Netbook Scoop

Toshiba mini NB205

Summary

What’s Special

• Sets new standard for long battery life
• Outstanding keyboard with large touchpad
• Unique and visually appealing design

What’s Not So Special

• Beware that the Black Onyx model is different. It has a smooth, plastic exterior and a lower-quality keyboard.
• Speaker quality is a little weak in comparison to other netbooks
• Boot time that is longer than normal

Recommendation

If you are looking for a 10″ netbook with the best set of features, here it is. Now, combine that with attractive price and you will be hard pressed to find a better value.

Rating:  

Toshiba mini NB205 Keyboard

Outside

Appearance and Build Quality

The appearance of the Toshiba mini NB205 is truly unique. The textured diagonal lines and the raised lettering on the cover are visually appealing. The rest of the case has a brushed aluminum finish. The construction looks and feels solid.

Physically, the NB205 demonstrates the slim, lightweight design that is found among the best netbooks. The NB205 checks in at 10.4 x 7.6 x 1.3 inches and (with a six-cell battery) weighs 2.8 pounds.

All together the entire package screams “QUALITY”.

Display and Keyboard

The 10.1-inch screen is not-too-glossy. I like the 1024×600 resolution. Many other netbook now offer 1024×576 resolution, which is okay. But I would rather not lose the 24 rows of pixels off the bottom.

The fancy-colored versions of the NB205 have a keyboard with metal keys that stand apart and well above the case. This “island” style keyboard is sturdy and comfortable to use. The shift keys are large and where they should be. The arrow keys are set apart and easy to find and use. There are Page Up and Page Down keys, two CTRL, two ALT keys and a full set of Function Keys. Just as it should be (but often is not).

The Black Onyx version of the NB205 has a keyboard with plastic keys that don’t feature the “island” styling. The size, spacing and layout are the same as the other models.

The touchpad is a real differentiator. At 3.1 x 1.6 inches, it is larger than most other netbooks. The mouse buttons are also larger than normal and comfortable to use.

Toshiba mini NB205 Side View

Webcam, Audio and External Ports

The 0.3 megapixel web camera is standard netbook fare.

The NB205′s two speakers are located below the front edge. Volume and clarity are a little weaker than other comparible netbooks.

The NB205 sports a rather typical array of external ports:

• three USB ports
• 3-in-1 card reader
• VGA-out
• Audio in/out
• Ethernet

Inside

Processor, Graphics and Storage

The Toshiba mini NB205 is powered by an 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 processor which is a small step up from the 1.6 GHz N270 that most other netbooks feature.

The NB205 is configured with 1GB of RAM. The graphics accelerator is an Intel GMA 950. For storage, the NB205 sports a 160 GB, 5400 RPM hard drive. These features are pretty typical among netbooks.

Communications

The Toshiba mini NB205 offers 802.11b/g wireless connectivity. This is the baseline for most netbooks, although some of the higher-end netbooks have started to offer 801.11n support, which is faster, offers a wider range and is more reliable.

The NB205 also offers a Bluetooth 2.1 EDR adapter.

Battery

Battery life is one of the areas where the Toshiba NB205 really shines. The NB205′s six-cell 5800 mAh lithium ion battery provides over 9 hours of real-world usage. The is significantly better than the average 5-6 hours that most netbooks with six-cell batteries achieve.

Wrap Up

Toshiba was extremely late joining the netbook party in the USA. But their first entry is way above run-of-the-mill. The super-long battery life, outstanding keyboard in a unique, attractive, professional package really raise the bar to set a new standard for netbook excellence.