NbC: Toshiba Mini NB200 Review
December 31, 2009 at 10:49 am
Bottom of unit
Toshiba has been quite considerate in supplying easy access to the hard drive, RAM module and Wi-Fi card. There are two main access panels on the bottom of the netbook, one holds the hard drive and wireless card, whilst the other houses the memory module.
The smaller panel holds the RAM module. There is only a single slot here , so if you are planning on upgrading to 2GB RAM you’ll need to the remove the 1GB inside first.
The larger main panel has the hard drive and wlan card. It cannot be removed by a normal screwdriver, instead you’ll need a torx screwdriver to remove the two screws holding it in place.
The battery sits securely in place and doesn’t move once locked properly. The two battery buttons have good grip which means that the battery can be easily removed.
As the battery protrudes at the back, the NB200 manages to maintain a slender profile. Four circular rubber feet adorn the bottom to make sure the netbook doesn’t slip.
The battery itself is one of the largest we’ve seen for a 10-inch netbook.
Dimensions
The Toshiba NB200 measures 26.3cm in width, almost exactly the same as the Asus Eee PC 1005HA (26.2cm). To give you an idea of comparison, the Samsung N120 was 27.2cm wide, the MSI Wind U115 was 26.0 cm and the Asus Eee PC 1000HE was 26.6cm in width.
The NB200 has a depth of 21.2cm. This is one of the largest we’ve tested and is mainly attributed to the 6-cell battery that protrudes from the back. To give you an idea of other netbooks, the Asus Eee PC 1005HA had a depth of 17.8cm, the MSI Wind U115 was 18.0cm; Asus Eee PC 1000HE was 19.1cm and the Samsung N120 was 18.9cm.
The NB200 varies in thickness. At the back where the battery sits, the netbook is at its thickest point at 32.3mm. This compares to the thickness of the Asus Eee PC 1005HA (36.5mm), MSI Wind U115 (31.5mm), Samsung N120 (30mm) and Eee PC 1000HE (38.1mm).
When looking at these pictures, it is worth noting that the ruler does not start from zero. There is a small gap before the gradations start.
At its thinnest point, the NB200 measures 25.4mm. This is broadly average when comparing it to its peers. The Asus Eee PC 1005HA measures 25.9mm, the MSI Wind U115 measures 19.0mm, the Samsung N120 is 20.33mm and the 1000HE is 28.5mm.
Toshiba has a lot to learn from Asus, the masters of small power bricks. The Toshiba NB200 power supply is the largest one we’ve tested to date, measuring 41mm (W) x 95mm (H) x 27mm (D).
This compares against the tiny one in the Asus Eee PC 1005HA at 34mm (W) x 85mm (H) x 25.5mm (D). The MSI Wind U115’s power supply measured 40mm (W) x 94mm (H) and 28mm (D), whilst the Samsung N120 measured 40mm (W) x 92mm (H) x 27mm (D).
Weight
The Toshiba NB200 weighs 1.320kg according to our measurements. This places it marginally above the average of recently tested netbooks. The Asus Eee PC 1005HA was 1.300kg, the MSI Wind U115 weighed 1.302kg and the Samsung N120 weighed (1.295kg).
The 6-cell 63Wh battery weighed 308g. Despite the larger size, this is the lightest we’ve tested so far. The Asus Eee PC 1005HA battery weighed 318g, the MSI Wind U115 (325g) and Samsung N120 (330g).
The real delta in terms of weight difference comes from the larger power supply. Overall this weighed 381g including the plug. This is similar to the MSI Wind U115 (390g) but significantly heavier than that of the Asus Eee PC 1005HA (258g).
Overall, the Toshiba NB200 is the third lightest we’ve tested to date at 1.701kg. This is behind the Asus Eee PC 1005HA (1.558kg) and MSI Wind U115 (1.692kg). However, it came ahead of the Samsung N120 weighing 1.717kg and the Eee PC 1000HE weighing 1.75kg.
January 3rd, 2010 12:31 PM
Hello,
I just bougth a toshiba nb200-10z netbook in France, mainly to use it abroad (australia where i am going to move next month). The problem is that I saw that written on the box :
“if bluetooth or wifi built in then that device is for use in : AT, BE, CZ, CY, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, EL, HU, IE, LV, LT, LU, MT, NL, PL, PT, SK, SI, ES, SE, UK, IS, NO, CH, LI”.
Does it mean that I will not be able to go the internet with wifi in countries other that UE? I am a bit confused as I thougth that it was obvious that a netbook could connect wireless everywhere.
Thank to answer me if you tested this computer (bougth in france) out of europe!
Celine
January 3rd, 2010 12:49 PM
I have used it outside of Europe but I’ve not tried the wireless capabilities whilst abroad. I would be very surprised if it didn’t work. The box may have that disclosure due to some legal conditions?
January 5th, 2010 10:16 AM
As you described my issue is also same. Speakers volume is too low. But other features are nice. thanks for sharing information with us.
April 9th, 2010 9:58 PM
I’m confused as to why your feature doesn’t focus on the latest version of this Toshiba, the NB305 … (which I believe has been out, or at least available for testing, since December 2009)?
April 12th, 2010 7:57 AM
@ Louise
Here you go my friend – review on NB305 from another source. Needless to say its also as good as NB205. Link here: http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptops/review/2010/04/12/Toshiba-NB305-106—10-1in-Netbook/p1
July 9th, 2010 2:22 PM
Hi,
I bought NB 200 while my visit to UK. Problem is when I want to factory setting windows from Recovery HDD, on selection of language English, the next page doesn’t have any selection option and i have to abort. There is message” RecoGUI.exe Application Error
The Instruction at 0x0040e012 refrenced memory at 0x0000001b could not be read.
I will great ful if some one can guide, or if have recovery medium for NB 200.
thanks