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Toshiba’s NB100 looks distinctive thanks to its black and gold design. It feels sturdy, too. The VGA and Ethernet ports are located on the back to either side of the large battery. This leaves the three USB ports and the integrated memory card reader surrounded by a lot of unused space. It’s a shame this hasn’t been used to accommodate more USB ports or an ExpressCard slot. The NB100 is slightly smaller than many of the other netbooks here since it has an 8.9in screen. The display has a glossy finish so colours look bright and rich; however, they also look slightly grainy compared to the those of other displays here. Unlike Dell’s Mini 9, the screen folds back far enough so it is parallel to the keyboard. This makes it easier to get the best viewing angles when it’s on your lap. Unfortunately, the NB100’s compact size means that its keyboard has small, tightly spaced keys, which makes touch-typing difficult unless you have very small fingers. The touch pad and its buttons are also small, but the pad is at least accurate. The battery sticks out from the back of the NB100, but it did last nearly four hours in our battery test. Although not the longest here, this is above average. As expected, the NB100’s Atom N270 processor and 1GB of RAM played back iPlayer and standard-definition DivX video smoothly. Unsurprisingly, the integrated Intel graphics chip isn’t capable of playing the latest 3D games. Although the 120GB hard disk isn’t the largest here, it should be plenty for storing office documents and a selection of videos, photos and music. Windows XP is pre-installed.
We were impressed with the NB100’s battery life, but Samsung’s similarly priced NC10 lasted far longer and also has a larger and more comfortable keyboard. If you want a compact second computer for use around the house, Acer’s similarly specified Aspire One is £25 cheaper. Unless Toshiba reduces its price, there’s little reason to choose the NB100.
