Rating:

This was purchased to do the “light” daily stuff like web surfing and simple word processing in place of a 14″ HP laptop. The size and weight difference is great. I can hold my sleeping newborn in one hand and carry this thing around in the other with ease.

The 92% keyboard is easier to adjust to than I anticipated. The touchpad (my first experience with an Asus) is very responsive. Wish it had a scroll bar like my HP but the Asus method of swiping 2 fingers to scroll gets the job done well enough. On the same note the way Asus allows you to zoom in and out on web pages and pdfs by using the touchpad (iphone-style) is handy.

To date I have not had any real performance issues with 1GB of ram but I plan on updating to 2GB just to help free up some memory that is sucked up by background apps like AVG etc.

Battery life is tremendous.

Built-in webcam and mic works fine with Skype.

There is no active cooling (no fan) which keeps it quiet.

Windows 7 Starter is a little bleh. Though you can change the wallpaper with a free download from Asus, the customization options with Starter are limited.

The only thing I am not crazy about is the display–it is not bad, just not great. The picture is not particularly vivid. I know some higher-end netbooks are offering better resolutions now, but I don’t think it warrants the extra cost.

Oh, and like all computers these days the time it took to uninstall all the garbage that comes preloaded is ridiculous. Par for the course I guess.

All in all I am pleased with this purchase. The price seems reasonable and, frankly, my wife is happy so I am too. I would just keep in mind that you are purchasing a netbook, not a laptop, so don’t be surprised by the performance limitations.

UPDATE:

Installed a 2gb stick of ram from Crucial last night with no problems. Per someone else’s post, I disabled BootBooster in the Bios, started the OS, powered off, installed the RAM, started the OS, restarted and turned BootBoost back on, and started the OS. No problems.

Rating:

Pros:

- Nice feel of the keyboard. Firm and the spacing between the keys did not affect my typing in any way.

- Attractive cover (I bought the blue colored unit) and look to the machine.

- Fairly painless installation. The first boot took about 10 min or so, and updating the latest files for Windows 7 starter took about 30 min, not too bad.

- Based on the 1GB ram usage, surfing the web was a breeze. Watching videos on youtube or playing flash-based games all was fine. But at times I did notice some hiccups when many programs were running so I opted to upgrade to 2GB (see below edit for info).

- Battery life was very very decent. On a full charge on the high performance mode I managed about 7-8 hours.

- Quick charge time for battery.

- Very nice touchpad. Very responsive.

- Great price point for people looking to do very basic stuff on the computer.

Mehs:

- Screen resolution was ok. Not really up to part with the higher end counterparts.

- Camera is standard 0.3Mb quality

- Unit is not as ‘sleek’ compared to my old S-101, which was definitely lighter, more slender, and didn’t feel as ‘bulky’ of sorts vs the 1005PE

- Click button below touch pad a bit clunky.

Cons:

- Windows 7 starter blows. It’s fine if you’re just going to use this netbook to do basic stuff like surf the web, send emails, or play games on facebook. But not recommended if you’re looking to do more extensive things with the netbook.

- Did I tell you Windows 7 blows? Serious lack of customization. It’s lame that you can’t even change your desktop wallpaper without downloading some other app to circumvent the problem. Dumb you can’t personalize fonts etc.

- Does not include even a basic cloth cover for the netbook. Even in my previous S101 unit they included at least a cheap little cover for the netbook.

- Finger print magnet. Better have clean hands when holding this laptop!

- Feels kind of heavy. It looks small, but weighs more than you think. Definitely outweighs my old S101 by a fair margin. (And boots a bit slower than my old S101, though my old OS was XP, which I still think was great to use).

Summary

- Great computer for price conscious folks

- Great computer for people not looking to do much more than just surf the web, send emails, do basic stuff like type papers etc.

- Is just fine if you can live with the (many) bare-bones limitations of Windows 7 starter.

- Won’t blow you away, but is a decent all around machine at a reasonable price point

**EDIT 6/25/10**

I would also like to point out that I decided to upgrade the RAM on this netbook. It was partially because I wasn’t too thrilled with the performance of Windows 7 (I still ABSOLUTELY HATE the lack of customization options on the starter OS. COME ON MICROSOFT!!!). But also I noticed sometimes things got a bit sluggish when I ran multiple programs.

Anyway I just want to point out I bought the 2GB RAM from Kingston = Kingston ValueRAM 2 GB 800MHz PC2-6400 DDR2 CL5 SODIMM Notebook Memory (KVR800D2S5/2G) (Link Below):

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00102A066/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

I would strongly recommend anybody who wants a bit more out of this netbook to consider upgrading the memory. I noticed a nice difference in performance after my upgrade. VERY VERY HAPPY that I did so.

For those of you who aren’t aware – the Asus memory comes with 1GB RAM that’s upgradable to 2GB. There’s only 1 memory slot so you will have to take out the old chip.

To do so – (REMEMBER UNPLUG COMPUTER AND REMOVE BATTERY BEFORE STARTING THIS PROCESS)

1. Remove the single screw from the memory casing on the bottom of th netbook.

2. Remove the old chip (carefully since it comes out at an angle)

3. Insert new chip carefully (again at an angle somewhat) and make sure it snaps into place.

4. Put battery back on, turn on computer, press F2 upon powering up to get into bios and make sure computer recognizes memory.

5. All done.

- Note the kingston memory chip had none of the issues that other users previously noted with other brands. At least I didn’t experience any hiccups. 2GB does make a difference.

Rating:

The camera hole in the back is not stitched but the edges were melted cheap and not a long term way to finish it.

the insert for rigidity are made of cardboard.

This case will probably last 6 month at the most.

Rating:

Buying a netbook came after many months of deliberation and review. My first intent was to buy a e-reader, but after seeing few at the local coffee shop and other gathering places, I considered that I would get more versatility with a netbook, and still have access to reading, if that was really what I wanted. But what to buy?

Like most purchases, my first reviews started on YouTube and followed the Internet trail. Spend any time at all, and it soon becomes apparent that the Toshiba NB305 and the Asus Eee 1005 are always at the top, both interchangeable from one moment to the next.

After getting teched-to-death I eventually decided (all things being equal) there were four things important to me that seemed to stand out with the Toshiba over the Asus:

1- The keyboard. Toshiba claims that their keyboard is closer to a full-sized keyboard and I tend to agree. It only took a short time for me to get the feel of the Toshiba board and I am quite comfortable with it. I’m a very rapid typer and I didn’t want to waste time hunting and pecking.

2- Durability. The Toshiba “feels” more secure. I bought the brown version, and the aluminum face around the keyboard and the cover strike me as being sturdier. I have no basis for whether it is or not, but first impressions……… the Toshiba also has a feature that puts the hard-drive into a “locked” or safe mode if the computer is jarred, and I understand that is a beneficial function to me. Makes sense.

3- Fingerprints. I know, a pretty lame reason for buying one over the other, but the truth be known that when I looked at both models for the first time I couldn’t help but notice just how badly smudged the Assus was. That certainly wasn’t a problem with the Toshiba. Combine it with the overall feel of the Toshiba and I really felt that the Assus was more cheaply built. I may be overreacting, but that seems to be a comment made by numerous reviewers.

4- Battery life. Both state that you can get 10-11 hours of battery life, and you may. At this point, I have gotten around 9-10, but I can’t say if that is standard. I was loading programs onto the system and that may have attributed to a drain on the battery. I downloaded a battery “gadget” and it says my battery life is around 8.5…we’ll see. I’ve not completely drained the battery and really don’t foresee the time when I will. Four consistent hours on a computer will surely suffice for me.

What don’t I like:

Keep in mind that a netbook is what it is. Windows Starter won’t allow you to change the wallpaper on your screen (unless you want to get really hi-tech and likely really screw up your computer) so what you see is what you get. No biggy. I’ve taken it to some local Wi-Fi hangouts and it connects easily to the Internet. The internal mouse works fine, but I’m not a big fan of those things… I’m working on it… so I have connected a regular one. It works fine and I have the option of one over the other.

The bigger pain is that they don’t have a recovery disc. The Assus has a function that allows you to restore you computer by striking the F9 button several times, but no such luck with the Toshiba. Also remember that you don’t have a CD drive. You have to add an external one if you intend on adding any programs from discs. You can get one for around $60 bucks, but you may only use it only a few times. I should have thought of that. I got around that by loading a program onto an external drive on my larger PC, downloading it to a flash drive, and using that to load onto my netbook. Time consuming, but it worked. I don’t know if that process will work on every program.

Right now my netbook is fun. I’m happy with the purchase of the Toshiba, and feel like for $50 more, it was worth it for the physical comfort I get over the Asus. I watched some YouTube and some streaming video, and it worked fine. My general purpose for getting it was to access the Internet and word processing. For that purpose, it does fine.

Rating:

I am not going to describe all its features, since many of the reviewers have done that admirably. You should read the reviews at CNET, PCMag, LaptopMag, Consumer Reports, etc. Definitely go to a site where you can twirl the thing around in 360 so you can see it from all angles, see the ports, and appreciate the layout. Better yet, go to a store and handle it.

Some people complained about receiving units DOA. Others about esthetics. There is nothing in the World that pleases everyone. I don’t know how many of these things are assembled everyday. In statistics, one in one hundred is considered zero. So, even with the strictest quality control there will be some potential lemons. Mine arrived in mint condition, fired up and worked like a charm within a few minutes and it has been functioning flawlessly for the last several months. I got rid of all the bloatware, boosted the RAM to 2 gigs for less than $50, installed the software I needed, got a folding full-size keyboard, a small wireless mouse, a light foldable elevator stand and, voila, I have a nice little ergonomic workstation on the move. I already had an external DVD-ROM drive for installing my own software. I can work a full day without worrying about needing to recharge the battery; I hook up automatically to any available WiFi network, do all the work I need to do, all in comfort, no fuss, no muss. I am eminently pleased with the NB305′s performance, its utility, its esthetics (I dislike those shiny things that are magnets to finger prints, so I won’t get an iPhone either), and its comfort. The keyboard is excellent, if I choose to use it, the screen is large enough for my trifocals, I don’t get any glare, but then I don’t set it up with the screen facing lights or a window.

The NB305 is a perfect little device that does exactly what it’s supposed to do and does it better than most others in its class. Personally, I am delighted with my purchase and the more I use this little machine the more I like it.

Rating:

I purchased the machine primarily as a personal and entertainment machine while travelling for business. I am able to keep it next to my full size work laptop while responding to email or other tasks and easily “jump” over to it to access Gmail or Facebook (prohibited on the company issued laptop). I have also used it to stream Netflix while in a hotel with little issue, any issues were mainly to poor wifi coverage in the room.

Toshiba has done a very nice job of setting up a variety of very useful Function+F key shortcuts. Mute,Lock,Sleep,Power Mode,Hibernate,Brightness,Wifi can all be accessed with a quick keystroke.

The sleep mode actually works very well and “wakes” to a ready to use state in mere seconds.

Win7 Starter is really not bad, little functionality has been removed so as to keep the user from bogging down the system with too many option but still I find very usable and you really don’t miss the removed functions. You can look a very good comparison matrix by Paul Thurrott at his Winsupersite Website

Since this machine is upgradeable to 2GB of RAM I most likely will just to pepp it up a but right now I LOVE THIS MACHINE and recommend it highly to anyone, even if a little on the pricey side!

***UPDATE 2/7/10***

I’ve been using this machine for several weeks now and am completely satisfied so far. I have had no problems what so ever. I intend to upgrade to 2GB of RAM but have not yet and can only believe the performance will get better. On the heaviest days of usage I can usually get 7-8 hours on the battery. I have been using this machine to stream Netflix usually without issue with a strong WIFI signal. I have installed Office 2007 and have not had any problems. I have Skype installed but have not used it for voice calls yet. I will be taking this to Mexico. I will update again on the performance then!

Toshiba Mini NB305-N410BL 10.1-Inch Royal Blue Netbook