without more power consumption. As an addition to the Core Duo design there exists a fourth decoder, an amplified SSE-unit and an additional arithmetical logical unit (ALU).
The Core 2 Duo for laptops is identical to the desktop Core 2 Duo processors but the notebook-processors work with lower voltages (0.95 to 1188 Volt) and a lower Frontside bus clock (1066 vs 667 MHz). The performance of equally clocked notebooks is 20-25% lower than Desktop PCs because of the lower Frontside bus clock and the slower hard disks.
T6500:
Entry level Penryn based dual-core CPU with a small 2MB level 2 cache and FSB800. Similar to the T6570 but without VT-x.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
13.3": This is a common display format for subnotebooks. Netbooks, UMPC and some subnotebooks have tinier displays. Nevertheless, the majority of standard laptops has a higher format. The advantage of a small display is, that the subnotebook can be small dimensioned and can be carried easily. Further the small display needs few energy, which improves the battery runtime and in consequence the mobility. The disadvantage is that the reading of texts is a bit exhausting for the eyes, especially with high resolutions.» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.
2.2 kg: These sub-notebooks weight less than the average of all notebooks, but represent a heavier class of weight among the sub-notebooks. 13 inch displays are normal for this class of weight.
Toshiba: Toshiba Corporation is a multinational conglomerate manufacturing company, headquartered in Japan. The company's main business is in Infrastructure, Consumer Products, and Electronic devices and components. Toshiba-made Semiconductors are among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders. Toshiba is one of the biggest international notebook-manufacturer. There exist many reviews for Toshiba models.
69.5%: This rating is bad. Most notebooks are better rated. This is not a recommendation for purchase.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.
