Toshiba realizes that aesthetics should be considered when designing a netbook. The Sable Brown cover (also available in Royal Blue, Pink Posh, and Frost White) is decorated with raised horizontal lines. Combined with, elegant shiny brass hinges (with the power button lights up in the middle), it was a good fit with a silver finish on the deck below to look professional as a whole.

At 10.4 X 7.6 X 1.3 cm, with the NB205 is quite compact. In addition, this netbook standard six-cell battery juts out from the back of the system. Weighing 2.8 pounds by itself, with NB205 and incoming AC adapter 3.4 kilograms, and do not put much strain on our shoulders as we walked home.

The touchpad on the NB205 is one of the best we have used on a netbook. The 3.1 x 1.6-inch pad is the largest one we’ve seen in the 10-inch class, and it’s smooth finish makes it easy to navigate the desktop. Its two dedicated right and left mouse buttons are comfortable and far from stiff.

Ports

The Toshiba mini NB205 has the standard set of ports we’ve come to expect from netbooks, but with a slight twist: two USB ports and a Kensington lock adorn the right side; a VGA-out, audio in/out, Ethernet, and a third USB are mounted on the left. That third USB port is enabled with Toshiba’s Sleep-and-Charge technology, which provides power to connected devices (such as smart phones) when the system is off. A 3-in-1 memory card reader sits along the front lip.

The NB205’s 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600-pixel resolution LED-backlit display is just the right amount of glossy. Watching a Daily Show clip on Hulu.com was bright, and colors were not at all muted. Tilting the screen back to its 45-degree maximum didn’t cause too much distracting glare, and we had no problem positioning the notebook in bed to watch a YouTube clip.