Intel’s Atom N270 processor – and the surrounding limitations on specifications – had a lot to answer for: over a year of cookie-cutter netbooks. With the advent of Pine Trail, Intel look to be loosening their grip on the segment a little, at least, but does the Atom N450 offer a genuine improvement over its well-worn predecessor? Toshiba sent over their latest netbook, the Mini NB305; check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

Our review unit, the NB305-N410B, comes with Intel’s 1.66GHz Atom N450 processor, 1GB of RAM and a 250GB 5,400rpm hard-drive. The 10.1-inch 1024 x 600 display uses GMA 3150 graphics, and there’s WiFi b/g/n, 10/100 ethernet, a webcam, three USB 2.0 ports (one of which remains powered when the netbook is turned off, for charging phones and PMPs) and a multitouch trackpad. The whole thing measures a reasonably compact 10.47 x 7.57 x 1.43 inches, weights 2.60lbs and has a textured Royal Blue finish.

Build quality is high, and the design – though using plenty of plastic – is at least pretty distinctive among the netbook rank and file. The textured finish on the outer lid continues around the screen bezel, and there’s a bright blue power button/LED in the middle of the hinge. Toshiba have wisely given the NB305’s keyboard pretty much the full width of the netbook to play with, and the result is one of the better ‘boards we’ve used. Each key balances springiness and travel nicely. Underneath sits a large, multitouch-capable touchpad that required some settings-fiddling before it would play nicely with pinch-zoom and rotate gestures.
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