The netbook industry exploded last year and one of the many models that were launched is this Toshiba Mini NB305-N410BN that was $100 more expensive in comparison with other budget models that came around during the same time. One of the highlights of this model would have to be its excellent build construction, a trademark for Toshiba products.

The netbook is powered by an Intel Atom N450 processor running at 1.60 GHz and packs 1GB of DDR2 800 MHz memory. You can store all of your files on the 250GB hard drive spinning at 5400 rpm while in the graphics department there’s an integrated Intel GMA 3150. This mini laptop from Toshiba measures 10.5 x 7.6 x 1.4 inches and it weighs 3.5 pounds (3.9 pounds with the AC adapter).

Opening this netbook reveals a large rounded hinge that houses the power button which is centered above the keyboard. The glossy inset 10.1-inch display is framed by the shiny plastic, while the built-in web cam is suitable for web video chat via the bundled Skype software. The chiclet-style raised keyboard of the Toshiba Mini NB305-N410BN feels somewhat similar to that of the Sony Vaio W, but in this case the keys are a little bit larger. The bad news is that these keys are wider than they are tall and the orientation is rather odd. On the flip side, the touchpad is quite large for a netbook and it also has support for multitouch gestures.

The aforementioned 10.1-inch glossy LED-backlit display has a native resolution of 1,024 x 600 pixels which provides crisp and bright colors, managing to be one of the best displays that come with this low resolution. The stereo speakers are a nice upgrade over the NB205 series but they still remain soft and thin.

The Toshiba Mini NB305-N410BN comes with VGA out, headphone + microphone jacks, two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 2.0/sleep & charge port, an SD card reader, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Ethernet.

The Intel Atom N450 offers just about the same level of performance as the previous Atom N270 and N280 processors, which means that this netbook isn’t faster than the NB205 it replaced. The CPU is suitable only for single-process tasks like light office work, web browsing and e-mails, exactly the tasks that a netbook should be able to do.

As far as the battery is concerned, this mini laptop from Toshiba comes with a 6-cell lithium-ion unit that will last for a little over seven hours during video playback, which is an excellent performance for a netbook. This means that under normal usage conditions, the Toshiba Mini NB305-N410BN should survive for more than eight hours, one of the best in this segment.