Toshiba Netbook
A week or so ago, I had pondered whether to buy a netbook computer to use while traveling. I decided to do so, and bought one of the Toshiba models. I bought a Toshiba N205-N312BL model to get Windows XP and the relatively larger keyboard. So far, I like it.
The screen is smaller than the 15.4 inch widescreen Dell XPS1530 on which I’m typing now, but the system sure is slim! I’ve been carrying it to work in my laptop bag, usually with my work laptop. I do notice the extra weight (2 pounds or so), but not all that much. The computer is about the size of a slim hardcover book and probably doesn’t weigh much more than that.
Its processor is less powerful than what I’ve been buying the last two or three years, to be sure, but it seems to run Windows XP just fine. I installed Office 2007 on it as well as ActiveWords and I don’t notice any slowness. I needed to connect through my network and load the installation CD for Office into another computer, but that worked very well.
I went with a Windows XP model because Windows 7 Starter Edition seemed too much dumbed down. You can’t do some rather basic things on it, like change the desktop wallpaper – and I like having nature scenes on my wallpaper. It just seemed to feature deprived. I could have updated to a better version of Windows 7, and I kind of wanted to do that, but I was worried that the 1GB of ram, in particular, might cause problems. It surely doesn’t for Windows XP.
Battery life is phenomenal. Specs say the netbook will run for 9 hours on a battery charge and I believe it! I haven’t been bothering to take the power cord with me to work, which is nice. My collection of cords is impressive enough without this one.
The speakers – or rather speaker – leave something to be desired. I bought an inexpensive set of speakers that I take with me when I travel. They plug into the headphone jack and give enough sound to let me play music in my hotel room.
So far, I like the system a lot. We’ll see how well it does with my first trip.
Thanks to everyone who commented.
Filed under: General
I’ve got one also, and I love most of its aspects. What kind of speakers do you use? I bought some cheap ones on ebay and they aren’t any louder than the built in speaker. Thanks for any info!
They are non-descript, inexpensive speakers I bought at Radio Shack for less than $20. I could find only a picture of them on the Radio Shack site here: http://www.radioshack.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=2222882 (they are the triangular speakers pictured in the CD Player Accessories link.
I suspect they are close to these, currently on the Radio Shack site: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3777723
They are powered only from the laptop (or MP3 player) and project just a bit better than my work laptop. I suspect they’ll be a bit better than the netbook as well. I like them because they’re small, so I can take them with me when I travel without sacrificing much space or weight.