In some ways, the new model can be considered an upgrade, since it packs a newer operating system and extra storage space. But there are some down sides as well.
Windows 7 Starter Edition is a stripped down operating system in many ways compared to Windows XP (or Windows 7 Home Premium). And battery life seems to suffer under Windows 7. While the laptop still gets better battery life than most netbooks on the market, tests seem to confirm that the same laptop will run longer under Windows XP than Windows 7.
The model featured in this review is a Toshiba NB205-N330BL. It has a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive, 802.11b/g WiFi and Windows 7 Starter Edition. It's available from Amazon for $420
Design
The Toshiba NB205 has a distinctive design with a silver/gray plastic chassis and colorful, textured lid. The laptop is available with blue, brown, pink, and white tops. Each has a Toshiba logo and a diagonal stripe pattern on the lid.
Around the sides of the laptop you'll find 3 USB ports, an Ethernet jack, a VGA port, and sturdy metal mic and headphone jacks. I always appreciate it when manufacturers use metal jacks instead of plastic ones, as they tend to hold up better over time if you're the sort of person that spends a lot of time plugging in and then removing headphones.
On the front you'll find an SD card slot and a series of status indicators that light up to show when the WiFi is enabled, when the computer is plugged in, and so forth.
The edges of the laptop are curved, but overall the Toshiba NB205 has a boxier, more angular look than most netbooks. The design isn't intrinsically better or worse than that of 10 inch netbooks from other companies. It's just a matter of taste.
The speaker is located on the bottom of the netbook, so it points down at the table or your lap. The microphone is placed next to the 0.3MP webcam above the screen.
One nice touch is the power button which is located in the middle of the computer just above the keyboard.
When the computer is powered up, the button glows white. But when the computer is off, the color blends in with the lid of the laptop. On the demo model I reviewed, it remained blue when turned off.
Like most netbooks with high capacity batteries, Toshiba found that the 6 cell battery for the NB205 couldn't easily sit flush with the base of the laptop. But instead of building the battery to extend downward, Toshiba designed the battery to stick out from the back of the laptop. So while the battery area is a few millimeters thicker than the front of the laptop, the battery doesn't add too much height to the netbook overall.
On the bottom of the laptop you'll find two access panels which you can remove to upgrade the RAM, hard drive, and wireless LAN cards. There's only a single RAM slot, so you'll need to remove the 1GB stick and add a 2GB module if you want to upgrade the RAM.
The Toshiba NB-205 features an accelerometer which detects when you're computer is in motion. It can temporarily shut off the hard drive to prevent damage or data loss if your computer falls to
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