Acer Review, Asus Review – Netbook 10

[UPDATED 6/28/2009]Toshiba’s first netbook in the US, the NB205 has been subject to quite the hype.

Available at $400 the netbook is well designed and promises a comfy keyboard, spacious touch pad area and just the right amount of sensitivity when it comes to the touch pad buttons. The third USB port makes this netbook unique – it has a sleep-and-charge function that allows external devices to charge even when the system is off.  We should start seeing it on shelves in the next week or two. Available now at Amazon.

*The NB205-N210 Black Onyx version is available for $350

Rating:

Toshiba NB205

Two Versions

• NB205-210 is available for $350. It comes in black, without the textured finish.  The keyboard also comes in black with a matte finish.
• NB205-N310 is available at $399. It comes with a textured finish, a chrome hinge, and four colors (blue, pink, brown, white).

Features

Looks – Everyone seems to be in love with the “professional” design of the NB205. I’m going to skip this bandwagon and let you decide for yourself if you like it. I’m not much of a fan of the raised pattern, but the rounded finish below the touch pad is a good touch.

Touch Pad – At 3.1 x 1.6in, this pad may be the largest of the 10” netbooks. It has a smooth finish, and the buttons require just the right amount of touch.

Sleep and charge – this feature has been the talk of the town this weekend. One of the USBs on the NB205 has been programmed to charge devices (think smart phones & Flip cameras) even when the netbook is powered off. Definitely makes life easier when you have one outlet and multiple devices to charge. You heard me, buy a USB hub/splitter and you can charge multiple devices from that one port.

Zoom feature – Toshiba has a neat zoom feature that makes reading easier while browsing the web.

Much Lighter than the Asus 1000 HE – We’re comparing the NB205’s 2.8lbs to the 1000HE’s 3.2lbs here. Both come with 6cell batteries with 8-9hour battery lives. Both are also priced similarly at $400. (The 1000HE is $385 at good ol’ Amazon.)

HD protection – I’m surprised more netbooks don’t have this feature. Toshiba’s HD impact sensor protects the hard drive (similar to Sony VAIO’s notebook HD protection) when it’s in use. Handy, because netbooks are pretty portable.

Drawbacks

Lots of wasted Bezel space – There’s a lot of space around the 10.1” screen that could have been used to fit in a larger screen space. I guess Toshiba wanted a large keyboard but didn’t want to mess with the Windows XP 10.2” screen limitation.

And that’s about all I have for drawbacks for now.

Rating – 6.2/7

• Value for Money – 0.9
• Speed and Performance – 0.9
• Screen – 0.8
• Keyboard – 1
• Portability & Battery Life – 1
• Looks and Design – 0.8
• Extensibility & connectivity – 0.8

NB205 Specs

Processor – 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280

Operating System – Windows XP

Memory – 1 GB RAM

Storage – 160GB

Display – 10.1”

Connectivity – 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.1

Ports – 2 standard USB, 1 USB with Sleep-and-charge, Kensington lock, VGA, Audio in/out, Ethernet and 3-in-1 memory card

Battery – 6 cell/ 8.5 hours

Weight – 2.8lbs

Colors – Black ($349), pink, white, blue, brown ($400 for colors)

The Bottom Line
I’m not as impressed as the folk over at Engadget. I’ll say this though – great touchpad means you don’t need a travel-mouse, it’s a lot lighter than the 1000HE, and the sleep-and-charge will definitely come in handy. You’ll get the best value for price if you opt for the $350 black version (especially since the Acer AOD 150 is selling at $330 at Amazon). When it’s out, the NB205-210 has a stong likelihood of making our Top 5 Netbooks by Affordability.

Technorati Tags: 10" netbooks, toshiba

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Filed under: Netbooks