A month back I did an unboxing of the Toshiba Satellite A355, and since then I have used it nonstop. Normally I try to get the reviews done soon after receiving the product but there comes a time when I am so in love with a product that I purposely slow down just so that I can use it more.
So for the past month or so I leisurely played with the Toshiba Satellite A355, a notebook with a stunning design, dual hard drives, amazing sound from its harman/kardon stereo speakers, 3.2 MP webcam and my favorite feature of all its USB Sleep-and-Charge ports. (You can Charge your devices even if the notebook is closed and in sleep mode.)
When I get a new notebook to test, I normally try to fit it into 3 Categories, “General Computing”, “Gaming” and “Entertainment”. Normally they fall into one or two of those categories and often times the manufacture just designed the machine one or the other, but the A355 is one of those rare gems that fits into all three.
It has everything you need, the power to get you through your day to day task, the power to deliver a great gaming experience, and a top notch entertainment experience. For a month I was able to see how it handled it all and enjoyed how it handled it all flawlessly.
Using it daily I fell in love with the keyboard on the A355, the keys were glossy and smooth to the touch, and the keyboard was actually comfortable to type on. They looked durable not plastic and cheaply made like some other notebook keyboards I have seen.
The touchpad was also nice, it was a little ridged which for some reason made it feel as if my finger had more traction on it, it also gave me a sensation of more control over my pointer. There is also a built in finger print reader between the right and left click buttons which in my opinion is perfectly placed.
I personally like finger print readers on my notebooks as it gives me an added sense of security. The system also had a dual e-Sata USB port that allows you to charge your mp3 player or whatever you have connected to it while the system is asleep. Most of the time once the system is asleep charging stops on a notebook.
The A355 has a glossy 16 inch TFT LCD TrueBrite display that delivers a crisp crystal clear image, great for watching movies on. I watched a few DVD’s on the A355 and both Picture Quality and Sound Quality were amazing.
With dual hard drives the A355 is great for storing your pictures, videos and music and taking them on the road with you, and if the included 250 Gigs aren’t enough for you. Check out easy it was to swap out the hard drive on the A355 with a newer bigger hard drive.
With the A355 being powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 3 gigs of memory and 4500MHD Integrated graphics card also make the machine great for gaming. You won’t see desktop quality gaming from it, but you will see a level of gaming on this machine that you may not get from any other notebook in its price range.
The Toshiba Satellite A355 is a fantastic machine, and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. It’s also great for a college student with little space in their dorm room, especially if they get the optional Dynadock U.
The Dynadock U is an all in one USB/Ethernet, Video, audio hub. It will allow you to connect up to two monitors to your A355, and gives you an additional 6 USB ports a more accessible Ethernet jack and headphone and mic jacks.
I love my Dynadock U, it has allowed me to save so much space on my desk and it looks good so it doesn’t look out of place when you have it on your desk.
Setting up the Dynadock U is easy, all you do is install the included software and plug it in. That’s it.
It doesn’t just work with Toshiba Notebooks either, it will work with any Notebook or desktop computer that has a free USB port. I personally use mine connected to my desktop, allowing it to give me an additional display without having to install a more expensive video card.
Overall both the Satellite A355 and Dynadock U are great and if you are on the hunt for a new notebook, I suggest you take a look at the Satellite A355. It offers everything you’d want.
The A355 starts at about $649 but I have seen it for as little as $599, and the Dynadock U has an MSRP of $149.99 but I have seen it for as little as $99. For more info on both visit Toshiba Direct.
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