Comments on: A Tale of Two Netbook Trackpads — Toshiba’s NB205 is Massive

By: Computers

Computers — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:39:26 +0000

Cute posting. Very detailed and informative. Good work. Thanks for posting.

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:47:02 +0000

Just a quick note to anyone with an NB200/205:

The tracking and reporting rate on the included Alps touchpad can be improved in Windows XP fairly easily. Go into [Control Panel]/[Mouse]/[Hardware]. Pick the Alps device, and in its properties you’ll find a tab that contains reporting rate, input buffer and a checkbox called “Fast Initialization”. There’s not a lot of documentation floating around that describes what this last one is, but it’s the worst thing in the world for Alps touchpads. Turn the reporting rate as high as it’ll go, uncheck the Fast Init, and reboot. Your netbook will be a thousand times better.

Of course, I haven’t yet found a fix that handles this in Linux variants, which might mean returning my poor NB200… sigh.

By: Nameless

Nameless — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:59:24 +0000

Personally, I don’t know why the netbook manufacturers aren’t adopting TrackPoints (“eraser mice”) instead. They take up a fraction of the space, are easy to reach if your hands are in touch-typing position, and scrolling could be accomplished by holding down the Fn key or some other button and moving the nub like you would move the cursor around.

Trackpads, on the other hand, have this nasty habit of delivering accidental input when your hands brush against them, made worse as they get larger. It’s especially irritating on laptops with both TrackPoints AND trackpads. (However, I do love the two-finger-scroll feature Apple’s ‘Books have boasted since 2005.)

Sony seems to have caught on to this with one offering, only they made their “NOT a netbook” device way too overpriced. Also, word is that they did make a proper cheap netbook later, just to use the more common trackpad.

I know that some people HATE TrackPoints and swear by trackpads, but they have tons of netbooks to choose from. TrackPoint fans? Not even close, at least when it comes to ultraportables in a netbook price range.

By: Kevin C. Tofel

Kevin C. Tofel — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:15:07 +0000

Bill, there is no easy way from Microsoft to upgrade XP to Windows 7. I have the NB205 in a dual-boot mode right now: XP on one partition and the final build of Windows 7 on another. I haven’t done analysis on if 7 uses much more RAM than XP.

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:05:32 +0000

Kevin… I have read that it will be unpleasant and onerous to upgrade XP to Win 7. Did you consider that? If so, why not wait until October and buy a machine with Win 7 installed? Does it suck up that much more RAM than XP?

Thanks.

By: animatio

animatio — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 09:42:35 +0000

well just mention … the asuss eee pc 901 and 1000 series all had/have a large trackpad and 2 buttons.
i personally prefer these plain surface ones over the new raffled ones. well and multitouch was there a feature from the beginning. one of the many advantages these machines of the first hours had and still have.

By: sammy

sammy — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:23:25 +0000

dont buy toshiba, the trackpad is horrible – constant stuttering and sometimes non responsive after a tap, half inch at the edges is not sensitive at all

who cares its big when trying to do a more serious work with it will annoy the hell out of you

i bought the gateway 11.6″ netbook instead of toshiba and the trackpad is fantastic, not to speak the price is the same

By: TalonZ

TalonZ — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 02:56:47 +0000

Wow, I’m a celebrity now!

Personally, I don’t really see the major benefits of a huge trackpad without multitouch gesture support.

By: seamonkey420

seamonkey420 — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:49:01 +0000

wow! finally some windows machines get the idea and get a real touchpad!! :)

that is def one thing i tell my other fellow geeks i LOVE about my macbook air: the i-can’t-believe-its-that-big touchpad and the multi-finger gestures.

may have to look into one of these (even though i don’t need it) hehe. i like that it has usb sleep and charge port: agreed on being very useful.

By: Kevin C. Tofel

Kevin C. Tofel — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:03:56 +0000

Michael, when it comes down to two devices with very similar specs, you’re left with personal preference. I used both netbooks side-by-side for nearly an hour. I liked the thinner design of the 1005HA, but the NB205 felt better due to the bigger trackpad, two mouse buttons, dedicated Page Up / Down buttons and island-style keyboard. It also felt more solid to me in general and I like the fact that one of the USB ports offers “sleep and charge”, which can be useful in a pinch.

I can’t tell people which one to get because everyone’s requirements and preferences are different. I highly recommend playing with both before making a decision.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:21:44 +0000

I’d like to see a comparison of WHY you chose the nb205 vs the 1005ha (battery life is similar, and specs in general are the same, with the only real physical difference being the “sticking out” battery on the nb205.

Why one over the other?

Michael

By: Kevin C. Tofel

Kevin C. Tofel — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:36:15 +0000

He’s thinking about it, but he likes using his mom’s MacBook Pro. ;) If he doesn’t want it, I may offer it up for sale at $250 with the 6-cell battery and total of 2GB RAM.

By: netwiz

netwiz — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:31:13 +0000

So, just out of curiosity, does the little guy get the msi? I’m sure he’d enjoy it just as much as you have =)

By: Grant

Grant — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:59:26 +0000

Great to have some in use feedback on the Toshiba. I’m keen to upgrade my Lenovo S10 netbook and the Toshiba would be a contender except for the 1024 x 600 resolution. It’s the netbook ‘feature’ that drives me mad along with Windows XP. I have Vista Business installed on my netbook with 2GB of RAM. The reason – Vista Sleep. Wouldn’t be without Sleep compared to battery sucking Standby and too asleep Hibernation. Sleep for Vista has got to be Vistas best, and largely unheralded feature when it comes to laptops. The Sony Vaio W netbook with 1366×768 resolution sounds like magic to me. Yes some HP netbooks are avail with 1366 x 768 but hate the keyboards for touch typing. Netbooks with 1366 x 768 res plus Windows 7 Sleep ah bliss

By: Paolo

Paolo — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:18:09 +0000

I’m not buying another laptop that doesn’t have an apple type pad – buttons and no multi-touch just seems so antiquated.

By: Kevin C. Tofel

Kevin C. Tofel — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:09:03 +0000

I suspect that at some point in the future I will, but first I want to use it with XP then Windows 7. Possibly some Linux builds or OS X after that… or I’ll set up a dual-boot from Windows. ;)