Netbooks with full size keyboards – best options

With netbooks being so small, most of the time they come with pretty cramped keyboards, not as big as the ones you’d get on a standard laptop. That’s not really a problem for me, but if you have big fingers, typing on such a keyboard can be uncomfortable.

That’s why in this post I’m going to show you what netbooks with 100% full-size keyboards you can get out there.

First, what does that mean? According to Wikipedia, on a normal, “full size” computer keyboard, the 10 keys Q–P measure 190 mm (7.48 in). The small 7-9 inch netbooks usually offer 82% size of a generic one, meaning that the Q–P keys measure 155 mm (6.10 in). The 10 inchers usually offer 92% of a full size keyboard, where the Q–P keys measure 175 mm (6.89 in). These few mm might not seem much, but in practice, they really make a difference.

So here are the options.

First, you should know that there are no 8.9 inch or smaller mini laptops available with a full-keyboard, that would just not be physically possible.

In the popular 10 inch class, most netbooks come with 92% or 93% Full-size keyboards. But there are some options with full-sized ones:

• the Toshiba NB205 and the Toshiba NB305 lines. The latter offers one of the best keyboards on a 10 inch netbook right now, with independent keys (chiclet keyboard) and a very nice metallic-like finish. Plus, you get a matching high-quality trackpad . In fact, i own a Toshiba NB205  and the NB305 was in top of my list of best 10 inch netbooks to buy back in 2010;
• the Samsung N120 , an older Samsung netbook launched in 2009, benefited from this feature. Still, the keyboard was the standard flat one and pretty flexy, so not as good as the above.

100% keyboards on the Samsung NC120 (left) and the Toshiba NB305 (right)

While back in 2010 when this article was initially posted there weren’t that many 10 inch netbooks with a full-size keyboards, there are a couple of others today.

The new Toshiba lines come with big keys, like the NB505/NB500 and the NB550. However, we’re not talking about chiclet keyboards anymore, thus typing on them might not be that pleasant, as you’ll learn if you’ll follow the links towards my reviews.

And that’s about it right now in the 10 inch class. As you can see there are still very few options for 10 inch netbooks with full-size keyboards, mainly because these devices tend to get more and more compact and there’s just not enough space to squeeze a larger keyboard inside.

As for 11.6 or 12.1 inch mini laptops, most of them come with full-size keyboard in these classes. So, with some exceptions, you’ll find large enough keyboards on these devices, but those does not necessarily make those keyboards good, as there are other criteria to consider.

In the end, if you want a bigger Full-size keyboard on your mini laptop, either choose one of the few available options in the 10 inch class or go for something bigger, where you have way more options.