Toshiba NB550D review – The 10” netbook samurai

The series of 10.1” Toshiba netbooks has just received its 5^th member, the most powerful of them all. With the NB550D the Japanese producer confirms its intention of being a great choice for users who want extremely high tech portable devices. The review below will help you figure out if the new Toshiba device is really worth your money.

NB550D also represents a new direction for Toshiba, sine it is the first netbook that runs on an AMD platform from the Japanese producer, instead of the popular Intel platforms used on most netbooks. Along with the brute performances of the new Toshiba NB550D this review will also give you a perspective on the battle between the 2 processor producers.

Technical specs

• LED backlit 10.1” display with a resolution of 1024×600 pixels
• AMD Fusion hardware platform: AMD dual-core C-50 1 GHz processor and the AMD HD 6250 integrated graphics card
• 1 GB of RAM DDR3 memory
• 250 GB hard disk
• Connectivity: Wireless N, Fast Ethernet LAN, Bluetooth 3.0 HS
• Ports: 3x USB 2.0, VGA, headset/microphone, web camera, microSD slot
• 6 cell 61 Wh battery
• Size: 26.2 cm x 19 cm x 3.6 cm
• Weight: 1.35 kg
• Operating system: Windows 7 Starter

Build and design characteristics

The Toshiba NB550D attracted my attention from the first second due to its design. Most portables today come with a classical design, but the Toshiba has a curvy lid. Even if not everyone will like it, it does have a few advantages such as a better grip and reduced attraction of dust and fingerprints.

Design that stands out for Toshiba NB550D

One of the advantages of this netbook is that of very easy access to the memory and the hard disk, so an upgrade is not only welcome in a few years, but also very easy to make as you can see in the following video:

The back side is made out of a pretty harsh plastic, includes numerous ventilation points and the charger is well integrated into the design.

After opening it the thing that jumped into my attention was not the display, or the keyboard, but it was the speaker system mounted on the palm rest. The design is truly unconventional, but on the other hand the placement of the speakers will not cause any problems when using the keyboard. Even if you do not like the design the quality of the sound will convince you this is a good compromise.

More details about the design of the model can be found out by watching the video below:

Keyboard and trackpad

NB550D’s keyboard has a less than usual design which both thrilled and disappointed me. Most keys are full size, including those for numbers, but special keys on the right side, including Enter, Backspace, Ctrl or Alt, have half the length of normal keys. This is not quite pleasing esthetically.

Personally I would have preferred all the keys to have the same size even if that meant that they would have been a bit narrower, especially since the space between them is not that big. On the other hand we should think about the fact that this is a 10.1” device, so it is hard to implement a keyboard that everyone likes.

Large speakers on the side of the touchpad

Except this the keyboard is great: low noise when typing and no flexibility of the keyboard.

Let us now see the trackpad. It is not separated from the palm rest but you will figure out where it starts due to its different texture. Unfortunately the material used to create it caused a few problems, either not responding to commands correctly, or not responding at all. Another negative point is that its width is small. In exchanged I was pleased to see 2 separated buttons for the right and left click positioned on the inferior edge of the netbook.

Screen

The net book’s display is a 10.1” LED backlit with a typical resolution for this segment: 1024×600 pixels. The screen is shiny and only offers relatively small viewing angles, but its contrast and brightness are at good levels. The screen can be rotated 130 degrees, which is good enough if you do not use your laptop in bed.

Hardware and performances

If the first 4 Toshiba netbooks were based on the Intel platform the NB550D goes on the rival platform: the AMD Fusion. It has the dual-core C-50 1 GHz processor helped by an integrated video card, the AMD 6250. To this you can also add the 1 GB of RAM which is extendable to 4 GB and the large enough 320 GB hard disk which has an rpm speed of only 5400.

When it comes to brute performance the NB550D impressed me at the multimedia chapter and through its graphic performances. The best example comes when running HD multimedia content, whether it was YouTube videos or MKV files. However I must mention there were some problems when running Full HD 1080p files, although you will also find situations in which files run fluently.

NB550D is the first 10” Toshiba netbook that offers a HDMI port, but its quality is not too good. The quality of the signal was far from what you would expect when we transferred content to a HD TV whatever software we used, even if the codecs were the latest.

In exchange when it comes to apps the AMD platform proves to be slower than its Intel competitor. In other words the NB550D is a good solution if you want a multimedia netbook, but not so good if you want an application oriented netbook.

More details about performance in the clip below:

Software

Toshiba NB550D comes with the Windows 7 Starter operating system, and numerous useless preinstalled applications which should be uninstalled in order to have a clean operating system, an essential element when it comes to small portable devices.

Battery life

As we have said when showing the technical specs the Toshiba netbook has a 6 cell 61 Wh battery. In normal use we obtained an autonomy that varied between 5 and 8 and a half hours, which is great, even for a netbook. This is also due to the AMD platform.

If you use the netbook for office applications at a screen brightness of only 40% you will get autonomy of over 8 hours, especially if using the browser rarely. Autonomy will remain at a high level of over 7 hours if you will use the browser more intensely with the wireless activated and set the brightness at a level of 70%. If you choose to view HD content autonomy will decrease a lot, but even so you can use the netbook for 4 hours before having to charge it.

In conclusion the NB550D offers a great autonomy even for running multimedia content. This means you will be able to enjoy your favorite movie even when you are on your holiday.

Connectivity

The connectivity hardware offered by the Toshiba NB550D is standard. The one important absence that needs to be marked is that of the USB 3.0 port. In exchange you get 3 USB 2.0 ports,  HDMI, VGA, headset and microphone jacks, SD slot card, Wireless N, Bluetooth 3.0 and Fast Ethernet LAN.

Speakers

As we have said at the design chapter the 2 speakers of the NB550D are placed on the palm rest, an original choice which some potential buyers will dislike. However this so called inconvenience can easily be overlooked when considering the high quality of the speakers even when there volume is at its maximum point. If this is the solution for high quality netbook speakers rivals should copy Toshiba.

Heart pumping speakers in a small and slim design (really)

Heat noise and others

When used several hours daily it is unavoidable for the netbook to become warm, but it does not overheat that bad that you cannot hold it on your knees. You will also notice a warmer atmosphere around your netbook, but this is surely not a major problem.

Unfortunately the news is not as good when it comes to noise. If when using in office apps and for browsing there are no problems, when viewing HD clips the fans make their presence felt. The advantage is that if you are using headsets it is unlikely that you will hear the noise.

Availability and price

Toshiba NB550D is already available in e-stores at a price of about 500 dollars. Apparently the price is high for a 10 inch netbook, but it is a good netbook with high performances, so the investment may prove to be worth it.

Multiple back case colors to choose from

Conclusions

Even if they did not use the Intel platform in favor of an AMD platform Toshiba created a competitive netbook. It has a pleasant design, high performances, and good autonomy. This may be enough to convince you to buy it even if its price is quite high for such a computer. Obviously it has a few flaws, but no product is perfect.

What we liked

• the design and build materials
• general good performances, including at the multimedia chapter
• good autonomy
• good stereo speakers

What we did not like

• the configuration of the keyboard for which you will need some time to  get used to
• the trackpad does not respond in certain moments
• the noise generated when running HD content

Source: Netbook Live