Toshiba mini NB305 adds Atom N450 to a successful formula (hands-on)
By Paul Miller 
posted January 4th 2010 12:24PM
posted January 4th 2010 12:24PM
We got a few moments to play with the netbooks, and came away pretty impressed. It might not be quite the bang-for-buck on offer from other manufacturers, and the lack of a higher-end graphics option is a little off-putting, but as for simple build quality and usability (we're particular fans of the oversized trackpad), the NB305 might be hard to beat. Toshiba's also pursuing the software angle here with a Media Controller app to expose some of Windows 7's media streaming abilities, along with a visual search app called RealTime and a fridge-style Bulletin Board.
Looks good, give us some specs and a price. Oh and dump the custom junkware, I'm good with vanilla Windows 7 HOME PREMIUM. Thanks.
PS. 2 GB of ram please.
That seems pretty good, i was a fan of the NB200's design so... but what about this new baby's sound quality? That was his predecessor's main problem. And what about its REAL autonomy?
Seriously "true chiclets"? Might as well have called them "HD chiclets."
But overall, the design is nice and minimalist. And I, for one, can appreciate an unobtrusive cell battery.
@Tchiort
If you look at the picture of the underside of the NB305 it appears they added a second speaker, and I'd imagine they used better speakers this time around too.
I was a big fan of the other one but got rid of it because of speaker and the bulging battery, but this one may be a winner for me :)
@swdemura
Yeap they did add a speaker, you're right, it still doesn't mean that the sound will be better but.... ;)
The sound isn't my main issue anyway. The price might be, i'm worried that the NB305 will be proposed at 350€ in europe, since Toshiba seems to be insisting on placing its only netbook in the "VIP" range! If i'm not wrong, they'll have some troubles in front of the Asus' offer, maybe even HP's minis could be more attractive (that's a maybe)
@swdemura 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. Details: http://bit.ly/toshiba-mini-nb305
Lack of ION, or anything else not Intel, equals no sale.
@BigD145
ION vs plus 10 hours of unplugged use. It is a personnal choice, but for now i know what's mine.
@Tchiort
Maybe so, but the Mini 210's have a bulging battery which was a major design failure for the 110 series.
Don't know how the prices go over in Europe, but the NB305 is a little on the high side in the states as well...
@swdemura
The 110's were truly a failure, from a design point of view to its specs list. I agree totally. And the price was seriously high.
But, apprently, we'll see, the 210's seem better. I like the design, the price tags seem ok, and the specs too. Again, we'll see.
Right, the NB205 was expensive evrywhere, the NB305 will do the same. But brands have the bad habit to forget to do the conversion from USD to euro... I can tell you how nice it is to buy in the US for us!
As an MSI Wind owner I have to say that this new generation of netbooks is pointless. Ok... N450 is nice, but not much of an improvement. Furthermore they still insist on 1024x600 and VGA out...
So for someone already with a netbook, there is nothing new here... no reason to invest.
At some point I would like to see the introduction of CULV in the 10.1 inch form factor...
@Tchiort
At least you guys have access to the HP DM1... wish we'd get that over here!
@swdemura
HP's DM1 seemed to be sweet but for 500e no can do.
That keyboard looks ugly and looks like it is not conducive to touch typing. Lenovo still has the best keyboard.
@Dr Yusuf AlKindi
I have a NB205 and the keyboard is perfectly fine to type on for long periods of time. The one speaker is horrible though.
Ever since Toshiba refused to service my Portege R500 FOR THE THIRD TIME FOR THE SAME PROBLEM, I've decided to make it clear to everyone:
Do not buy a Toshiba product if there's any chance you'll need warranty repairs. Their grunts deleted ten gigs of pregnancy photos and videos from my machine the first time the motherboard blew up; the second time I sent it in without the hard disk so they couldn't ruin our second pregnancy photos, and they fixed it. The third time the mobo blew out on this lemon, they refused to service it without the hard disk -- they gave me the option of sending it in (so they could delete more pictures) or receiving it back with no repair.
Avoid this product.
@Dan Fruzzetti
What's the big deal? They refused to service it (albeit for the 3rd time) because you're sending it with parts missing. Backup your photos and other important files (as you should have done the first time) and send it in with evertying intact.
@DrVan It's not discussed as a non-warrantable issue, and they set a precedent by servicing it the second time without a hard disk in it. The big deal is these ultraportables use ribbon connectors and I've had an impossible time finding an adapter to enable me to properly back up the hard disk (it won't boot at all, so I would need to plug the drive into another machine).
@Dan Fruzzetti
Microsoft Sucks. Their stupid COFEE tool should be used by consumers as a backup tool.
Oh, and did you go to your local computer store? I'm sure they're helpful folks if their service is cheap.
Dreambook:
12" 1280x800 screen
Atom 330 or better processor
4GB DDR2 or DDR3 ram
160GB or bigger hard drive
8, 12 or 16-cell battery
$600 or lower
@WhatHappened
also, ION or ION2
Electronics retail peon here. I refuse to sell the Toshiba netbooks because of the trackpad. See how the buttons are right up against the edge of the body? Those come off pretty damn easily, to the point where they're coming off on my display model of the nb205 after only 3 months.