Toshiba Mini NB305 Review

Value for money: 3.5 out of 5 stars

"The Toshiba NB305 is an NB200 with further improved battery life and unexceptionally slow netbook-level performance. Aside from slipping in a new Atom chip and offering coloured textured finishes, Toshiba's designers have only succeeded in making a good netbook feel cheaper by substituting tiny keyboard keys and adding a glitz paint finish"

"... Build quality is excellent, with a durable and attractive chassis holding everything together well. We found the lid showed only a slight degree of flex under pressure, while the hinges are reassuringly solid. ... An energy-saving Atom N450 processor is in place and provides basic office performance for browsing the web or typing up documents. As with most netbooks, the NB305 uses integrated graphics, which provides decent performance for viewing photos and films. ... Overall, the NB305 is a well-built machine that is easy to recommend for its excellent battery life and screen."

"... The NB305's performance is pretty much par for the netbook course. It achieved a PCMark05 benchmark score of 1,272 and a predictably rubbish 3DMark06 score of 156. That means it's suitable for basic tasks like checking emails, surfing the Web and editing documents, but playing the latest 3D games is out of the question. ... The NB305 is a worthy addition to Toshiba's netbook range. Its performance won't shatter your brain into a thousand pieces, but this machine is robust and comfortable to use, while also offering good battery life. Factor in the chic design, and it's a decent all-round package."

Value for money: 6 out of 10 points

"... As there's nothing separating the NB305's hardware from most other netbooks, it performs predictably. Running Windows 7 Starter Edition, which we've found to be a decent replacement for Windows XP, it ticks along okay provided you stick to fairly basic tasks ... However, while some 720p video is playable, it stretches the hardware to the limit. HD flash video, meanwhile, is to be avoided. ... Toshiba has produced another great netbook for those with more refined tastes. It delivers good battery life, looks very stylish and is great to use. However, it's a little on the expensive side and suffers from the same limitations placed on all netbooks."

"Toshiba's latest isn't the cheapest netbook available, but it is one of the most stylish, apart from deluxe beauties like the Nokia Booklet 3G, and it's much cheaper than that. It's decently powered, with exceptional battery life and a very comfortable-to-use keyboard -an aspect sometimes undervalued in a netbook until you spend your first day's frantic typing on it. Little extras like the hard drive protection and easy webcam program make it that bit more enticing, if the great looks didn't have you at hello. Excellent."

"... In use, we found the NB305 perfectly up to the task of productivity applications such as word processing, browsing and email, although it did feel a little sluggish at times. This is possibly a consequence of the sheer number of tools and utilities which loaded into memory whenever our review system booted ... The NB305 updates Toshiba's netbook line with Intel's latest Atom processor, but performance and battery life remain about the same. However, like its predecessor, this system has a better keyboard and screen than you will find on many rivals."

Value for money: "very good" (5 out of 6 stars), "Recommended"

"A little more expensive than the average netbook, but then the NB305 is also a little superior."

"Best Buy"

"... As the NB305 uses Intel's 1.66GHz Atom processor, it has integrated graphics. The GMA 3150 chip isn't particularly powerful and won't allow you to play games but is ideal for the Windows 7 Starter Edition operating system installed. We found that this netbook, along with other N450-based models, was much more responsive, particularly when dragging open windows, than netbooks with the previous generation of Atom and graphics chips. Performance otherwise is largely identical to other netbooks. ... Stunning battery life and some clever hardware and software touches make this the best 10.1in netbook that you can currently buy."