Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I just got my NB205 last Saturday. So these are initial, early impressions.
#1 (terrible first impression): It took all afternoon and into the evening to get the unit talking to my LinkSys WRT54G wireless router. The wireless communication was connected, the router had assigned an IP address, but the NB205 refused to get it. It sat at "acquiring IP address" until it timed out. I have a static IP block reserved on my router, so I gave the NB205 a static IP address and filled in the gateway and DNS server IPs, and it *still* wouldn't talk. In technical parlance, it wasn't just a problem with ARP - the entire transport layer simply wasn't working.
A wired connection to the router worked fine. But that wasn't a workaround that I was prepared to accept.
I researched on the Web and found that various Toshiba models seem to have a lot of trouble with wireless, and that there are probably a hundred different things that people said finally got theirs working.
What finally worked for me was to turn off WEP security on both the router and the NB205. That immediately got them talking, at the expense of breaking all of my other wireless links (two computers and a Wii). Then I turned WEP back on, and they stayed talking. No problems since. EDITED: after over two months, still no problem. It was just the one-time startup.
#2 (good): The battery life is pretty danged long. Maybe not the claimed nine hours, but seven or eight (with WiFi turned off and using power-saver profile). I suspect that a good part of that comes from using an e-IPS display.
#3 (bad but expected): The manual is provided on the hard drive, not in print. The manual is disorganized and mostly useless. This seems to be par for the course for modern computers.
#4 (very slightly bad): The manual says that if you shut the unit down by closing the lid (sleep mode, hibernate, or whatever) that when you open the lid it'll start back up. It doesn't. You have to press the power button. EDITED: It will come back on automatically if you've left it plugged into AC power the whole time. It doesn't if it's unplugged, which for me is pretty much "always".
#5 EDITED: (very annoying until I figured out what was wrong): I had given up on using Sleep/Standby mode because about half of the time when I turned it back on the unit completely rebooted. Hibernate mode always seemed to work. The problem turned out to be that one of the latches for the battery pack wasn't locked, and the netbook would lose power if the unit was lifted in a way that tried to separate the pack from the main unit. So it was my own error, but I learned to pay attention to those latches.
#6 (generally good): I got this netbook specifically for writing. The keyboard seemed to be the best available in the netbook form factor, and I'm finding the keyboard to be quite usable for extended typing sessions. A couple of keys got relocated into funky positions, though. (Maybe other netbook keyboards do the same, I don't know.)
#7 (good): The touchpad is the first one that I've found to be actually usable.
#8 (mildly concerning): I had to turn off the vibration alerts because every time I click the touchpad, it sets off the vibration detector.
So... good keyboard, good touchpad, good display, good battery life. That's what I needed, and it's working out well. But I have collected some scars from the rough edges of getting it set up and the power on/off arrangements.
FIVE DAYS LATER (an update): I'm really enjoying this little guy. I finally got everything configured the way that I want, and I love working with it. My only day-to-day complaint is a silly one: I sometimes write while lying down, with my legs bent and the netbook propped against my legs, and in that position the clicker buttons on the touchpad rest against my belly and tend to click when I don't want them to. :-) I've learned to use Fn-F9 to disable the touchpad while I'm doing that.
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Toshiba Mini NB205-N210 (NB200 series) 10.1-Inch Black NetbookProduct Description
Our affordable, super-compact 10.1-inch Toshiba mini NB205 is a stylish companion PC that raises the bar when it comes to portability. It’s also the first mini laptop that lets you enjoy all the benefits of today’s fast-moving digital world, putting you in touch with your favorite people, sites, networks and digital media in ways and places you never imagined. Though small enough to throw in a purse or bag, it’s designed with smart features like a full-sized keyboard and touchpad, long battery life, USB Sleep-and-Charge ports and a hard drive impact sensor that protects your data. So it picks up where smart phones leave off and makes many of today’s netbooks seem like a waste of time. What’s more, to take the worry out of taking it along, the Toshiba mini NB205 also comes with international limited warranty coverage, plus our award-winning service and support. NOTE: All Toshiba Netbooks (no matter the model) are packaged with the "NB200" series model# on the outside of box.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #381 in Personal Computers
- Size: 10.1
- Color: Black
- Brand: Toshiba
- Model: PLL25U-009018
- Dimensions: 1.27" h x 10.40" w x 7.60" l, 2.93 pounds
- CPU: Intel Atom N280
- Memory: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM
- Hard Disk: 160GB
- Processors: 1
- Display size: 10.1
Features
- Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz Processor
- 1GB DDR2 RAM
- 160 GB Hard Drive
- Windows XP Home, 5800 mAh 6-Cell Battery
- 10.1" Display
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