Toshiba Mini NB255 – solid laptop for under $300

If you’ve read my list of best 10 inch mini laptops, you probably noticed that the Toshiba NB305 is my favorite netbooks in that class at the moment, and probably will be for a while. However, the NB305 runs for around $370 in the States right now and if you don’t afford that price tag, Toshiba has another option for you: the Mini NB205 .

You can consider this Toshiba NB255 a follower for the NB205 line, which is in fact the netbook I have since early 2009 and still works OK, although I’m not using it as much as I did, after I got a tablet netbook. Still, that device was solid, nicely built and reliable, I can guarantee that.

So, the NB205 inherits the shape and construction details from the previous generation. That means a combination of glossy/matte plastic is used for the entire body and battery sticks out in the back, unlike on the new NB305, which was redesigned. The glossy finish on the lid is fine, as it is textured and fingerprints won’t stick as on smooth designs. Under the hood there’s matte plastic (textured on palm rest) and the same glossy 1024 x 600 px display.

Toshiba Mini Nb255: inherited looks and flat keyboard from previous generation

The keyboard and trackpad on the NB255 are the same as on the older Mini too. If the trackpad is great, decently sized (3.1 by 1.6 inch) and with two independent click buttons, keyboard is just average, as it comes with a standard flat design, while modern ones come with chiclet styled keyboards. Of course, it ain’t by far as good as the one on the NB305, but it is still fairly good, with good feedback and less to no flex. You do get some cramped design on the right part, around the arrow keys.

So on the outside, not much has changed for the Toshiba Mini NB255. However, under the bonnet is the latest series of Atom hardware, with the 1.66 GHz N455 processor, 1 GB of DDR3 memory, GMA 3150 graphics and 160 GB storage space. Translated in terms of performance, this configuration is OK for standard every day tasks and applications, but will have problems facing multitasking or HD multimedia content, like all similarly equipped netbooks do. In terms of connectivity, there’s Wireless N and Fast Ethernet on this mini laptop, but no Bluetooth.

You also get a 6 Cell battery on the NB255, which is enough for around 6.5 hours of life. That’s less than my NB205 could do when new, but this comes with better hardware. And also less than what other cheap netbooks can offer these days, like the Asus 1001P, HP Mini 210 or the Acer AO532g .

Glossy textured lid and battery sticking out in the back for the Toshiba NB255

Now, it ain’t all milk and honey with the NB255. The guys at laptopmag.com got the chance to give it a spin and while enjoying its solid quality and nice design, above the average performance and good price, they considered battery life, speakers and webcam quite poor. Not to mention you only get the standard flat keyboard, which for me it a no no, especially on small computers like this that come with a 92% Full Size one.

Speaking of price, this Toshiba NB255 goes in the States for around $290 . That’s 25% cheaper than the NB305 and other top 10 inch netbooks, so if you’re on a budget, it might be a good pick. Still, like with all budget computers, I feel that you’d be making making some unwanted compromises and give up some features and details you’ll later regret not having. I for one don’t buy computers everyday, so considering I will have the mini laptop for at least a year, I would for sure add the extra 50-70 bucks and get one of the best. But that’s just me.

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Tags: 10" netbook, budget netbook, cheap netbook, Toshiba netbooks

Last updated: August 14, 2010 | Published: August 14th, 2010 | Add the first comment!