The Toshiba NB205 is one of the more popular netbooks launched in the second half of 2009 thanks to its large touchpad, roomy keyboard, and stellar battery life. Toshiba recently launched an updated version of the NB205 that ships with Windows 7 Starter Edition and a larger hard drive than earlier models.

In some ways, the new model can be considered an upgrade, since it packs a newer operating system and extra storage space. But there are some down sides as well.

Windows 7 Starter Edition is a stripped down operating system in many ways compared to Windows XP (or Windows 7 Home Premium). And battery life seems to suffer under Windows 7. While the laptop still gets better battery life than most netbooks on the market, tests seem to confirm that the same laptop will run longer under Windows XP than Windows 7.

The model featured in this review is a Toshiba NB205-N330BL. It has a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, 1GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive, 802.11b/g WiFi and Windows 7 Starter Edition. It’s available from Amazon for $420.

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Kevin Tofel from jkOnTheRun picked up a Toshiba Mini NB205 the other day. While the netbook superficially has a lot in common with the MSI Wind U100 he’s been using for the last year, it has a few major differences. First, it has a much wider touchpad, but it also has a chiclet-style keyboard and a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, which has a faster FSB speed than the 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor used in the Wind U100.

What does that mean in terms of performance? Kevin ran the same benchmarks on both systems and found that the Toshiba laptop scored about 7% better than the MSI Wind U100. And while both netbooks have 5400 RPM hard drives, the read/write speeds were faster on the Toshiba netbook.

He also found that when he adjusted the netbook to “long life” mode, which cranks down the power and increases the battery life, the benchmark performance was significantly lower. Check out jkOnTheRun for all the details.

Top: Sony Vaio Mini W / Bottom: Toshiba Mini NB206

At first glance, the Sony Vaio Mini W and Toshiba Mini NB205 have a lot in common. I mean, sure, all Intel Atom powered netbooks have a lot in common. They typically have 9 or 10 inch screens, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drives, and run Windows XP. But these two models also have chiclet-style keyboards and a choice of 3 or 6 cell batteries. The Sony laptop does come with a higher resolution 1366 x 768 pixel display, but the Toshiba reportedly gets better battery life.

For a closer look, you might want to check out a recent YouTube video uploaded by user Tinhte. The video’s not in English, but you can get a pretty good idea of the size and styling of these two netbooks. Both have touchpads with two distinct buttons. The Toshiba appears to be a bit larger overall, but it has the wider touchpad of the two, and it also has owhat I think is a more professional look to it. Some of the keys on the keyboard are also located in different spots on each machine.

You can check out the video after the break.

via Netbooked

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The Toshiba Mini NB205 may be just a rebranded Toshiba Dynabook UX or Toshiba Mini NB200. But it’s also happens to be Toshiba’s first entry into the US netbook market. The company’s Satellite NB100 was never released in the United States. And that might not be such a bad thing. By all accounts, the new model has a better keyboard, a larger screen, and spectacular battery life.

Laptop Magazine’s Joanna Stern has published a detailed review of the NB205. And while on paper it looks a lot like other netbooks, with a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1GB of RAM (expandable to 2GB), and 160GB hard drive. But this 10.1 inch netbook delivers 8.5 hours of battery life on a single charge.

Stern was also impressed with the netbook’s design, praising the attractive lid and case.

The NB205 will set you back $399 if you want the version with the 6 cell, 8.5 hour battery. A 3 cell version will also be available for $349 soon, but that model will only come in black and will get approximately half the battery life.