Toshiba outs NB305 netbook with 11-hour battery
updated 03:25 pm EST, Mon January 4, 2010
Toshiba netbook uses Pine Trail, lighter body
Toshiba today confirmed its third-generation netbook with an official launch. The NB300 and NB305 both make the expected leap to Intel's Pine Trail-based 1.66GHz Atom and extend their battery life from nine hours to a full 11 hours. Even with the switch, though, they have not only shrunken their footprint with a smaller six-cell battery but have shed weight to reach 2.6 pounds.
They also gain extra hard drive space and now carry 250GB of storage. Some of the Windows 7-oriented apps from Toshiba's recent notebooks also carry over and include a bulletin board, a Media Controller app to exploit Windows' "play to" streaming feature, and ReelTime, which provides a visual timeline for finding data.
Echoing the strategy Toshiba took for the NB200 series, the NB300 at $350 uses a conventional keyboard and comes only in black while the $400 NB305 uses a true "chiclet" keyboard and a two-tone scheme that uses silver and a separate color for the lid. The new models should be available soon.
