Toshiba NB205 netbook now available to order
By Donald Melanson 
posted Jun 23rd 2009 1:04PM
posted Jun 23rd 2009 1:04PM
We've seen this one up close and reviewed, but it looks like you can now finally get your hands on Toshiba's new NB205 netbook, which certainly makes an admirable attempt at standing out from the netbook pack. While there's a low-end, black-only model available with a standard keyboard and cheaper materials for $349, the real stand-out is the $399 model available in your choice of four different colors, which adds a higher quality chassis and a chiclet-style keyboard that has earned rave reviews from some. Otherwise, you can expect the usual Atom N280 processor on each, along with 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a 10.1-inch LED-backlit display, and a standard six-cell battery that promises an impressive nine hours of use.
[Via Portable Monkey]
[Via Portable Monkey]
enough already..COME OUT WITH SOME ION NETBOOKS.. This Atom crap was fine a couple months ago..weve passed its use..
Give me a damn netbook with HDMI out and ION GFX
if that's the case it wouldn't be classified as a netbook... so says Intel.
Atom 330 FTW!
im with you! i gave my mini9 to my girlfriend because any time i ran 720p video it overheated in 15 minutes. It cant even play hulu HQ at a watchable fps. not everyone can facebook and twitter all day netbook manufacturers!
Believe me when I tell you that the build quality is amazing!
why does it look like a old HP/compaq dvxxxx case?
It looks nice but if you have a full size keyboard on here, why not use some of that bezel space for more screen like the hp mini. It would be nice to see the keyboard match up to the screen size on these things... If nothing else, it would add to it's ascetics.
oh is pacino selling this?
i wonder if that RAM is expandable.
To 2 gigs.
Looks like it has relatively easy access to the RAM and hard drive based on this. Other than the torx screw holding the drive access panel it doesn't look particularly tricky:
http://portablemonkey.com/reviews/review/toshiba-nb200-dynabook-ux-review/
...of 800MHz DDR2 (PC2-6400)!! But I wonder if the 2GB limit is a hardware limit or a software (Win xp) limit.
This would make a pretty little hackintosh!
You read my mind...
I was wondering what the possibilities of installing iPhone OS on it. Just for grins...
BUT I would really like to have one of these puppies and install OSX 10.5.7 on it.
Now that would be a nice little travelling companion.
Cheers.
We displayed one of these at work yesterday and it feels/looks great.
-only downsides are no wireless n, and no gestures on the trackpad (that i can find right now). someone prove me wrong on the latter and i'll buy it immediately.
Why do you need wireless-N? Just curious. Wireless-B typically exceeds the webpage rendering speed these netbooks possess...
Lag while web surfing is the one thing that's keeping me from diving into the netbook fray. It seems they're still a CPU generation away from smoothness.
I'd just hoped wireless N would be a given on all newer netbooks/notebooks and even desktops in most cases. not a deal breaker for me.
two finger scrolling, however, is. :)
Well... wireless N is not only for speed, but also for increased range.
I rarely use my network for sharing files between computers... my N network is mostly to share my internet connection between all my devices, and the added range with my N router and N Laptop is very good.
Better keyboard than ASUS Seashell. Weak speakers. Better materials. No multitouch, but apparently a better trackpad otherwise.
Not sure about the upgradability of either of these things. Obviously the ASUS Eee 1008HA is a mother to upgrade, since you basically have to completely disassemble the thing just to upgrade the RAM. Haven't seen anything on upgrading either the 1005HA or the NB205...
I tried the Toshiba Netbook and the keyboard was very impressive as well as the large touchpad. I agree though, leaving out wireless N seems to be an oversight. Not sure why they would of left it out. I use N to increase my coverage area. Multi touch would of been nice as well. I was about to get this, when I heard about the Asus Eee 1005HA, Best Buy has it for $299. Although, it doesn't come with blue tooth and doesn't appear to include the extended 6 cell battery since Best Buy advertises only 4.5 hrs, I'm guessing it's the 3 cell battery. The model Best Buy sells is 1005HAB which I can't find anywhere so far. The 1005 does have a blue tooth and extended battery version along with the N280 vs. the Best Buy's N270 processor, although I hear there really isn't much of a performance increase. I would of loved Toshiba to of included backlit keys similar to their other non netbook sibling. That would of be the icing on the cake. I do like Toshiba's look better than the generic Asus clamshell look.
its already at Best Buy
Thx Toshiba for putting the touchpad buttons where they belong.
I'd like this a lot of more if that 1005HA review didn't steal my heart this morning.
Best Buy's Toshiba netbook model does include Blue tooth. Just not wireless N or multi-touch. $399 only in White currently.
I like Toshiba. This is a good one but needs Bluetooth. I will wait for the next generation Atom's.
http://jamesmsingleton.com
The $399 model has bluetooth.
9 hour battery life? How? When the thing is not in use with the screen and wireless off? :P
9 hours isn't that surprising at this point. I have a 1000he and have gotten 8+ hours watching videos with the screen at about 50% brightness and the wireless off (my typical settings while riding a plane). Even with wireless on, screen at full and the HD active the entire time syncing files I get 6-7 hours.
This Toshiba is supposed to have better battery life than the 1000he by a good chunk, so I can definitely believe 9 hours under pretty reasonable settings.
Can anybody tell me why companies aren't using the dual core Atom more frequently? In the ho-hum world of Atom based netbooks, it would seem to me that companies would want to distinguish themselves as much as possible. Does it require significantly more power or something?
I don't think Microsoft allows netbooks to have dual core CPU's. As in they would not be allowed to load them up with XP, but would have to use Vista.
I'm happy to see that the build quility of netbooks has improved.
I can see that the early ones like the for 10 inch netbook the wind ( which i have) looks really shitty next to those newer ones like the new aspire one 10in and other brands even the u120 looks better than the wind u100.
Makes me really sad that my ealier one looks so bad. but I still love it even though the build quilty sucked at the time. But I'm really happy to see it has improved alot over a short years time.
Nice
Wow, lots of sellers already:
http://bountii.com/search.php?item=toshiba+nb205
Toshiba must be strictly enforcing minimum advertised price policies, nothing below MSRP.
At first I thought I was going to get this for school, but then Dell updated their Inspiron 14, which now looks like an enlarged Mini 10. So I'll opt for the Dell instead.
http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/notebooks/laptop-inspiron-14/pd.aspx?refid=laptop-inspiron-14&s=dhs&cs=19&redirect=1
I might get a netbook in the future if Toshiba updates their models with the newer Atom processors that come out later on.
Big ol'battery hanging out the back. No thanks!
Would you rather have a 2-3 hour battery life then? This netbook is obviously marketed at those who need 7-9 hour battery life under normal use and don't mind having the battery stick out a little bit.
Not sure about the location of the power button, seems to me that it could turn on accidently in a bag since the button is not covered when the lid is closed.
I tried the Toshiba Netbook and the keyboard was very impressive as well as the large touchpad. I agree though, leaving out wireless N seems to be an oversight. Not sure why they would of left it out. I use N to increase my coverage area.
Multi touch would of been nice as well, but not a deal breaker for me. I was about to get this, when I heard about the Asus Eee 1005HA, Best Buy has it for $299 ($100 less than the toshiba and includes wireless N and multitouch). Although, it doesn't come with blue tooth and doesn't appear to include the extended 6 cell battery since Best Buy advertises only 4.5 hrs, I'm guessing it's the 3 cell battery. The model Best Buy sells is 1005HAB which I can't find specs anywhere so far. The 1005HA does have a model that includes blue tooth and extended battery version along with the faster N280 vs. the Best Buy's N270 processor, although I hear there really isn't much of a performance increase. I would of loved Toshiba to of included backlit keys similar to their other non netbook sibling. That would of be the icing on the cake. I do like Toshiba's look better than the generic Asus clamshell look. But for a $100 less, I'm willing to overlook the fancy keyboard. What I'm still researching is how much will it cost to add bluetooth and a larger capacity battery. I might just wait until I can get the model with all these elements already included as long as it's still below the $400 range.
Looks as if you will be able to pre-order one of these with a 6 cell high capacity battery and N280 processor for $389
http://promos.asus.com/US/eeepc1005/preorder.html
Technical support drivers and info:
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=Eee%20PC%201005HAB
I called up Customer Service because multi touch is a feature I really want. They said the n205 has it.
Why and how does the webcam keep you "connected, even on the road." Does the webcam have 3G access? I mean, what's the deal?
I purchased one of these earlier today from best buy but I did not try it until I got home from work. Turns out a design flaw in the packaging caused the power button to break. The netbook won't turn on at all.