Netbook computers give you a smaller, but fully capable computer for school, business and daily tasks, while greatly cutting down on the price.  A good netbook computer can be found for as little as $350 with no hassles like signing up for network programs, and a netbook with a bigger screen, longer battery life or  more memory can be found for less than $500.

Whether you need a professional computer, or just one to get things done with at home or in the coffeeshop, netbooks are the new solution.

I own a Toshiba laptop and love it, which is what drew me to the Toshiba NB-205 netbook.  With an industry-standard 10.1 inch screen, an amazing 9 hour battery life, and an Intel  Atom N280 processor, the NB-205 is an excellent netbook for the price, normally $399. 

Laptopmag.com and pcmag.com also named it their editors' choices.  It's been getting good reviews and if it's half as reliable and useful as their laptop line, then the NB-205 looks like a good pick.

Their best kept secret is that the Onyx Black model is discounted to $349, so if you want a black laptop, and personally I prefer them, you can save fifty bucks.

The Toshiba NB 205 has some standard features, and some exceptional ones.

At its heart is the Intel Atom N280 processor, which is pretty standard for netbooks and runs at 1.66 GHz.  It also carries 1GB of RAM and offers a 160GB of memory.

The 10.1 inch LED backlit screen has a 1024 x 600 resolution.

The NB 205 has plenty of jacks and slots for peripherals and other media including 3 USB ports, a 10/100 Ethernet port, 1 VGA video out, 1 memory card reader compatible with SD, SDHC and MMC and both a headphone and microphone jack.  Like many netbooks, it allows you to connect to Wi-Fi.

The keyboard is full-sized with 85 keys.  It also has an integrated .3 megapixel webcam.

The NB 205 comes loaded with MS Windows XP Home as its operating system, allowing you to get started, but you'll have to download some software to do something like office, or new browsers if you prefer them.

For those who are environmentally conscious, the NB 205 is RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Compatible, is Energy Star 5.0 compliant and is rated EPEAT Gold.

It comes in at just under 3 pounds and measures 10.4W x 7.6D x 1.27H inches.

The exceptional feature of the NB 205 is it's 6-cell battery providing 9 hours of computing on a full charge.  This is near the top of the industry, and with Toshiba's reputation, will hopefully last you a long time.

If it does have problems, the NB 205 features a 1 year warranty.

The Toshiba NB 205 netbook also comes in royal blue, sable brown, frost white and posh pink, so if money is no issue you can get the same quality computer with a designer color.  I give them credit with coming out with bright, bubble gum colors (although pink is pink).  The sable brown in particular is a classy looking alternative to black.  Frost white is the best seller.