With tablets in the spotlights these days, netbooks felt a little bit neglected. But that’s not completely true, most producers are working on improving their mini laptops and Toshiba is one of them. They just showcased two new models, the affordable Toshiba NB505 and the upgraded NB305, now with a dual-core Atom processor.
First, the NB305 is the same 10 inch netbook we know, the one it topped my list of best netbooks for many months last year thanks to its sturdy chassis, solid build quality and ergonomic keyboard/trackpad. But it has been upgraded. It now brings the dual-core Atom N550 processor, a better battery that allows up to 9 hours of life in real life use, shock protected hard-drive (with impact sensor) and sleep-and-charge USB ports. All these for $379 in the US, which is on par with its main rivals, like the Asus EEE 1015PEM and the Samsung NF310 .
What’s really interesting is the new entry-level affordable 10 inch netbook from Toshiba, called NB505 .This one comes with a new rubbery finish called EasyGrip, in a bunch of different colors, including blue, green, orange or brown.
The affordable NB505 comes with a rubbery exterior, in a multitude of colors
But unlike the previous cheap Toshiba netbooks, this one now comes with the same keyboard and trackpad found on the more expensive new products (the entire N500 line).
And some proper Keyboard/trackpad
And a press picture
Inside you get the Atom N455 1.66 GHz processor, 1 GB of memory, 250 GB storage space, Wi-Fi N an 8 hour battery and Windows 7. All these for $299, putting it in the cheap netbooks class as perhaps the top pick (this remains to be confirmed though by further tests and hands-ons).
These devices join the new lines of Toshiba 10 inch laptops, next to the NB520 and the AMD powered NB550D . However, this might be a little bit too late, I would have expected the upgraded versions to be available on the market in time for Christmas. Still, as a Toshiba netbook owner myself, I must say they will not disappoint and the changes and improvements on these new series are definitely welcomed.
Nadav
January 5, 2011 at 12:32 pm
What about BT?
I have the (old) nb305 myself, and am very pleased with it, except for its weak speakers and lack of Bluetooth. Is there any upgrade in these fields as well?
Andrei Girbea
January 5, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Not sure about that Nadav but from waht i know, there are alraedy some NB305 versions with Bluetooth on the market… The weal speakers are a problem for me on the old NB205. I’m not using it anymore, but when I was, i always had to use some headphones with it
Chip
January 6, 2011 at 11:06 am
Does the NB505 have a webcam and microphone? I can’t tell from the specs.
Andrei Girbea
January 6, 2011 at 12:17 pm
yeah, for sure it does. You can see the webcam above the screen in the pic. And if it has an webcam it must also have a mic
ckk
January 9, 2011 at 10:44 am
Does the new dual core Toshiba nb305 come in colors other than blue??? And do you know if they are on sale yet? I see ads around for the nb505 but not for the 305. Thanks–
Andrei Girbea
January 9, 2011 at 3:18 pm
No, just blue from what i know. Haven’t seen it on amazon yet either but should pop up soon
Andrei Girbea
January 9, 2011 at 3:35 pm
Scrap that. The N305 with N550 is now available on Amazon for $379: http://amzn.to/ettbb0 . Only on preorder for now though…
Gee
January 9, 2011 at 11:21 am
Thanks, for the review. As a first time netbook buyer (recently, just purchased the nb505 and currently awaiting its arrival) I was just a bit nervous over my choice with this unit. I had weighed my options of Acers, Asus’, and some Dells & HP’s for days, until I saw Toshiba’s cool color series. I knew I was getting a good product just by the Toshiba name alone but it’s good to get more reassurances on it, as well. Again, thanks!
Andrei Girbea
January 9, 2011 at 3:19 pm
@Gee where did you buy your N505 from? can’t find it online yet…
ckk
January 9, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Just bought my nb505 online through J&R Music World for $299. They have all the colors as well!
Skigirlsf
March 15, 2012 at 9:55 am
Anyone know when the Toshiba NB520 will be available in the U.S.? Or if?
Mike
March 15, 2012 at 8:25 pm
the nb520 is an older netbook and it was never released in the US