Brand Toshiba
Product Features
* 10.1-inch LED backlit widescreen display (1024 x 600-pixel resolution) provides richer colors and clearer definition--perfect for browsing the internet
* 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280 processor combines performance and efficiency to explore the Internet and stay connected while mobile
* 160 GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 RPM) with an impact sensor that helps safeguard your data by "parking" the hard drive heads in the event of a drop or sudden movement.
* 1 GB of RAM (800 MHz; 1 memory slot; upgradeable to 2 GB)
* Intel Graphics Media Accelerator GMA950 with up to 251 MB of dynamically allocated shared graphics memory
* Webcam (0.3 megapixels) integrated into the bezel for easy video chats and teleconferencing
* Three USB Sleep-and-Charge ports allow you to charge your mobile phone and other devices even when the notebook is asleep or off.
* Full-sized keyboard (85 keys)
* Integrated Wi-Fi networking (802.11b.g) so you can communicate, browse and share while on the move
* Fast Ethernet wired networking (10/100)
* Built-in mono speaker
* Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system
* Up to 9 hours of battery life from included 6-cell battery
* Dimensions: 10.4 x 7.6 x 1.27 inches (WxDxH)
* Weight: 2.93 pounds
* Environmentally focused with RoHS compatibility (reducing its environmental impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury and certain other hazardous substances), Energy Star 5.0 compliant, and EPEAT Gold compliant
* Warranty: 1 year warranty with international limited warranty coverage
Product Description
* Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz Processor
* 1GB DDR2 RAM
* 160 GB Hard Drive
* Windows XP Home, 5800 mAh 6-Cell Battery
* 10.1" Display
Product Details
# Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 10.4 x 1.3 inches ; 2.9 pounds
# Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
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Reviews Toshiba Mini NB205-N210
The very first thing I wanted to make sure this unit can do is play back, at the very least, DVD-quality movies (i.e. 480P movies (720x480 resolution)). One thing I'd HIGHLY recommend everyone who's interested in watching movies on their netbook do is download the FREE media player called VLC (Google "download vlc"). VLC is very lightweight and will play back movies a lot smoother than Quicktime or Windows Media Player; and given the inherently slower speeds of these Intel Atom processors compared to the Intel Core 2 Duo processors, using the VLC media player is your best bet. Using a free program called "Handbrake", one can convert their Bluray or DVD movies to AVC/h.264-encoded movies, which is what I used to convert some of my Bluray collection into a format that can be played-back on my NB205.
Netbooks are known for smaller keyboards and even worse, SMALL trackpads and trackpad button(s). In addition to the smaller size, many of the netbooks I saw in person at my local Fry's Electronics had very "cheapy"-feeling keyboards -- they just felt real fragile compared to the keyboard on my Macbook Pro. Enter the Toshiba NB205. Finally, a netbook that has a keyboard with keys that had the look and feel of a Mac keyboard and a robustly solid build to it. In addition to the look and feel, the keys were also pretty darn close in width to my Mac keyboard (both my Macbook Pro's keyboard, and my desktop Mac's keyboard). I'll try to post some comparison photos on Amazon this weekend for all those interested. The trackpad and buttons on the NB205 is also the biggest I've seen in the netbook category. Toshiba did a tremendous job in getting this right. Most of the other netbooks had really small trackpads and little miniature trackpad button(s) that felt real flimsy. Another feature that I like with the trackpad that's not stated anywhere is that the very right edge of the trackpad can be used for scrolling web pages or other documents (similar to the one on the Samsung NC10). This feature is not obvious as there are no arrow indicators like there is on the NC10 but it does support it!
What finally worked for me was to turn off WEP security on both the router and the NB205. That immediately got them talking, at the expense of breaking all of my other wireless links (two computers and a Wii). Then I turned WEP back on, and they stayed talking. No problems since. EDITED: after over two months, still no problem. It was just the one-time startup.
#2 (good): The battery life is pretty danged long. Maybe not the claimed nine hours, but seven or eight (with WiFi turned off and using power-saver profile). I suspect that a good part of that comes from using an e-IPS display.
#3 (bad but expected): The manual is provided on the hard drive, not in print. The manual is disorganized and mostly useless. This seems to be par for the course for modern computers.
#4 (very slightly bad): The manual says that if you shut the unit down by closing the lid (sleep mode, hibernate, or whatever) that when you open the lid it'll start back up. It doesn't. You have to press the power button. EDITED: It will come back on automatically if you've left it plugged into AC power the whole time. It doesn't if it's unplugged, which for me is pretty much "always".
#5 EDITED: (very annoying until I figured out what was wrong): I had given up on using Sleep/Standby mode because about half of the time when I turned it back on the unit completely rebooted. Hibernate mode always seemed to work. The problem turned out to be that one of the latches for the battery pack wasn't locked, and the netbook would lose power if the unit was lifted in a way that tried to separate the pack from the main unit. So it was my own error, but I learned to pay attention to those latches.
#6 (generally good): I got this netbook specifically for writing. The keyboard seemed to be the best available in the netbook form factor, and I'm finding the keyboard to be quite usable for extended typing sessions. A couple of keys got relocated into funky positions, though. (Maybe other netbook keyboards do the same, I don't know.)
#7 (good): The touchpad is the first one that I've found to be actually usable.
#8 (mildly concerning): I had to turn off the vibration alerts because every time I click the touchpad, it sets off the vibration detector.
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