18 Jul
Toshiba Mini NB255-N245 10.1-Inch Black Onyx Netbook (8 Hour Battery Life)
Toshiba Mini NB255-N245 10.1-Inch Black Onyx Netbook (8 Hour Battery Life) Review
Let’s get real here. Netbooks ARE NOT replacements for those of you folks who should be shopping for a NOTEBOOK. Having owned at least 4 Toshiba notebooks in the past and currently on my first Sony notebook, I’d expect those machines to do the heavy lifting… serious Photoshopping, DV editing, CAD modelling, rendering, moderate gaming, etc. It’d be irresponsible to ding netbooks on how inadequate they are at these tasks. With this in mind, the Toshiba NB305-N440 fills a very helpful role for those of you who already have a full-fledged notebook or desktop chugging away in the background.
The Toshiba netbook’s 3lb weight and size makes it incredibly portable, handleable, and stowable. Grab it single-handedly at the palmrest, grab it at the hinges, or scoop it up from underneath; it’s construction feels sturdy and solid where you don’t have to worry about something falling off from this kind of abuse. For you existing notebook users, ever feel like you’re devoting 80% of your backpack to carrying around that bohemoth… or how about trying to use a 15″ screen on the dining tray in the cattle-section of an economy flight? ESPECIALLY when you’re just using it to compose a few paragraphs for a meeting, class, or email rant? The NB305 netbook remedies this exactly. The 10.1″ screen can be comfortably angled away from you even when the passenger in front decides to stay reclined throughout the flight. Size and weight. Advantage? Netbook.
Unlike other netbooks, Toshiba’s NB305 has a design that accomodates a 6-cell battery as standard. No outrageous goofy protrusion as in HP and Sony’s extra-cost offering. With the lid closed, the whole package remains as svelte and stowable as lesser competitors with their 3-cell designs. And BECAUSE the Toshiba NB305 has a 6-cell Li-Ion as standard, real-world usage equates to a 5-7 hour run-time with the brightness set at max while pounding away at tasks that make the hard drive thrash around. Coming from a decade of using 2-hour notebooks, its amazing to be away from an AC outlet for that long.
How about useability for a 1.66ghz machine? With the Microsoft-imposed configuration of 1gig RAM, I had my doubts about Windows 7 Starter edition. It turns out the NB305-N440 boots into the desktop in a reasonable amount of time and simple websurfing, emailing chores are handled without issue. Sites that make use of Flash like Hulu, Youtube, and a myriad of other flash-navigation stuff is very surfable on this netbook. The VGA webcam offers adequate resolution and has a wide enough capture angle to make this netbook suitable for video Skyping. Where it falls short is the speaker volume. This is pandemic of all netbooks. When in the boundaries of your personal space, the dinky speakers are barely audible enough for a conversation in all but the emptiest of coffee shops. Those of you hoping to give one of these to grandma as a dedicated Skype device should hope grandma doesn’t mind wearing headphones. No issues with the netbook’s mic as the other party will hear you fine. Did this netbook slow down? Eventually. By the time I had Skype fired up, two tabs in IE8 loaded on sizeable pages and a THIRD tab buffering a show on Hulu, the 1gig ram had to swap stuff into the hard drive. Bumping up to 2gigs DDR3 RAM would help, but you’ll have to yank out the existing one.
At first unboxing, the Toshiba NB305-N440’s brightness is set midway; passable, but not something I’d want to scowl at for more than an hour. Crank up the brightness settings and the Toshiba’s efficient LED backlit screen shows itself to be very crisp, very readable, quite bright. The next several hours was spent installing personal stuff, Win7 updates (224megs), and removing the thankfully small amount of Toshiba bloatware. All that time the bright screen was legible and comfy on the eyes. Even after Windows Update did everything it wanted, the netbook still booted up in the same 40-ish second span. That’s kinda impressive considering they’re still using a non-SSD traditional hard drive. Part of this can be attributed to the reduced amount of OS baggage in Windows 7 Starter edition. On that note, there was hardly anything I missed in this OS-lite. Can’t change the wallpaper? No big deal. The only plausible nit here is that Win7 Starter lacks multiple user accounts… so those hoping to lock things down and hand it to their tots might have to upgrade beyond “Starter Edition”.
The heat vent on the left side emitted therms about the equivalent of holding your hand up near a fluorescent desklamp. It’s there, but in no way bothersome.
While Senor Jobs positions his iPad to be a “consumption” device, there are those of us who wish to stay productive and the reason for a netbook’s existence is to sport that keyboard. The Toshiba NB305 netbooks don’t disappoint here. Touch-typists will appreciate chicklet keys that feel as nicely spaced as all the other keyboards they’ve worked on. Toshiba saved space by narrowing the traditionally long caps-lock, shift, and enter keys. The touchpad is nice too… full-size just like most big-boy notebooks. Possibly the biggest of ANY netbook. Dedicated left and right buttons are in the appropriate expected spot.
The last and most prominent nit is that the NB305 lacks built-in Bluetooth. Bluetooth would allow the Toshiba netbook to simultaneously control a mouse, feed a wireless headset, and transfer files between your smartphone. Being internal, it wouldn’t eat up a USB slot. Alas, neither the preconfigured units or ToshibaDirect offers internal Bluetooth in their netbooks. (Oddly, the Bluetooth SOFTWARE stack is already installed) The only recourse is their low-profile USB Bluetooth 2.1 dongle. Speaking of USB, one of the three slots on this netbook offers power even when the machine is off. This means only having to carry a USB charge cable for your phone instead of a larger dedicated wallwart when travelling lite.
This leaves the last de rigueur issue, High Definition. It’s seems the rage to pair up HD with netbooks nowadays. I’m one of the biggest HD snobs out there, but after using a netbook for several hours, forcing HD into a netbook form factor is just pointless… moreso when it only serves to kill the battery life with its high CPU/GPU requirement and the high-capacity battery requirement itself. Being able to stay productive for a 6-hour stretch on a Toshiba netbook trumps the notion of hunching over a 10″ screen squinting at a “high definition” file for two hours. If I’m missing a show, I’m willing to “settle” for a 480P stream from Hulu on a Toshiba NB305-N440 rather than give up two thirds the amount of battery life in some of these HD netbooks. Need a portable high-definition playback machine? Get a full-fledged notebook; full-HD widescreen, larger/louder speakers, blu-ray drive. I suggest this from first-hand experience.
Need to be productive while staying highly mobile? This Toshiba NB305-N440 is appropriate for THAT task. I can’t really ding it for lack of internal Bluetooth now that Toshiba offers their low-profile dongle. Yes it takes up a precious USB port, but it’ll make up for it by its versatility in handling a (Bluetooth) mouse, headset, smartphone, pen tablet, etc. The streamlined 6-cell battery and other forward-thinking features like LED backlight, USB charging, diminuitive AC adapter, and draft-N WiFi makes this a well-focused netbook. In its pricepoint, the NB305-N440 netbook offers a great degree of functionality out-of-the-box, exudes a good amount of sturdiness, comes with a 3 year warranty, and is born from a company that’s been into mobile computing for nearly two decades now.
Toshiba Mini NB255-N245 10.1-Inch Black Onyx Netbook (8 Hour Battery Life) Feature
- 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N455 processor
- 1 GB DDR2 RAM
- 160 GB SATA hard drive
- 10.1-inch LED backlit widescreen display; Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 video processor
- Microsoft Windows 7 Starter, 8.3 hours of battery life
Toshiba Mini NB255-N245 10.1-Inch Black Onyx Netbook (8 Hour Battery Life) Overview
Enjoy the lighter, brighter side of mobility with our affordable, super-compact NB255 netbook – a stylish companion PC offering amazing freedom and smart, comfort-driven features for light, on-the-go computing. Thanks to excellent high-speed connectivity, the renowned Intel Atom processor, and up to an eight-hour battery life rating, this innovative best-in-class netbook lets you enjoy all the benefits of today’s fast-moving digital world, putting you in touch with your favorite people, sites, networks and media in ways and places you never imagined. Though small enough to throw in a purse or bag, it comes with a 10.1-Inch diagonal LED display, and provides smart features and design to enhance your mobile life – like a full-size keyboard and touchpad. Brilliantly styled in Celestial Black, it picks up where smart phones leave off, and makes many of today’s netbooks run a distant second.
Toshiba Mini NB255-N245 10.1-Inch Black Onyx Netbook (8 Hour Battery Life) Specifications
Toshiba Mini NB255: Stylish, Highly Portable Netbook
Enjoy the lighter, brighter side of mobility with the affordable, super-compact Toshiba Mini NB255-N245, which weighs less than 3 pounds, is small enough to throw in a purse or bag, and offers a brightly colorful 10.1-inch LED-backlit screen. It features a full-size keyboard for comfortable typing and a larger touchpad with Multi-Touch Control, which enables you to navigate documents, web pages and images more easily.
With up to 8.3 hours of battery life, the Toshiba Mini NB255 offers a full day of computing without a recharge (see larger image). |
Brilliantly styled in Celestial Black (see larger image). |
The NB255 features a comfortable full-size keyboard, plus a full-size touchpad with multi-touch capabilities (see larger image). |
Combining the power of the latest Intel Atom N455 processor and NM10 Express chipset with a six-cell battery for up to 8.3 hours of battery power, you’ll be able to go through an entire day of school, work or errands without worrying about a recharge. The battery pack is neatly hidden under the casing of the netbook to preserve its sleek, ergonomic design.
The Toshiba Mini also features a USB Sleep-and-Charge port, which allows external USB devices such as mobile phones and personal media players to charge from the netbook even when it is turned off. Other features include an integrated webcam and a mono speaker.
This Toshiba Mini comes pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 7 Starter operating system (32-bit version).
Key Features
- 10.1-inch LED backlit widescreen display (1024 x 600-pixel resolution) provides richer colors and clearer definition–perfect for browsing the Internet.
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1.66 GHz Intel Atom N455 processor (512 KB L2 cache, 667 MHz FSB) combines performance and energy efficiency to explore the Internet and stay connected while mobile.
- 160 GB SATA hard drive (5400 RPM)
- 1 GB of installed DDR2 RAM (667 MHz; expandable to 2 GB)
- Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3150 video processor with up to 250 MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory.
- Wireless Connectivity
- With its integrated Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking capabilities, this laptop provides up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range using 802.11n-compatible routers as you would with 802.11g networks. It’s also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found at Wi-Fi hotspots and in older home routers.
- With its integrated Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking capabilities, this laptop provides up to five times the performance and twice the wireless range using 802.11n-compatible routers as you would with 802.11g networks. It’s also backward compatible with 802.11b/g networks (commonly found at Wi-Fi hotspots and in older home routers.
- Included Toshiba Software:
- Toshiba Media Controller offers simplified media sharing. Using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, it lets you share videos, music and pictures from the media library on your laptop with compatible devices in your home entertainment network, or with other compatible laptops and devices, like an Xbox 360 game console. And you can do it all without moving equipment, burning discs or fumbling with cables.
- Toshiba Bulletin Board is an easy-to-use organizational and productivity app that lets you build your own personalized space on your desktop. With Toshiba Bulletin Board, you can quickly and easily manage your to-do lists and calendars, plus create your own custom work area by pinning your favorite photos, documents, links and more.
- Toshiba ReelTime helps you cut down the time it takes to search for files. The easy-to-use app takes traditional text-based file structures one step further to help you find what you’re looking for more quickly. Accessible from your taskbar, it shows you a visual timeline of your recently accessed files–using graphical thumbnails–so you can easily identify and get to your files faster.
- Included Toshiba Utilities:
- USB Sleep and Charge offers a great way to keep your portable electronics powered up without requiring your laptop to be on. With this laptop’s Sleep and Charge USB port, you’ll be able to charge your smart phone, MP3 player, and other portable electronics–all without having to keep your laptop awake.
- USB Sleep and Charge offers a great way to keep your portable electronics powered up without requiring your laptop to be on. With this laptop’s Sleep and Charge USB port, you’ll be able to charge your smart phone, MP3 player, and other portable electronics–all without having to keep your laptop awake.
- Up to 8.3 hours of battery life (6-cell battery; 48 Wh)
- Dimensions & Weight: 10.4 x 8.3 x 1.27 inches (WxDxH); 2.8 pounds
Networking, Connectivity & Expansion
What’s in the boxThis package contains the Toshiba Mini NB255-N245 notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It also comes with the following software:
This laptop is backed by a 1-year limited hardware warranty. |
Microsoft Windows 7 Starter
Microsoft Windows 7 Starter makes small notebook PCs easier to use because it puts less between you and what you want to do–less waiting, less clicking, less hassle connecting to networks. Windows 7 Starter combines the latest in reliability and responsiveness with the familiarity and compatibility of Windows. Some features include:
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Environmental Specifications
- Energy Star 5.0 certified
- Gold EPEAT designation for meeting standards to help reduce its environmental impact.
- RoHS compliant effectively reducing the environmental impact by restricting the use of lead, mercury and certain other hazardous substances
Learn more about Toshiba’s environmental commitment.
Learn More
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25th Anniversary of Toshiba Laptops
This year, Toshiba celebrates its 25th anniversary of innovations and quality in the notebook PC business. Beginning with the launch of the Toshiba T1100, the world’s first clamshell-type, fully functional laptop PC, Toshiba has led the with such innovations as the first laptop with a color monitor in 1991 and a laptop with integrated CD-ROM drive in 1995 (followed by the addition of a DVD drive in 1998). And in 2009, Toshiba unveiled the world’s first ultraportable laptop with 512GB solid state drive.
Today, Toshiba continues to be a leader in eco-friendly manufacturing, with virtually all of its consumer laptops earning EPEAT Gold status for meeting standards that help reduce overall environmental impact.
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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jul 18, 2010 10:48:05
