LAS VEGAS — Toshiba was one of the last manufacturers to get into the netbook game last year, and its offering — the Mini NB205 — was decent. The company announced an upgrade for the netbook that eliminates some of the shortcomings seen in its predecessor.
Dubbed the Mini NB305, the 10-inch netbook carries a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, up to 2GB RAM and a 6-cell battery promising 11 hours of life.
We reviewed the NB305’s predecessor, the NB205, last July, and its standout strength was battery life (six hours from our testing). One complaint was its battery, which stuck out awkwardly and felt uncomfortable on the lap. Also, the test unit we received, a pink model, wasn’t ideal since the vibrant case tricked your eyes into perceiving purplish colors on screen.
Toshiba seems to have listened. The NB305’s battery now fits into the netbook without sticking out, and the company isn’t shipping a pink model. The netbook is available in brown, white and blue.
However, one minor issue that remains unchanged is the placement of the keyboard keys. In our review of the NB205, we noted the awkward place of the tilde (~) key awkwardly located to the right of the Alt key. After hours, I still couldn’t get used to that configuration and kept typing ~ when I meant to hit Alt; I’d expect the NB305 to pose the same problem. Still, progress is progress, especially with netbooks, which generally don’t change much.
More specs are below the jump. The Mini 305 will ship Jan. 12 starting at $350.
10.1-inch widescreen backlit LED display
Windows 7 Starter operating system
Intel Atom N450 processor
1GB DDR2 800MHz RAM, upgradeable to 2GB
250GB HDD
802.11b/g/n wireless and 10/100 Ethernet
Bluetooth V2.1 + EDR (available on select models)
Hard drive impact sensor
Weighs 2.6 pounds
6-cell battery with battery life rating up to 11 hours
Two USB 2.0 ports
Memory Card Reader Slot
Built-in Webcam, speaker and microphone
Photos: Toshiba
