The Toshiba NB305 netbook replaced the popular NB205, being fitted out with the Atom N450 processor, a bigger hard drive, improved sleek design and generally making it even better.
The Toshiba NB305 netbook replaced the popular NB205, being fitted out with the Atom N450 processor, a bigger hard drive, improved sleek design and generally making it even better. But what did the people who review netbooks think about it?
We’re rounding up the reviews of the Toshiba NB305 netbook, including the good points, bad points and those niggly areas where reviewers can’t seem to decide, in an effort to sort out the wheat from the chaff.
Reviewers are often a funny bunch, what one reviewer thinks is a brilliant feature, another will believe the opposite. You can’t simply take the opinions and observations of one review so we’ve collected the top 8 reviews for the NB305 to provide the roundup below.
Before we get into the Toshiba NB305′s reviews, let’s remind ourselves of the Toshiba’s specification:
Toshiba NB305 Specification
Intel Atom 1.6Ghz N450 processor
1Gb RAM
250Gb hard drive
10.1 inch WSVGA screen
1024 x 600 pixel resolution
3 x USB ports
Wifi – 802.11b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Webcam
Microsoft Windows 7 Starter Edition
6 cell battery – 11 hours battery life
Weight – 1.33Kg
Go to a comparison of the Toshiba NB305 with the NB300 and NB205.
A specification and comparisons only tell you so much about a netbook so what do the reviewers think? Let’s start with the good points.
Toshiba NB305 Good Points
Design - Most of the reviewers agreed that the NB305′s design was excellent, sleeker than its predecessor with the battery being the main focus of attention now that it extends down rather than bulges out the back of the netbook. Of the 8 reviews, 5 specifically mentioned the design as a good point.
Touchpad - For many netbooks the touchpad is an area of weakness, as the small form factor simply doesn’t allow for a decent touchpad. The NB305 seems to have overcome this to a degree in that it has a large, wide touchpad and excellent mouse buttons. Laptopmag even went as far to describe the touchpad as being in class and 4 other reviewers agreed that the touchpad was excellent.
USB Sleep and Charge Port – Of the Toshiba NB305′s 3 USB ports, one of them allows you to charge other gadgets, such as your mobile phone even when the netbook is off and not in use. This feature is only available on a couple of netbooks and was specifically point out by both Laptopmag and CNet.
Build Quality – Another area that the NB305 excels in is its build quality and sturdy chassis. Both Expert Reviews and CNet UK noted this aspect in their reviews.
Hard Drive Protection – When the NB305 netbook is not in use, the hard drive is locked so that any sudden movement of the netbook does not result in any damage to the hard drive. This feature is often found in ultra portable laptops and is also found in the NB305, something which Pocket Lint felt was a very good thing.
Toshiba NB305 Divided Opinion
Keyboard - This is a strange one in that practically all the reviewers found the NB305′s keyboard to be comfortable to type on and a good keyboard overall. However, the reason that this aspect is in the divided opinion category is that CNet pointed out that the keyboard has awkwardly sized keys for touch-typing although it is wide. I’m not sure if they are comparing that to other netbooks where you can touch-type more easily but it does mean that the opinion on the keyboard is divided.
Battery Life – Another aspect where most reviewers pointed out that the battery life was either great, good or long. And it is, the NB305 regularly trumping other netbooks when it comes to long battery life. In fact, the NB305 is sitting in 4th place in our Longest Battery Life rankings, just behind the NB205 in 3rd place. Unfortunately, this wasn’t good enough for Laptopmag, they found the battery life of the NB305 to be slightly shorter than the NB205 and so listed that as a bad point.
Speakers - This one probably boils down to opinion. Both Laptopmag and CNet felt that the speakers were improved over the previous model. However, Trusted Reviews still felt that the speakers were bad enough to be listed as a bad point. Mostly, people don’t buy netbooks for the quality of their speakers and so this one is probably not a big issue.
Screen - Only TechRadar felt the need to specifically comment on the NB305′s screen as being good whilst both Pocket Lint and Trusted Reviews felt that the glossy screen did suffer from reflections, especially when used outside.
Toshiba NB305 Bad Points
Boot Time – None of the reviewers could really agree on what were the NB305′s bad points and so it comes down to a bit of nit picking to find areas where the NB305 could perhaps be a little better. Laptopmag felt that the boot time was sluggish but none of the other reviewers highlighted this.
HD – CNet obviously thought that the Toshiba NB305 should give you a little more for your money and a HD display should be included.
HDMI Port – PC Pro pointed out that there was no HDMI port.
Expensive – Trusted Reviews commented that the NB305 was a little on the expensive side.
Function Lights – CNet UK whined that the 9 function lights on the front of the NB305 was overkill. They actually listed this as being a bad point, I can’t really see what difference it makes so perhaps it was CNet UK searching for something to mark the NB305 down on (CNet UK gave it 8 out of 10).
Flex on Lid – TechRadar spotted some flex on the lid, nobody else highlighted this point.
Performance – TechRadar also found the performance of the NB305 netbook to be ‘standard’. I think if you put all the standard netbook components in a netbook then the performance will undoubtedly be of a standard nature. I’m not really sure what TechRadar were expecting
Toshiba NB305 Overall Score
Overall Score – 81.6% (compiled from 8 top industry reviews)
This currently places the Toshiba NB305 at an overall position of 15th in our netbook rankings from a total of 66 netbooks.
TechRadar gave the NB305 the worst score with 3.5 stars out of 5 (70%) whilst Expert Reviews thought the NB305 was brilliant and awarded it 5 stars out of 5 (100%). The other reviews were mostly around the 80% area so fairly consistent scoring.
Toshiba NB305 Reviewer Comments and Verdicts:
1. Laptopmag – Now that we’ve tested a fair number of netbooks with Intel’s new Atom N450 (Pine Trail) processor, it’s easy to see that there is a lot of good competition. The ASUS Eee PC 1005PE lasts two hours longer on a charge than the $399 Toshiba mini NB305 and offers better speakers for $20 less. And the Acer Aspire One 532h offers comparable performance and endurance to the Toshiba for $50 less. However, the mini NB305 is still our top pick among consumer netbooks because it’s so comfortable to use that you almost forget that it’s a netbook. It’s keyboard and especially its touchpad are second to none, and to us that’s worth the premium.
2. CNet – With a new Atom processor and a tweaked design, the Toshiba Mini NB305-N410BN is an improvement over the already excellent NB205, at a price that’s identical.
3. PC Pro – A little more expensive than the average netbook, but then the NB305 is also a little superior.
4. Expert Reviews – Stunning battery life and some clever hardware and software touches make this the best 10.1in netbook that you can currently buy.
5. Pocket Lint – 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.
6. Trusted Reviews – 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.
7. CNet UK – The Toshiba NB305 is a thoroughly respectable machine. Its performance is fairly typical for a netbook, but it offers long battery life, a good keyboard, and a robust and attractive design.
8. TechRadar – This netbook updates Toshiba’s lineup and offers impressive portability.
Toshiba NB305 Reviews Used to Compile This Report:
1. Laptopmag – posted their review on 11th January 2010 and gave the NB305 4 stars out of 5.
2. CNet – posted their review on 4th February and gave the NB305 8 out of 10.
3. PC Pro – posted their review on 19th February and gave the NB305 5 stars out of 6.
4. Expert Reviews – also posted their review on 19th February and gave the NB305 5 stars out of 5.
5. Pocket Lint – posted their review on 29th March and gave the NB305 8 out of 10.
6. Trusted Reviews – posted their review on 12th April and gave the NB305 8 out of 10.
7. CNet UK – posted their review on 13th April 2010 and gave the NB305 8 out of 10.
8. TechRadar – posted their review on 15th April and gave the NB305 3.5 stars out of 5.
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