Toshiba Satellite A205 and P205 Notebooks

Toshiba announced the Satellite A205 and Satellite P205notebook series and we’re impressed by what we’ve seen so far. Toshiba’s made an obvious effort to make its latest notebooks much more stylish than previous models and pumping up the specs on higher end models. The 15.4-inch A205 and the 17-inch P205 feature Intel’s draft-N wireless technology and up to 280GB of hard drive capacity. These notebooks look like an excellent value, with many retailers offering significant discounts on Toshiba’s already fair prices.The A205 is available in several configurations. At the top of the heap is the A205-S4639, which includes, 2GB of memory, dual hard drives (120GB+160GB) and a NVIDIA GeForce Go7300 graphics card. The A205-S4639 comes with Vista Ultimate, a rarity in most consumer notebook lines. Unfortunately the A205 and P205 series lack bluetooth adapters. It also includes a DVD/CD burner with Labelflash, a technology that allows users to imprint text and photos directly onto special discs.

The P205 is similar to the A205 series, but it features a 17-inch widescreen display. Starting at $999, this is the first time Toshiba is offering a 17-inch notebook for less than $1,000. As of the launch of the P205, there are no models with dedicated graphics, something that will most likely be included in future models.

Specs and where to buy after the jump-

The A205-S4639 is the best configuration, but don’t pay $1,549 for it. ToshibaDirect is offering a $50 rebate, bringing the price down to $1499. The best price we found so far is from Costco.com, which offers it for $1399 after rebate. Retail stores  will be selling the A205 with varying configurations and different model names. Best Buy, for example has the A205-S4639 for $1399, which is similar to the A205-S4639, but with only a single 200GB drive.

Link: ToshibaDiret.com ToshibaDirect A205 shopping page

Satellite A205-S4639 Unique Specifications (ESUP $1,549)

• Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit version)
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5300
• 1.73GHz, 2MB L2, 533MHz FSB with 64-bit
• 2048MB PC5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory
• 280GB (5400 RPM) using two Serial-ATA (SATA) hard disk drives3
  • Primary: 120GB + Secondary: 160GB
• DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) with Labelflash drive supporting 11 formats
• 15.4-inch diagonal widescreen TruBrite display
  • 1280×800 native resolution (WXGA)
• NVIDIA GeForce Go7300 with 128MB DDR2 discrete graphics memory
• Built-in Harman Kardon stereo speakers
• Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965 AGN (802.11a/g/n)
• Embedded webcam with built-in microphone
• Fingerprint reader

Satellite A205-S4617 Unique Specifications (ESUP $1,349.99⁵)
• Genuine Windows Vistaââہ¾Ãƒâ€šÃ‚¢ Home Premium (32-bit version)
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5500
  • 1.66GHz, 2MB L2, 667MHz FSB with 64-bit
• 2048MB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory
• 250GB (4200 RPM) Serial-ATA (SATA) hard disk drive
• DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) with Labelflash drive supporting 11 formats
• 15.4-inch diagonal widescreen TruBrite display
  • 1280×800 native resolution (WXGA)
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 8MB-256MB dynamically allocated shared graphics⁴ memory
• Built-in Harman Kardon stereo speakers
• Intel Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965 AGN (802.11a/g/n)
• Embedded webcam with built-in microphone
• Fingerprint reader

Satellite A205-S4577 Unique Specifications (ESUP $999.99⁵)
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit version)
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5300
  • 1.73GHz, 2MB L2, 533MHz FSB with 64-bit
• 1024MB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM memory
• 160GB (5400 RPM) Serial-ATA (SATA) hard disk drive3
• DVD SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) drive supporting 11 formats
• 15.4-inch diagonal widescreen TruBrite display
  • 1280×800 native resolution (WXGA)
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with 8MB-256MB dynamically allocated shared graphics⁴ memory
• Built-in stereo speakers
• Intel PRO/Wireless Network Connection 3945ABG (802.11a/b/g)¹
• Embedded webcam with built-in microphone