Toshiba mini NB255

Toshiba mini NB255

When Toshiba updated their premium netbook line with the mini NB305 at the beginning of the year, the venerable notebook maker impressed us once again, making the already excellent design even slimmer and more modern. But the $399 price tag kept budget-conscious consumers at bay. Enter the mini NB255 (N245), a sub-$300 model that's a bit of a throwback to the original NB205 series, but in many of the best ways. Unfortunately, when it comes to two of the most important aspects of a netbook--keyboard comfort and battery life--the NB255 shows its low-cost colors.The mini NB255's closest analog is actually not the original NB205-N310, but the lower-priced NB205-N210 that came out later. Like that system, the NB255 only comes in a glossy Celestial Black finish, but there's a raised, swirling texture that extends from the lid to the deck. Though glossy, the lid doesn't attract fingerprints readily due to the texture, so it remains good-looking no matter how much you handle it.The NB255 retains the NB205 series' somewhat boxy but elegant shape instead of the more tapered, streamlined look of the NB305. Another hold-over from the previous generation: a jutting battery. Yes, the NB255 has prominent junk in the trunk.