Toshiba NB205 netbook reviewed, loved

We already knew the cats at Laptop were into the Toshiba NB205 / Dynabook UX netbook's aesthetic, and now they're back with a full review saying it "breaks the mold." Yep, even though it's packing the same 1.6GHz Atom internals as every other XP netbook out there, it's apparently a step above, with a tight design, kickin' keyboard, and 8.5 hours of battery life for $399. Of course, that's in contrast to some other reviews of the Dynabook UX we've seen, which called the keyboard "cramped," but it certainly seems like the NB205 is at least worth a look for potential netbook shoppers not put off by the upcoming CULV explosion.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 17th 2009 2:07PM]

*fap*fap*fap*fap

What now?

oh, these guys are waiting for the Ultrasnow...

*sigh can friday not get here any sooner?

[Streetfights Posted Jun 17th 2009 2:30PM]

You realize you've fapped 3 times this morning right? You need a hobby/girlfriend

[aubreyq Posted Jun 17th 2009 2:07PM]

Nice. I like.

[stridermt2k Posted Jun 17th 2009 2:11PM]

Possibly my next netbook, depending on RAM upgradability and of course how she takes to Win7, not to mention how long my Mini 9 holds up.
(Might be a while, who knows?)

Nice piece.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 17th 2009 3:12PM]

Dude. If you already have a Mini 9, you should wait until it's worth upgrading. Wait until one of the 330 + Ion netbooks hits the shelf, and then rock that.

[Fanfoot Posted Jun 17th 2009 7:43PM]

I'd wait for Windows 7 to roll out and look at one of the 10" models that will ship this fall with Pinetrail. If you care about graphics performance, and the price is right, consider one with an Ion. But wait till this fall. Who knows, maybe they'll get the flash GPU offload thing worked out by then.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 18th 2009 4:05AM]

what's with the fat screen border in these netbooks. I have the eee 1000H and it looks nice other than the fat piece of plastic around the screen.

I'd say it would finally be perfect with a thin (Old Macbook Pro like) screen, ION, 11.6 inch, aluminum, light, 250 GB Hdd, 9 hrs, and a GPU crunching up flash.

Then I'd buy it up faster than

[RKN Posted Jun 17th 2009 2:13PM]

How netbooks have changed from the original Asus EEE 701. : 0
Can't wait to see how netbooks will look like with the new Atom processor and chipset coming this fall.

[htd Posted Jun 17th 2009 2:20PM]

8.5 hr is nice, I'll wait for it to have hdmi and 1280x720 resolution.

[bob e Posted Jun 17th 2009 2:33PM]

Quite a nice looking unit.

[BigD145 Posted Jun 17th 2009 2:40PM]

Needs more ION.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 17th 2009 3:07PM]

Same old, same old. Waiting for ION here too, the real question to ask to see if netbooks have progressed is , "Is there any compelling reason to replace my existing netbook with another one?".

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 17th 2009 4:16PM]

nope

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 18th 2009 12:15AM]

Are you really convinced that the Ion is going to be a platform worth spending money on.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 18th 2009 12:26AM]

Yes, I do. Atom based ION platform can decode 1080p video with XBMC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv1Q_DWieAQ. I'm willing to pay up to $50-$100 premium for ION since it means I won't have to carry around a Popcorn Hour with me. HDMI is also output nice if you want to quickly throw up a other content/youtube/etc.. on somone's HDMI capable television.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 17th 2009 3:14PM]

When and where can I buy one? Amazon does not have them yet. Does anyone know when retailers will have them?

[FNG Posted Jun 17th 2009 3:45PM]

best buy on 06/28

[FNG Posted Jun 17th 2009 3:53PM]

http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/en_US/images/global/360/360pop.html?sku=9371609

there is the 360 spin of the white one. bestbuy will have the NB205 in 4 variations.

[Byrdman Posted Jun 17th 2009 9:02PM]

My Office Depot just got them in. They aren't on display yet, but they will be out there soon. Goin for $399 as well

[mello Posted Jun 17th 2009 3:16PM]

Takes me back to the days of the Libretto. Only this is a bit bigger.

[hari Posted Jun 17th 2009 3:20PM]

considering the size of the bezel, seriously it could have use a 1' bigger screen.

and with the coming 12'-13' notebooks based on cuvl, netbooks lost their appeal to me.

[lee7n Posted Jun 17th 2009 3:37PM]

Toshiba unlikely as it would seems really makes great notebook PC's. They may not be the prettiest but they last forever and I have 2 of them myself. Both work perfectly and one is 4 yrs old. I may get this netbook in the future.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 22nd 2009 9:11AM]

Great new laptop. I think that Toshiba is getting it right with this release.

Mike McDermott
http://geekwithlaptop.com

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 22nd 2009 4:40PM]

Saw one at the local Best Buy yesterday. Apparently they weren't supposed to have it on the floor until today. The keyboard is much better than any of the netbooks I've had so far (MSI and ASUS). Some flex though. But at $399 for the specs, it's a contender.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 1st 2009 11:23PM]

Hey all, I just bought this netbook and really love it. I come from a Toshiba Satellite that will remain my main machine while I take this on business trips. I am pretty brand loyal and was very intrigued to hear Toshiba had a netbook. Now I'm not really computer saavy so different specs or processors don't really mean anything to me. I'll give you a "comman man's" point of view on this netbook.

Looks
One word. Classy. It looks like a million bucks unlike some of the other netbooks that look like little kid's laptops. You will not confuse this netbook with a cheap knockoff. The keyboard is exceptional. I type with little to no errors and it is easy on the eyes with the island keys.

Speed
It lags just a bit when multi tasking but I am very pleasantly surprised. I was really worried that coming from a traditional laptop I would be bugged by the speed. The thing is unless it is a data intensive site it loads almost as fast as my regular machine.

Keyboard
Once again one word. Amazing. The island keyboard is very easy to type on and creates minimal typing errors. It is worlds better than the Dell and HP's I tried out.

Portability
A-1. It is light and even with a sleeve fits in the end pocket of my duffle bag.

Once again I am not a techie who needs the lastest and greatest processor or anything like that but overall I think I will be very happy with my new Toshiba.

[(Unverified) Posted Jul 25th 2009 5:35PM]

I bought a Toshiba Net book. I'm not happy. This column and the ads say that they last 8.5 - 9.5 hours. This is just *not* true. I could see if it lasted, say 3/4 of that or something. One always gets variances. But the way this thing is, I was lucky to get 3 hours of it- max. That's nowhere near what's being said. And I'm being told by service people that this is all one can expect from a unit this size. So this is not truth in advertising. I took mine back today.