4 New Netbooks : Toshiba NB200
3. Toshiba NB200
The Screen
Why choose a glossy panel for a device designed for portability? This is a question to which we still have no convincing answer from manufacturers who obstinately repeat that this is what the public wants. We don’t agree: glossy screens might look good but they’re inconvenient to use and we much prefer matte technology. In terms of screen quality, you’ll find the usual: poor contrast ratio (210:1), strong tendency towards blue tones, closed viewing angles from above and below. The only consolation is here the panel is more responsive than the average. It’s a shame as this isn’t the most important thing on a netbook and we would have preferred better adjusted colours. Particularly as we didn’t manage to calibrate the panel ourselves due to an unexplained bug in our calibration software. We are therefore unable to offer a calibration profile for this model.
We were delighted to receive the NB200, Toshiba’s second foray into the netbook world. We gave the first, the NB100, an average rating. Toshiba were not discouraged however (all the better) and are now offering a second cutting, announced as high-end, compact but also nicely designed, without making any concession to performance. 
- mini NB205-N210...
Handling, design and build
Elegant it is too! Definitely a word that comes to mind when you look at this machine. We appreciate the choice of matte colours for the plastic casing (imitation brushed metal). This gives a professional overall feel that is indeed high-end and would not be out of place on your desk.
The keys on the keyboard are slightly raised from the casing and well spaced, which gives it a very airy overall aspect. The caps and tabulation keys are slightly reduced in size to make space for this, as well as the arrow keys on the right and some other keys. The large touchpad is positioned under the space bar. We did have some difficulties in using it, especially the scroll feature that is difficult to localise on the sides. There are two large buttons under the touchpad for left and right clicks.
Unfortunately the NB200 does make a bit more noise than we would have hoped. The fan brings itself to your attention too regularly as far as we’re concerned. Although noise levels are reasonable, there has been quite a bit of progress made here by the competition and this makes us less indulgent.
The webcam gives a good image, shame, then, that the microphone doesn’t measure up. You can’t hear yourself very well on recordings. Is this because the sound from the speakers is too weak?
On the side of the machine you’ll find: 3 USBs, 1 SD format card reader, 1 VGA and 1 RJ45, which is pretty much standard
There are two panels under the computer. We could only open one of them (the RAM) as the other was closed using a type of star screw for which we didn’t have the right screwdriver. Is this a way of Toshiba telling us that it’s best only to mess around with the RAM?
Processor Power
No miracle here, results are the same, or almost the same as you get on other netbooks. The core of the machine is still an Atom, an N280 this time. In practice, this doesn’t change much if you compare performance with that of a Core 2 Duo. You still have to wait 3 to 6 times as long depending on the operation requested.
Playing films, you’ll have to draw the line at heavy HD files (Blu-Ray type files).
Gaming
Generally speaking, gaming on netbooks is only for real enthusiasts.
Audio
What a great idea to put the speakers under the machine’s casing! Although on some laptops the use of the computer as a surface area to reverberate off can give nice results, here the sound is projected backwards. Great for anyone sitting opposite you, but not you! The headphones socket is fine.
Battery life and portability
1.3 Kg is pretty good for this netbook. However the charger is heavy at 389 g, when you think that Asus makes its chargers at under 200 g. Battery life of 6h10 ensures a top score in this category.
| Specifications | ||||
| CPU | Intel Atom N280 1.66 GHz | Hard Drive | 160 GB | |
| Graphic Chipset | Intel GMA950 | Optical Drive | ||
| RAM | 1 GB | Dimensions | 263 x 211.5 x 32.25 mm | |
| Screen | 10 inches (1024x600) | Weight | 1.3 Kg |
| Pluses | Minuses |
|---|---|
|
|
 Elegant, with a large touchpad and very good battery life, the NB200 is a legimate choice either for Pro or home use. Two points mean we weren’t able to give it top score: its glossy screen and noisiness (louder than the competition). | |
xxxx
That Toshiba looks pretty nice . . .
If you're on the fence about buying a new netbook - wait until next year. The Intel Pine Trail will use half the power of the existing solution - no fan required, lighter, longer battery life
I can't seem to find any info on the MSI Wind U115. Is it in production yet?
@ProDigit80: I have the MSI Wind U130 and that has the 9 cell battery. Check that one out.
Lacking the BlueTooth also means increased battery performance on the ASUS 1005HA Eee Pc.
I ran some benchmarks and give more detail about what you can expect performance wise from the ASUS 1005Ha netbook in this review: http://bit.ly/44CHFm
Quieter than my other 3 laptops.
Purchased this for my daughter to bring back and forth from school. It looks great (dare I say almost Apple-like as we have the white version).
Getting 6+ hours on battery which whomps both my HP laptops.
Not sure where your noise criticism comes from. This Asus is way quieter than either of my HPs or my 1 Dell laptop.
You should re-test another one to be sure.
And the glossy screen works just fine here. No complaints at all.
Anyone who purchases one of these for gaming, blue-ray watching or high quality 7.1 surround sound experience, is in the wrong category. Seems odd to throw into the review like that.