Toshiba Satellite T135D

by Michael A. Prospero and Jeffrey L. Wilson on January 12, 2010
Thin, lightweight, and quite attractive, the Toshiba Satellite T135D-S1324 ($599) is a notebook that provides plenty of computing power without draining your bank account. This stylish 3.8-pound machine boasts an AMD processor and ATI graphics, and it lasts over five hours on a charge. Plus, this version of the T135 is $100 less expensive than its Intel counterpart, even though you’ll sacrifice some battery life. We have some complaints about the touchpad buttons and heat, but overall this ultraportable offers some of the best performance we’ve seen at this price.

Design:

The T135D features a glossy coating that commands your attention, and the Fusion Finish in Nova Black offers a dark, rich visual design with a subtle checkered pattern that’s quite fetching. Available in black, red, and white, the T135D’s subtle, houndstooth-esque pattern spreads across the lid, extending onto the keyboard deck and palm rest. Even the touchpad bears this pattern (although it has a textured finish). Because of this design, fingerprints remain more or less hidden. Coupled with metal accents on and around the touch button, the machine looks a bit more expensive (and rightfully so) than your average netbook.

At 3.8 pounds, the T135D is about as light as you’d expect an ultraportable system to be. That is to say, it’s light and slim enough to hold in one hand. Even though the six-cell battery creates a slight bulge at the bottom, it was still easy to carry from room to room.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The T135D’s keyboard feels a bit cramped. Toshiba could have easily fixed this issue by extending the layout from edge to edge. Instead, the notebook leaves nearly an inch on either end of the deck. The keys themselves are flat and arranged close together, with the right Shift key slightly shrunken and the four arrow keys wedged into the lower right corner—almost an afterthought.

The 3.2 x 1.6 multitouch touchpad has plenty of width, but not as much height, so it’s easier to move horizontally then vertically. Unfortunately, the T135D doesn’t borrow the two large touch buttons we loved so much in the mini NB 205, the company’s flagship netbook. Instead, this laptop has a single, narrow touch button. Although the metal design—similar to that on the Satllite 0505 looks sleek, it can feel stiff if you accidentally press the center of the button, as opposed to the left and right edges.

Heat:

Although Toshiba was able to cram discrete graphics into the T135D, the thinness of the system contributes to poor heat dissipation. After playing a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the touchpad registered 101 degrees Fahrenheit, the space between the G and H keys reached 97 degrees, and the center of the underside was 105 degrees. The temperature by the exhaust vent rose to an unbearable 125 degrees. We consider anything over 95 degrees to be uncomfortable, and anything over 100 degrees to be unacceptable.