Home > Consumer Reviews > Toshiba Satellite R15-S829 14.1" Laptop (Intel Pentium M Processor 735 (Centrino), 512 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Drive)

I got an R15-S829 recently after giving up on finding an Averatec C3500 in stock, and man am I glad. This is a sweet system. It's the quietest laptop I've ever owned, and I'm getting between 4 and 4.5 hours off the battery. Don't expect that much if you use the optical drive, however; I doubt you could get through an entire DVD.

The included applications are great, although I wish somebody would start including a good IM client such as GAIM or Trillian, and not including Firefox these days is just a waste of the end-user's time. The wi-fi is speedy and connects quickly using the including applications. I use this both as a laptop and a tablet, and as a tablet it's perfect for carrying around the house reading my PDF files. At work, I can use it in tablet mode in meetings, so the screen doesn't block my voice off from the conference phone, and I don't have to sit there moving the lid around like my co-workers.

The display feels very solid and I expect it will wear very well. The included pen is great, although the eraser end can be a bit flaky; it's better to hold it over the target for a second to let the software detect it's an eraser properly, or it might be detected as a writing end.

It's not a game machine, and I don't expect it to be; I have my trusty Averatec 6128 for that. But for what this purports to be good at, it's very good. Well worth the extra couple of hundred bucks over the Averatec and Gateway competition I scoped out before I grabbed this one.

1) The list price for this configuration on Toshiba's website is $1163, not $1499.

2) The screen is big and bright.

3) The machine is too heavy for tablet use, IMHO. It weighs 6.5 pounds with the standard battery which makes it unwieldy to hold in tablet mode. It's almost like holding a newborn baby. If you don't mind the weight, this is a great tablet-notebook PC to get. Otherwise, go for something under 4.5 pounds from Toshiba or Fujitsu. BTW, the AC adapter adds almost another pound to the travel weight.

3) 3 USB ports, 1 IEEE-1394 port, SD card slot, built-in mic, built-in 802.11g support, wow! No Bluetooth, but I will never use BT this lifetime because setting up BT is a royal pain in the butt no user should have to live through.

I read lots of reviews on Toshiba R15-S929 before I purchased it from Amazon, and not all of them are fair enough with this product.
The only drawback here is the fan, which is really a bit noisy. As for the weight, you should keep in mind that it is not a tablet pc, but a laptop that converts into a tablet pc. I think that some users do not know what to expect from the items they buy and they expect miracles.
My machine came with a memory stick of 512Mb, so I just bought another 1Mb to make it faster, but it was running perfect on 512Mb. Toshiba's manual really sucks, mainly because it has no instructions on how to use the pen. It took me a couple of days to realize how to enable the eraser, that is by pressing and holding the other end of the pen against the screen (the screen is really well built and strong, so you don't need to worry about resting your hand on it). Actually, the outer glass of the screen seems to be only a protection, while the real monitor is below, so you have no direct contact with it.
There is no bluetooth on this fellow, but I bought a plug-and-play pccard adapter and installed it to the external slot available on the Toshiba R15. I spent only 45 extra bucks and the installation was easy and now the bluetooth is up and running perfectly.
I am very happy to have a laptop that can be used in a tablet mode. The tablet features are great and very intuitive. You can use handwritting for e-mails and to take notes as you would on regular paper. The screen really feels almost like paper, so your handwritting is quite the same as it would be on a regular copybook.

I love this tablet pc. It's great to run a pc with the option of using the stylus pen or touchpad instead of a mouse. (...) I haven't used the cd/dvd burner yet, but, I'm glad it is included. This pc has everything I need. The only drawback for me was getting used to the 14" screen, which is great for watching movies, but, makes the laptop big and and a little heavier than I would like. A 12" screen would be perfect. Overall, TOSHIBA earned my 4 stars.

I am pleased with this tablet PC. I find it very powerful for the price (best price with Amazon).
The tablet functions are very intuitive and the laptop itself has a very nice layout. I think Toshiba makes some of the best laptops out there.