Toshiba NB505-N508BL 10.1-Inch Netbook 

by Toshiba

Color: Blue, Brown, Green, Orange, Turquoise

Toshiba NB505-N508BL 10.1-Inch Netbook 

Firstly, I recommend to hold off on purchasing memory until you actually receive the netbook. The netbook is being advertised as having DDR2 memory (typically 667 MHz, with a max of 800 MHz memory speed), but when I received the netbook, it came with DDR3 memory. This is actually a good thing, since DDR3 memory typically comes at a speed of 1066 MHz. Unfortunately, when I bought the netbook, I also purchased DDR2 memory from Beach Camera, and have not been able to contact them to return the DDR2 memory. (I called in to get an RA, and the first rep answered then phone just to transfer me back in queue, and the second time no one ever answered.) So I sold my DDR2 memory at a marginal loss, although pleased that I have DDR3 pre-installed. Hopefully people who purchase this netbook will learn from my experience and wait until receipt of the netbook before purchasing memory. 

So far I am pleased with the netbook. I primarily use a 13" Macbook Pro, and I purchased this netbook because I needed a computer to run Windows, and I didn't want to install Windows on my Mac. Netbooks are not meant to be people's primary computers. This is a 1.66 GHz DDR3 netbook for $270 shipped. For faster performance, the user can uninstall the extraneous packaged programs (if you know what you're doing) and install 2GB of DDR3. 

The Toshiba NB505-N508BL netbook actually looks better than I expected based on the pics, and I like the rubberized outside, which helps in gripping the netbook and doesn't capture fingerprints like other netbooks' glossy covers. Futhermore I like the size of the keys, which are the largest of any netbook I've found, although the Eee PC netbooks look like they have similar key size. The initial boot-up took about 10 minutes, during which I plugged in the power cord. When I was done, I found the netbook at 100% charge, which means that the netbook was shipped with a charged battery. That was another pleasant surprise, as some manufacturers ship their netbooks with barely charged batteries. I also like placement of the SD card slot below the mousepad, as well as the one-finger up/down scrolling feature. 

The closest competition to the NB505-N508BL would be the Asus Eee PC netbooks which are about $25 less, but come with a 3-cell battery whereas the Toshiba comes with a 6-cell. The Asus netbooks come with DDR3 (upgradable) memory (just like my Toshiba), and both netbooks also have user-selectable economy modes and non-glossy covers. Considering that Windows in a resource hog, I decided on the Toshiba since it comes with the 6-cell which also helps tilt the back of the netbook slightly upward for easier typing and better cooling. Even with the 6-cell, the NB505-N508BL easily fits in any 10.1" netbook sleeve.

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