Toshiba Mini NB205-N210 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 9 Hour Battery Life Reviewed by Sajid G. Mulla (USA)
Satisfied Rating (8/10)

I had random problems regarding the trackpad like many others anyways I ran a spyware scan and updated to Vista Home Premium and the problem mysteriously disappeared. Other problems I had is the Function F8 key will not work after you upgrade to Vista and I’m guessing Windows 7. After reading the other reviews I decided to purchase the NB205-N210 model because I didn’t care for the bluetooth or the wireless N feature. The keyboard is nice and big and that was a deciding factor compared to the expensive model.

I pretty much gutted this thing right after I got it. I ordered the combo deal with the Caselogic bag and the 2gig upgrade as soon as I got the memory I installed the 1 gig on my sister’s laptop and everyone is happy. I also have another minor issue the problem is these laptops are plastic so a good slam and bye bye netbook. I would know because I dropped my Toshiba A135 S4527 laptop and things hasn’t been the same because the hard drive is damaged beyond belief now and the power connector is dead. I would give it a good 2 years before the connector dies but it is in the side and accessible so it shouldn’t be a problem because they improved the design, so my guess is it will last longer hopefully.

Battery life is a good 8 hours with Vista probably slightly longer with XP I’m assuming it will be better after I get the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade from the mail. Updating the netbook to Vista and running the compatibility wizard will be helpful the Toshiba website has all the drivers if you need the network config program you will have to go to the nb205-230 model and download it from there for Windows 7 otherwise every other driver is there for the newer operating system so downloading and installing the windows 7 drivers for Vista shouldn’t be a problem since Windows 7 is based on the same kernel.

I also ordered a DVD reader and burner with this netbook for 50 dollars so installing Office and Vista was a breeze. I haven’t tested a DVD with the VLC player that a previous reviewer recommended so I can’t comment on it.

If you want a full experience it will cost 500-600 dollars to get things the way you want. I also wished they didn’t install Microsoft Works but I guess they have to cut out some program and add useless ones to make a profit.

I ran an antispyware program and it detected spyware on the laptop maybe that is why people are having random problems with the trackpad, but ever since I upgraded to Vista and after scanning the netbook with IObit 360 that detected the offending trojan the problem went away.

The trackpad is sensitive but its not that bad the problem is its a design flaw I had the same problem with my previous Toshiba laptop, but I somehow managed to fix it this time. The battery also protrudes out of the back of the netbook which isn’t a problem with the caselogic bag I bought but the bag only has one compartment to hold the power adapter carrying a drive is not possible since it doesn’t have enough dimensions to make it fit.

Except for the minor qualms I am very happy I’m only waiting for my 50 dollar Vista 7 Home Upgrade I bought from here. The included HDD protection is a very handy utility. I suggest you prepare in advance like I did if your preparing to upgrade to Windows 7 otherwise it will be a very long day. I suggest people don’t do what I did unless your an experienced computer user who likes experimenting with your hardware. You will lose the ability to turn off the wireless using the FN F8 key until Toshiba comes out with a newer bios fix if you do upgrade, and if you care about that feature then please do not upgrade to Windows 7 or Vista.

Also with newer models coming out I expect they will soon discontinue this model so get it while you can.

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