How long it was 5-6 years ago to wait for an update to the line of laptop models, from any manufacturer, and lovers of new products had to look at concepts and presentation booklets for years. Now the situation has changed dramatically, and life cycle The model is only 3-6 months old. The Japanese giant, Toshiba, does not lag behind its competitors in this regard, and more often than not, it surpasses. New models appear with enviable regularity, and before everyone had time to get used to the “spirited hundred”, the 300th satellites (Satellite in English - satellite), which had been in concept for only a short time, had already gone on sale. The Toshiba Satellite A300 laptop tested is equipped with an AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-66 processor, an ATI HD 3650 video card and two hard drives. The price range for various modifications is not large, but huge - from 950 to 2250 USD. The most affordable modifications are based on AMD processors, more expensive ones are based on Intel processors.

Technical characteristics declared by the manufacturer

OS	Windows Vista Home Premium
CPU	AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-66 (2.3 GHz)
L2 cache, MB	1
Motherboard	Toshiba Satelite A300
Chipset	AMD 690 G/V, AMD Hammer
Video	ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 256 MB with support for HyperMemory technology
Sound	ATI SB600 Toshiba Bass Enhanced Sound System with Dolby Sound Room support
Matrix type	15.4" TFT display 1280x800 pixels AU Optronics B154EW02 V1
RAM	2048 GB (1024+1024)
HDD	160 GB, Fujitsu MHY2160BH 160 GB, Toshiba MK1646GSX
Optical drive	Pioneer DVD-RW DVRKD08A ATA
Interfaces	1x external monitor (VGA) 1x RJ-45 1x RJ-11 1x memory card slot 1x external microphone 1x headphones (stereo) 4x USB 2.0 1x Express Card slot 54 mm 1x S-Video (TV out)
Wireless interfaces	Atheros AR5008 802.11n, Bluetooth v2.0+EDR
Network adapter	Marvel Yukon 88E8072
Additionally	Webcam 1.3 MP
Battery	Li-ion battery 4000 mAh
Size, mm	363x267x34.5 (front) / 38.5 (rear)
Weight, kg	From 2.7
Price	*

Contents of delivery

Traditionally, new models are tested in the form of “samples”, so the supplied package is often limited charger and power cable. The box also includes several promotional brochures, a worldwide warranty booklet, a quick start guide, complete guide user and recovery disk. The latter is becoming less and less common in modern laptops.

Appearance and ease of use

Like the A200 model, the new product is glossy, but not only on the outside, but also on the inside. The display cover is gray, decorated with horizontal mirror stripes, the thickness of which decreases towards the center, and the distance between them towards the center, on the contrary, increases.

It looks great, and, in addition, such a design solution hides small scratches that will appear in any case, despite the fact that the glossy surfaces in the A300 are very resistant, and scratches appear more slowly than in the A200. The appearance of fingerprints on the glossy surface is inevitable, but, again, due to the specific design of the lid it is difficult to notice them.

All corners of the body are rounded as much as possible. The build quality is excellent, not a single assembly defect could be found. The walls of the case have become a little thicker and less susceptible to pressure, while the weight of the device is within the norm for 15.4" laptops - only 2.7 kg, and this is with an additional hard drive installed (~100 g). When trying to twist and squeeze the case doesn't make any sounds.

A switch familiar to Toshiba laptop users is installed on the front wireless network, a memory card reader, a pair of standard 3.5 mm audio jacks and an unlimited volume control wheel associated with the OS.

There are no connectors, no indicators, or battery wall at the back. The entire surface is occupied by a massive connecting loop.

A pair is installed on the right side USB connectors, RJ-45, drive cover optical disks, connection socket external power supply and a connector for connecting a security lock.

The left side is no less loaded: VGA connector, a ventilation grille with large meshes, an analog TV output connector S-Video (of course, better than HDMI, but what can you do), RJ-45, a pair of USB, i.LINK (IEEE 1394) and an Express Card connector (54 mm).

There are many ventilation holes on the bottom surface, a battery secured with two locks, two installation compartments hard drives and a compartment for installing memory models. You can replace hard drives and memory modules yourself.

The internal glossy panels are painted in the same style as the display lid, only the thickness of the silver stripes increases towards the center, and the distance between the stripes increases towards the edges. Fingerprints are only noticeable in areas where the body is pure black.

Keys with a glossy surface. It seems that sparkling keys are becoming as much a must-have attribute of a stylish laptop as glossy body panels. Just recently I attended the tests Acer laptop 6920G, which is also equipped with glossy and, naturally, easily soiled keys. The A300's keys look great when clean. With them, the laptop resembles a waxed expensive car, which after the first rain will lose its luster and charm. The keyboard of the laptop tested contained only Latin characters. The keystrokes are soft, feedback almost none, but the click is quiet, and the moment of operation is clearly felt.

The touchpad (size 78x44 mm) is one of the main accents of the laptop's artistic design. Installed at the top edge LED lamp. It looks good, but is a little distracting when working in the dark. The touchpad keys are huge - 50x8 mm each. The keys are convex and are slightly recessed into the body to prevent pressing by the lid. The surface of the keys is mirrored, which gives the laptop additional chic.

Just below the display there are icon indicators for network, power, battery status (orange/white), as well as indicators for accessing the hard drive and installed flash card. Pictograms are visible only when the backlight is active.

Above the keyboard there is a pair of speakers from the legendary Harman/Kardon company, a power key and a set of touch-sensitive multimedia keys (mute, call media player, start/pause and stop playback, a pair of keys for rewinding tracks).

On the top edge of the display lid there is a window for the built-in webcam and a hole for the built-in microphone.

On the left, a large number of ports are concentrated in the front of the panel. The ExpressCard 34/54 slot is covered with a plastic spring plug. Below it there is a four-pin connector FireWire and two USB ports, one of which is combined with e-SATA. Next you can see the socket for connection local network, connector HDMI And S-VIDEO. The sequence of connectors is interrupted by a grille in the housing Toshiba Satellite A300, through which heated air is removed from the case by a fan. The grille cells are large, you can see the massive radiator. At the hinge of the lid there is a classic D-SUB for connecting an external monitor.

IN Lately There is a clear tendency to transfer some functional elements from the front panel to other parts of the case. Here manufacturers accommodate users halfway - the front panel is not the most convenient place for any ports/buttons/slots. IN Toshiba Satellite A300 There are a lot of interfaces and controls, and therefore placing everything on the side panels is problematic and we had to move them forward. On the left there is an on/off switch wireless communication. In the center there is a multi-format card reader slot, audio connectors and a volume control wheel.

The touchpad is slightly offset to the left of center Toshiba Satellite A300, but with the same striped pattern, continuing the coloring of the wrist pads, only darkened. A quick glance may not notice this ornament at all - the touchpad will seem completely black. It is made on the same level as the working surface, and is limited only by changing the tactile characteristics - the touchpad is not glossy, but slightly rough. The keys are in close proximity, large and rounded, with a metallic finish.

Keyboard Toshiba Satellite A300 black and glossy, in keeping with everything else. It is slightly recessed into the body so that the surface of the keys is just at the level of the wrist pads. The keys are a comfortable size, with slightly beveled and rounded edges on three sides. The layout is standard, Latin and Cyrillic characters are printed in white. Other symbols are light blue and very miniature.

Above the keyboard is a glossy black panel on which interesting elements are placed. First of all, two large speakers in the corners, covered with transparent plastic elements, catch your eye. These speakers have an extended sound range, which should have a positive effect on sound quality Toshiba Satellite A300. A similar sound system can be seen on famous Toshiba Qosmio, which traditionally have good sound. In the center of the panel there is a number of functional elements. Not far from the left speaker you can see round button turning on/off the laptop. To the right there is a number of touch controls that perform multimedia functions: turning on/off sound, controlling the operation of players. Next to the right speaker you can see the inscription “harman/kardon”, indicating that the speakers belong to a famous brand in the world of acoustic systems.

The keyboard operating mode indication is also interesting. A green LED reflecting the CapsLock mode is built directly into the key of the same name. ScrollLock and NumberLock mode indicators are located under the corresponding keys and are also green.

The lid is attached to the body using one wide hinge. The closing mechanism is spring-loaded, without any locks. Glossy display finish Toshiba Satellite A300, in our opinion, is best suited for the laptop’s application: the contrast is higher than that of its matte counterparts. And a matte screen would stand out from the overall glossy design. When working indoors with bright lighting or outdoors, you will need to find a comfortable place to prevent glare from the screen. Soft pads are placed around the perimeter of the display frame to soften contact with the body. At the top center, on a slightly protruding platform, there is a web camera. On the right you can see the hole for the built-in microphone. Below, under the screen, the company logo is printed in light letters.

Design Toshiba Satellite A300 stylish, you can even call it glamorous: black glossy surfaces are interspersed with silver and metallic elements. It looks nice and very harmonious. The arrangement of interfaces and controls may not be ideal, and in some places it’s a little cramped, especially on the left, but with such variety you can close your eyes to it.

Toshiba Satellite A300 | Ergonomics and user experience

Build quality is good: body Toshiba Satellite A300 There is no creaking anywhere, the working surface and the keyboard do not sag when pressed. The materials are not expensive, but this is not surprising for this price niche. You shouldn’t expect practicality from an absolutely glossy laptop: it gets dirty very quickly. The napkin included in the package will undoubtedly come in handy, and you will have to use it often.

Touch pad Toshiba Satellite A300 pleasant to use, accurate with moderate sensitivity. The keys are large and comfortable, but the metallic coating is a little confusing: how long will it last? Experience in operating such elements suggests that over time this coating will wear off and the appearance will suffer as a result. The keyboard may look beautiful due to its glossiness, but it sticks to slightly sweaty hands. And this causes a slight feeling of discomfort. But in general, the quality is acceptable: there are no false alarms, the key travel is soft with clear fixation of positions.

On the left, the interfaces are very cramped, especially those located under the ExpressCard slot. If for FireWire The plugs are very tiny, but USB flash drives can be very wide. The placement of the audio connectors in front also cannot be called a good solution, and the card reader slot does not have a plug.

Acoustic system Toshiba Satellite A300 made us happy. Of course, it is far from comparable to external systems, but for an integrated system the sound quality is very good. Low Frequencies are weakly expressed, but the middle ones are heard more clearly than on many multimedia laptops. When playing music, the membranes vibrate very effectively. The volume level is good, however, the editors do not recommend setting it to the maximum value to avoid damaging the speakers.

Let Toshiba Satellite A300 not very practical to use, gets dirty, but this is the price that some are willing to pay for a nice appearance. Well, the functionality is excellent. I liked it very much Touchpad control, and built-in acoustic system.

Toshiba Satellite A300 | Performance testing

This is a multimedia laptop that should be able to solve a wide range of user tasks. And therefore its performance should be at a good level. According to the specifications, everything is very good: a dual-core microprocessor, a large amount of memory, and a discrete video card should allow you to listen to music, watch movies, surf the Internet and play games. Let's see how things really are. To obtain the results, we used the standard 3DMark benchmarks for gaming performance and PCMark for general user scenarios. Well, traditionally, we measured performance separately hard drive. All results are presented in the graphs below.

Very smooth results. The first diagram shows that all system components have decent performance, while the second shows the good efficiency of the laptop in user scenarios. Let's see how Toshiba Satellite A300 will show itself in games.

The results are very good. You can play on this machine without any problems. It is likely that even modern games will run with gentle settings at an acceptable frame rate. Let's look at the performance of the bottleneck modern computers- hard drive.

Performance is standard for laptop drives with a spindle speed of 5400 rpm. When testing with synthetic tests, we traditionally notice strange results on cached operations. And now the speed of cached recording has dropped. However, there is no doubt that in real scenarios this will not affect performance.

Based on the test results, we can say that Toshiba Satellite A300 confidently cope with all user tasks. It’s possible that you won’t be able to get a comfortable FPS level on modern “heavy” games, but there shouldn’t be any problems with less resource-intensive games.

Toshiba Satellite A300 | Temperature conditions and battery life

Cooling system efficiency - important parameter. Components that are constantly overheated will last less. Let's see how hot it is inside Toshiba Satellite A300. We subjected the main components to maximum load and monitored the temperature dynamics. Take a look at the chart below.

L300 looks interesting. Its surface is painted silver, and the ends on the sides of the body are black. At the same time, the laptop has a rather stylish appearance. Although in reality the model is presented as a budget device. There is a certain play of color on the inner and outer panels of the case - dark contrasts with light. The design is well thought out. The black computers are very clearly visible on the silver-colored area under the palm. The upper part of the case is made without any decorations, there is only the company logo. The matte cover is quite reliable and practical. Almost all of the computer's panels are matte, but the display is glossy. The design of the Satellite L300 laptop is calm and measured, it can even be called modest.

Display

The L300 has a widescreen screen with a diagonal of 15.4 inches, and its resolution is 1280 by 800. It has excellent color reproduction (up to 16.7 million shades). In addition, the WXGA screen has an excellent brightness reserve, and its image is very clear. This makes it possible to watch movies in good quality. However, the mirror surface of the Toshiba TruBrite screen can, in addition to the benefits of image saturation, also be annoying if there are a lot of reflections and glare. Everything about this laptop is great, but the viewing angles are not entirely ideal, this mainly concerns the vertical indicators. But the horizontal ones are very good, they are quite wide.

Keyboard and touchpad

Now let's talk about input devices. The Toshiba Satellite L300 keyboard has 87 buttons. You can't call it rigid, and the lack of this quality while typing can cause flexing. The operation of the buttons themselves is quite smooth and almost silent.

This keyboard also has its downsides. For example, small gaps between buttons. Fingers may jump to adjacent keys while typing. In addition, the arrow buttons are made too narrow. The layout and markings are excellent. Just below the spacebar is the touchpad. It has a slightly recessed surface, which makes it quite comfortable to use, since your fingers do not slip off the pad. Although the touchpad itself is responsive, the keys underneath are difficult to press.

CPU

Now let's talk about the performance of the Toshiba Satellite L300. The characteristics of the processor will be given below. For now, we note that there is no operating system installed on the computer. For some, this is not so convenient, since before starting work, you will have to set up. However, for experienced users this is rather a plus, since they themselves can choose the system they will use on their device and its parameters.

The laptop has a single core Intel processor Celeron 575, which has a level 2 cache of 1 MB and a clock speed of 2 GHz. This option is great for laptops entry level, and while it's not as fast or particularly powerful, it doesn't cost much. In addition, the Celeron 575 has 2 GB of RAM. It can be expanded up to 4 GB, and performance will be improved when solving various computing tasks.

The hard drive of this model has a capacity of 160 GB. Today, this indicator has become the norm; it is quite enough to carry out everyday work with files, store texts and programs. The graphics of this computer are represented by a built-in video card. Its performance is sufficient for undemanding games with low and medium settings. GMA 4500MHD allows you to correct photos, work with a number of office programs. This means that the limited capabilities of this video card (Blu-ray playback, video file decoding) can be used in simple applications.

Other characteristics

On the right side of the Toshiba Satellite L300 there is a built-in optical drive, a port where you can connect peripheral equipment, and a power socket. There is a hole at the end. On the front, the laptop is equipped with two connectors for connecting a microphone and headphones, in addition, there is a wireless communications switch. On the left side there is an ExpressCard/54 expansion slot and two USB ports - one above the other, there is also a fifteen-pin D-SUB video output. In addition, there is an RJ-45 network connector. And USB interfaces support Sleep Charge technology, it helps to charge mobile phone or player, even when the computer is turned off.

This laptop also has ports on the back. In particular, the connector for connecting a modem. Although the number of ports is not very large, they are quite enough for work.

Now let's talk about the autonomy of the Toshiba Satellite L300. The battery is six-section lithium-ion. The capacity is 4800 mAh. This battery allows you to work autonomously for about 3 hours.

A budget laptop allows you to solve a wide variety of tasks; its functions are quite sufficient to satisfy the needs of not too demanding users. It is equipped with an excellent display, has sufficient system performance for an entry-level system, and an interesting design that features a contrast of silver and black colors. Separately, it should be said that every port and connector of this computer is well thought out. The body has matte panels. The only downside is the display's glossy finish, which reflects objects. Otherwise, this model corresponds to the declared level. If the Toshiba Satellite L300 does not turn on, we recommend turning off the power to the device overnight and removing the battery. In the morning you can put everything back together and the problem should be fixed. If this does not help, contact your service center.

Choosing a good budget laptop is always difficult. The fact is that there are a huge number of different models on the market from different manufacturers. And it’s extremely difficult not to get lost in this ocean of laptops. You need to be at least a little aware of which manufacturer’s products are now considered the highest quality. You can, of course, buy a cheap laptop from an unknown manufacturer, but it is far from certain that it will last long. In terms of reliability, products from Toshiba are very interesting. And the entry-level Toshiba Satellite L300 laptop is quite suitable for undemanding users.

Positioning

The laptop is positioned by the company as an inexpensive device for work. And indeed, its capacity for games is not enough. However, it will cope perfectly with all programs. Play video in high resolution- also his diocese. However main feature Toshiba Satellite L300 - exceptional reliability. It will work for many years without any problems. That is, until its iron filling becomes completely obsolete. And this will not happen soon. The laptop is perfect for those people who use mobile computers exclusively for work. Watching movies, working with photos, some weak games and others multimedia tasks- that's what this laptop is designed for.

Specifications

On board the laptop is a simple processor from Intel Celeron family. There is nowhere more budget-friendly. But even this weak and ancient chip can provide acceptable device performance. RAM is represented by one module of 2 gigabytes. There is no possibility of increasing the volume. That is why games are not available on this laptop. The Toshiba Satellite L300, the characteristics of which we are currently reviewing, is equipped with an Intel GMA 4500 MHD video adapter. This is a built-in video accelerator, so you shouldn't count on any performance. It's enough for watching high-resolution videos and working with photos. But nothing more.

A 160 gigabyte hard drive now looks like a blatant anachronism. Drives from 320 gigabytes are installed everywhere, but not in the Toshiba Satellite L300. Specifications The devices with all their appearance say that this is a laptop from the “cheap and cheerful” category. Well, okay. The main thing is that it works well. And this cannot be taken away from Toshiba. Despite its rather modest parameters, the laptop works quickly and clearly. The laptop also includes an optical drive. But the main feature is the expansion slot for ExpressCard. Few devices can boast of such a feature.

Appearance and Design

There is no need to talk about any design delights in the case of the Toshiba Satellite L300. Everything is just outrageous. The bulky body is reminiscent of the legendary laptops of yesteryear. There is a strong desire to install Windows 95 on this monster. However, not everything is so simple. The laptop may look unprepossessing, but the strength of its case can be the envy of any secure laptop. It is the case that determines the exceptional reliability of Toshiba. Although its iron filling is also extremely reliable. This is a laptop for work. And that's it.

The Toshiba Satellite A300 model not only contains an optimal set of capabilities, but is also capable of proving itself in working with resource-intensive applications. The versatility of this model, along with the relatively low price, as well as the excellent build quality are attractive.

Design

The dimensions and weight of the laptop are far from small, which will not allow you to often take the Toshiba Satellite A300 with you on trips and trips. Indeed, a 2.7 kilogram laptop with dimensions of 363x266x38 mm is not suitable for fairly frequent transportation. Although, if you drive a car, these parameters will not be important.

Concerning appearance laptop, then the main part of it is glossy (except for the matte bottom), and therefore the user will have problems with big amount fingerprints. So the owner will need to be patient and constantly wipe the panels to keep the laptop looking presentable.

Looking at the body, you notice rounded corners and the absence of sharp outlines. Smooth transitions in the Toshiba Satellite A300, the perfect combination of silver and metal components, will add grace and a certain harmony. The lid of the laptop is designed quite modestly - only the Toshiba logo is present.

Display and sound

The Toshiba TruBrite 15.6-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels will allow you to comfortably watch movies in a small company. The glossy TFT screen will provide an excellent level of brightness and fairly good contrast.

The display frame houses an integrated webcam with a resolution of 1.3 megapixels. With the help of such a camera, any user will be able to communicate with friends and colleagues via Skype.

For music playback, the Toshiba Satellite A300 laptop is equipped with the Toshiba Bass Enhanced Sound System, which includes 24-bit integrated stereo speakers. With support for Dolby Sound Room technology, you can hear home theater-quality sound.

Keyboard and touchpad

The glossy keyboard of the Satellite A300 laptop consists of 87 keys of optimal size. Each button attracts attention with beveled and rounded sides and different markings - the symbols are all white, the functions are all blue. Despite the fact that the keyboard area is recessed and the gaps between the keys are minimal, this does not interfere with work. The standard layout will not cause problems, because... Each key takes its usual place.

Under the keyboard there is a touchpad, slightly offset to the left. It has the same surface as the wrist rest: with a striped pattern, only a little muted. The texture of the touchpad and the internal surface differ in that the surface of the touch zone is rough, and the main area for the hands is smooth. By the way, it’s easier to position on a rough surface.

Immediately below the touchpad there are two keys, which are slightly larger than the main border of the manipulator. The buttons that replace mouse buttons are strongly rounded and have a metal coating.

Processor and equipment

The laptop comes pre-installed with 32-bit operating system Windows Vista Home Premium, which is not only quite easy to use, but can also provide maximum entertainment capabilities and a certain level of security. If the system fails, it can always be restored, thanks to Toshiba-HDD recovery.

The Toshiba Satellite A300-29H laptop model is based on a Pentium Dual Core T4200 processor with clock frequency 2 GHz and 1 MB cache memory. For processor performance, 2 GB plays an important role. random access memory DDR2 standard, which provides a good level of performance. By the way, the memory size can be increased fourfold as a result of the upgrade. Thus, with 8 GB of RAM, the laptop will be able to support serious programs and increase system productivity.

To store personal data, just use a hard SATA disk with a capacity of 250 GB and a rotation speed of 5400 rpm. Its volume, although not very large by modern standards, will allow you to accommodate not only videos and photos, but also a large number of text documents and programs.

The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 graphics card with 256 MB of dedicated dynamic memory is manufactured using a 55-nanometer process technology and can support DirectX 10.1. The advantage of this discrete controller is the ability to decode video, as this helps to unload CPU. Regarding the performance of the graphics card, we can add that it can handle undemanding games at medium settings.

Optical drive, ports, card reader

On the left side of the Satellite A300 laptop there is an RJ-45 network controller connector that transmits data at a speed of 100 Mbit/s, an analog VGA video output for connecting an external monitor and two USB interface, one of which is combined with eSATA, you can use it to connect, for example, a mobile phone. The list of ports on the left side is not limited to this. There is also a FireWire interface here, which can ensure file transfer over a sufficiently long time. high speed up to 400 Mbit/s. Through the IEEE1394 port you can connect a digital video camera, connect a desktop computer and this laptop. There is also an ExpressCard expansion slot and a digital HDMI port.

The manufacturers were also pleased with the presence of a TV-out (S-Video) connector, because Until recently, installing such a port was a luxury for many models. This interface will allow you to connect the Satellite A300 to a regular TV, since it is designed to output an analog signal from the video controller to a TV or VCR. In other words, it is suitable for connecting any device that is capable of receiving such a signal. Thus, users will be able to watch videos on a large screen, which, you will agree, is much better than watching a movie on a small laptop display.

What do we have on the right? Two nearby USB port 2.0, one of which supports Sleep-and-Charge technology (charging is possible through the port various devices), a power jack, a Kensington lock, a modem connector and a built-in Dual DVD-RW optical drive that can easily play or burn various files to any disc.

As for the front end, here you can see a card reader that reads cards in the Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, MS PRO, xD-Picture Card formats and two audio jacks for headphones and a microphone, and the SP/DIF optical output is combined with the headphone jack.

In a relationship wireless connections It is worth noting the ability to transfer data via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi standard 802.11b, 802.11g.

Battery

The laptop has a 6-cell lithium ion battery with a standard capacity of 4000 mAh. Maximum time, allowing the laptop to work without recharging will be about 3 hours, which by modern standards is not such a high figure.

When tested, a laptop in “Reading” mode with minimal system load, reduced power consumption and 40% display brightness can last no more than 2 hours 30 minutes.

With maximum performance (watching videos or playing games), deactivated energy saving functions and 100% brightness level, it will not be possible to work for more than 1 hour 45 minutes.

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Conclusion

Fans of multimedia laptops, shiny surfaces and sophisticated appearance will certainly appreciate the Toshiba Satellite A300 laptop. But the laptop has other equally important advantages: a comfortable keyboard, a contrasting and fairly bright display, a wide range of necessary interfaces and fairly good performance. The Satellite A300 also has a good sound system that delivers excellent quality surround sound through the speakers.

Regarding glossy surfaces, opinions can be twofold: beauty or practicality. In principle, this cannot be considered a particular disadvantage.