Toshiba NB520 Netbook

Reading the Philippine Star dated Feb. 25, on page 21 is the new Toshiba NB520 Netbook with the Intel® Atom™ Processor N550 (1.5GHz dual-core w/ HT). It boasts five (5) colors to choose from (Warm brown, Sophisticated Turquoise, Daring Sunlight Copper, Striking Lime Green, and Joyful Blue), and according to Toshiba, the world's first netbook with Harman Kardon® speakers.

The Special Features:

1. Harman Kardon® Speakers with Dolby Advanced Audio Support

As a technical guy with the audio industry for almost 10 years now, I am not a fan of any small/tiny speakers working on their own. For me it must be large 2.0 speakers, a 2.1 speaker setup, or the more expensive multi-channel speaker systems. Nevertheless, the speakers come from Harman Kardon which is a world-known and reputable brand. It should provide the NB520 better audio than those typically found with netbooks and notebooks. But of course do not expect much from it. In addition to this, it has the Dolby Advanced Audio support which optimizes audio quality to deliver the best possible sound.

2.  Sleep 'n Music

You can plug your iPod or any portable digital music player to it and be able to instantly listen to your music without the need of powering-up the NB520.

3. Integrated Bluetooth® 3.0

Good to know that the NB520 is on Bluetooth 3.0, which obviously is faster than the older versions.

4. USB Sleep 'n Charge

The NB520 comes with three (3) USB 2.0 ports plus one (1) USB 2.0 Sleep 'n Charge port. Again without powering-up the NB520, you can charge your other "smaller" portable devices. I said smaller because of course this doesn't include the iPad, let's not be harsh.

5. Fingerprint resistant palmrest

Goodie, especially if you have sweaty palms like me.

The full specifications and exact models can be found at the official Toshiba NB520 page.

My Grimaces:

1. 10.1" WSVGA Clear SuperView TFT display, resolution 1,024 x 600 - I wish it could have been the HD 1280x720 screen like the Acer Aspire One 522.

2. Intel® GMA 3150 - On-Die with the Atom N550, the graphics performance is just a bit better than those older netbooks with the Atom N270. It's the 45 nm shrink of the GMA 3100 with no HD capabilities. Hence explains the use of only 1024x600 screen for the NB520.

Final Thoughts:

Overall the NB520 is still a good netbook. Estimate price is at Php19,000+. By the way, the said PhilStar ad also showcases the Toshiba/Harman Kardon Boom Box Roadshow on March 10-16, 2011 at the SM MegaMall atrium. I'm putting it on my calendar.