If laptops were cars, then Toshiba would most definitely be Toyota. Every year, they manage to manufacture millions of units ranging from the really affordable to the mind-boggingly expensive, while maintaining a consistent standard of quality and innovation. Thus, when I had the chance to toy around with the Toshiba NB100, I was really optimistic about it. Unfortunately, I just ended up getting really disappointed.
So, what happened to that Toshiba’s entry unit to the netbook world? Most likely, it’s an effect of rushing to get into the bandwagon. This laptop is not worthy of Toshiba standards, as it looks more like a bunch of parts from models that came during the 1980’s. What bothers me is that I know they could have made it better; they just didn’t exert enough effort.
The standard boring netbook blueprint is followed by the NB100, but I feel like I should pass by them nonetheless. You get: An Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, a hefty 120GB of hard drive, and Windows XP Home for your OS. There are three USB ports, 802.11g Wi-Fi, webcam, and so on and so forth. it’s no secret: Specs-wise, netbook are not too different from each other. That is why each brand tries to bring something unique in terms of outward appearance, comfortability, and longevity.
The design looks really old-fashioned, but at least it’s going to find some appeal from those who have a thing for that. I personally remember a time when all laptops were black and nondescript; it would have been nice if they kept the old-fashioned plastic skin, too, because the glossy finish just attracts fingerprints. Why do these companies keep using that?
Lift the glossy lid, and be amazed at how they continually manage to remind you of an era long gone. The keyboard looks very vintage, except that you don’t see vintage keyboards this small anywhere. In an effort to put in the function keys, they effectively reduced the size to that of the EEE 700 series from before.
The trackpad likewise felt undersized. I did at least find the length of the buttons smart; the left and primary button was longer than the less-frequently used right button. However, these buttons were also guilty of being too thin, and you’d have to almost use your fingernails to click them properly.
If there is one piece of innovative design that I found from the NB100, it’s the small strip of status bar that you’ll find just beneath the trackpad. It is in plain sight, so you can easily check out the processes that the netbook is currently doing.
Aesthetics aside, a Toshiba NB100 will run as well as you’d expect an Intel Atom based machine should. Unfortunately, it also suffers from a non-standard 4-cell battery – you can only use this outdoors for three to four hours. So even if you do not care about the physical appearance at all, I can’t rightly recommend this for the lack of a portability brought upon by its short battery life.
