14 DAY TRIAL // Gateway settled for just one new Cedar Trail netbook, but Toshiba has updated its whole collection, or at least a significant part of it, with Intel's newest entry-level mobile CPUs, though there is an unexpected downside.
Intel's newest Atom central processing units provide more than just a clock speed increase over their predecessors.
Since Integrated graphics proved so successful as part of Sandy Bridge chip, the Santa Clara, California-based company decided to adopt a similar model for Cedar Trail.
This led to on-chip support for high-quality multimedia, so Intel went one step further and added on-chip support for HDMI as well.
Toshiba, unfortunately, did not fit its netbooks with an HDMI port, despite the capability.
Not all is lost, though: the company offered a sort of alternative in the form of Intel's WiDi technology, which streams video over Wi-Fi. Alas, a receiver is needed for it to work.
The representative of Toshiba's new generation of low-end laptops is the Dynabook N301, a Japan-only product that should, sooner or later, reach other shores, under this or a different name.
The large Harman/Kardon speakers in the palm rest are its only other unusual asset besides WiDi. Everything else is the same as before.
Measuring 10.1 inches in diagonal, the LCD (liquid crystal display) has a native resolution of 1,024 x 600 pixels.
Also, a hard disk drive (HDD) provides storage space, 320 GB to be exact, while a memory card reader handles small NAND Flash storage containers used in cameras, phones, etc.
Furthermore, the Intel Atom N2800 processor is backed by up to 4 GB of RAM (random access memory).
As for everything else, Toshiba tossed in 10/100 Mbit Ethernet, three USB 2.0 ports, a D-sub output, two audio jacks and, of course, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi.
Finally, the default battery is good for 6.5 hours per charge, though a different option extends that duration to 8. No prices yet, though, for either option.