Home > Consumer Reviews > Toshiba Satellite A15-S129 Laptop (2.40-GHz Celeron, 256 MB RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive)

I purchased the Toshiba Satellite A15-S129 (Celeron 2.4GHz) about eight weeks ago and it has surpassed all my expectations! My previous laptop was also a Toshiba but I was lured by the "bells and whistles" that came with the Compaq Presario (P4 - 2.3GHz) and HP Pavilion (AMD Athlon XP-M 2500+) notebooks - Also more expensive! I bought both of these laptops but promptly returned them after encountering problems with the CD burner on the Compaq and noting a rhythmic "clicking" noise when idle on the HP.

If you're like me and use the computer mainly for word processing, accounting, websurfing, emailing, listening to music, and watching DVDs, the Celeron processor has way more than enough 'pep'. In fact, the speed appears to be comparable to the P4 and AMD chips, both of which I had an opportunity to test. Given that the other two laptops had faster CPUs, more RAM and L2 cache, I thought I would easily see a difference in speed when opening and running programs or accessing web pages. However, this wasn't the case. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by Celeron's speed and efficiency, noting no appreciable difference in performance compared to either chip.

This computer has worked flawlessly since I bought it. Installing software and adding new hardware are a snap -essentially idiot proof. The USB ports instantly recognized and "sync-ed" with my PDA, digital camera, and USB flash drive upon connection. The TFT screen is bright and very sharp. The DVD player plays movies effortlessly and the speaker sound is undoubtedly superior to the Compaq and HP units! No problems playing a 2-hr movie on battery power so far. Surfing the web and CD burning are incredibly fast. In addition, I really like the soft quiet keyboard, the light weight of this laptop, and many Toshiba touchpad options. Don't do this but last week I accidently spilled half a cup of water on the keyboard and pretty much thought I killed my computer. After allowing it to dry for 8-10 hours, I turned it back on and everything amazingly worked fine. This is a testament to Toshiba's durability and design.

Drawbacks include its larger size in the front-to-back dimension (i.e. it barely fits vertically in my old laptop case), limited CD burning software, battery life (if you're always on the go), and only 2 USB ports. If you want to play high-end graphics games or need wireless connectivity, this computer may not be your first choice. Keep in mind that you can always buy more RAM or add a network card, as needed.

If you're looking for a solid, affordable desktop replacement with an occasional need for mobility, this computer is an excellent investment. Don't be fooled into paying more for bell and whistles on other notebooks. Before buying, ask yourself what you really need the laptop for on a daily basis. In the end, I could not justify paying $300 or more for a computer that would not be used to its full potential. And when it's time to buy a new laptop in a few years, you can bet that mine will be a Toshiba.

I purchased this at CompUSA. An annoying experience because of all the "extras" they try to sell. But anyway, once I got it home I was very pleased. It's not the "prettiest" laptop around but it has a VERY solid reliability ranking - right up there with IBM (which are much more expensive).

Pros:
- Big screen
- Decent sound
- Manual volume control !!! (really nice feature)
- CD RW/DVD combo drive
- Toshiba reliability
- Price / value
Cons:
- Must be very careful with CD drive - could break easily cause it's the pop out type (keep small kids away).
- Touchpad buttons a little flimsy (I use a mouse anyway)

I'll mention it again - laptops break! So I wanted to get the most reliable brand. I have a toshiba cordless phone that has given me many years of trouble free service (not so with other phones).

Overall, considering the price and reliability, this is a no-brainer in my opinion. If you need a laptop, this one is great.

You get what you pay for - the Toshiba A15-S129 is a value-priced laptop. While it is Toshiba's entry-level laptop, it provides the features needed for the majority of us sitting in front of a computer screen. Compared with similarly priced laptops (before the $$$ rebates), the Toshiba A15-S129 does boast a faster processor (2.4 ghz celeron) and the 32 mb video card is more than adequate for most tasks (watching DVDs, word-processing, cruising the net). Included in the price is a combination DVD/CD Writer (most entry level laptops have a CD player). My Toshiba A15-S129 came with one 256 mb memory stick, with an open slot - making it easy to increase the memory without having to discard one of two 128 mb memory sticks (normally provided by other manufacturers) when upgrading.

The Toshiba support website is not the best. You have to telephonically contact sales/support personnel for assistance in ordering accessories. You cannot use email to contact their support personnel. They do have a search mechanism available (Ask Iris) to help resolve issues that have been voiced by other Toshiba users, as well as a support/discussion group sponsored by a third-party.

I am satisfied with my A15-S129 - and even happier when I cashed the rebate checks!

On January 31, 2004, I purchased a Toshiba Satellite laptop A15-S129 at my local Microcenter store here in Houston, Texas. From the start, the battery always died within 90 minutes, sometimes with 45. Since I had purchased a laptop for its portability and deliberately chose a model with a battery life >2 hours, this was a problem for me! Leaving it plugged in all the time effectively transformed it to a desktop, which is not what I had wanted.. I also noticed that it always got very very hot, whether it was plugged in or running off battery -- and I mean MUCH hotter than normal. Then, it started shutting itself off -- just instantly going to a black screen. No saving work, no warning, just instant off.
So I immediately contacted the Tech Support line at Toshiba, and got very friendly with a number of the techs there. I spent several hours trying to work out the problems with them, but they finally admitted defeat and suggested I take it to a repair center. There was a registered Toshiba repair center just 15 minutes from my home, so on April 7, 2003, I took it to the repair shop.
I'm writing this on June 9th, and I still don't have my laptop back.
After the service center had replaced the system board and the power supply and it was still not working, I called Toshiba. By then it was mid-May (the power supply had been on back order). After going through the usual 8 people and being disconnected twice, I finally got to a service person (Alisha) who listened to my tale of woe.
I explained that I felt that four months of attempted repairs was a reasonable length of time to give the company to fix the thing and asked what I needed to do to have a replacement sent to me. She informed me that no replacement would be sent as Toshiba had not yet determined that there was a problem with the laptop. I pointed out to her that it was Toshiba who worked with me on the problems for weeks then finally told me to take it to the service center, and that it was the Toshiba-approved service center who told me they were having major problems fixing it. Her reply was, essentially, "Tough." Until they declare it unfixable, no replacement would be forthcoming. Furthermore, she explained, they had no time limit under which they had to declare something unfixable. I asked if this meant that they could just put it on the shelf and wait 5 years to see if someone then could fix it, and she said that was pretty much the case. In the meantime, I was just out of luck and out of a computer, and out of the money that I had spent on their LEMON.
She said she would talk with "the corporate office in California" about my case as they were the ones who needed to decide about replacing an unfixable computer anyway.
I thanked her but said that while I understood she did not have the authority to send me a new computer, I'd like to plead my own case with the "corporate office" and asked for their phone number.
Nope. She wouldn't give me that. I was "not allowed" to call them.
Okay, I said, may I please speak with your supervisor?
No, she replied. I am the supervisor. There is no one else to speak with.
I asked if that meant that she reported directly to the head of Toshiba, and she said yes. (Wow! They sure have important people manning phone trees at Toshiba, don't they?)
Okay, I said (hanging onto my temper with an effort). So what you're telling me is that there is no one with whom I can speak, and I just continue to not have a computer.
Right, she said. See if the service center can fix it.
How much longer am I supposed to wait? I asked.
As long as it takes, she replied, sounding as if she were surprised I was so dumb I had to ask.
She swore she would contact the "corporate office" within the next 2 days and would contact me with the results. That was 3 weeks ago, and my good buddy Alisha has -- gasp! -- never called back. Alisha was extremely rude in that supercilious, "I am doing you a favor and you're too stupid to know it", passive-aggressive way. I hate being told that "you can't talk to anyone but me and I refuse to help you in any way at all".
The service center is STILL in possession of the laptop. I spoke with them today, and they have called Toshiba to declare the laptop a lemon, only to be told that just because nothing they do (by now they have also replaced the battery) can cause the thing to keep its charge over 90 minutes doesn't make it a lemon. The service center people are not happy with Toshiba either. They are now going to send my laptop to the Toshiba "Depot", where more Toshiba people can look at my laptop.
So, here I sit. It's been almost 5 months since I bought the computer. It's been at the repair shop (continuously) since April 7th.
Why would you want to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars, as I did, on a laptop that won't run on battery, that is too hot to hold in your lap, that suddenly turns off and loses all your data, and THEN, on TOP of that, after you have been patient and been without your new laptop for MONTHS, get all sorts of rude crap from their Customer Service (ha! what an oxymoron that is!)?

Toshiba's warranty support is awful. My computer has broken down 4 times in its first year, and each time the repair has taken from 2-4 weeks to be completed when they its only suppose to take 3-5 business days. Each time the same problem of the computer shutting down randomly occurs. Thus, be very careful of buying Toshiba products because there warranty support is terrible.