Features and Design

Toshiba offers three similar configurations of the M305 on its website, but you can also customize your model quite a bit if you are so inclined. The model we received is the M305-S4826, which is uses an Intel Santa Rosa chipset with a Penryn Core 2 Duo processor clocked at 2.1GHz with 3MB of L2 cache (the higher end Penryns have 6MB). It uses an 800MHz front side bus with 3GB of DDR2 RAM, which is more than enough to run its OS – Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1.

Display

A notebook’s display size is a key factor in considering a notebook, as anything less than 15” is usually “portable” and anything bigger will usually stay plugged in most of the time. The M305 sports the popular 14.1” display, which is small enough to reduce the chassis size, but big enough to not feel cramped. It has a widescreen aspect ratio too, which is good for movie-watching. It’s a WXGA panel with a native resolution of 1280x800, and used Toshiba’s TruBrite technology, which is what the company calls its glossy screen coating.

Storage Options

No, it does not include a solid-state drive, but it does come with a 250GB 5,400rpm hard drive as well as a Super-Multi optical drive. The drive can read and write DVDs including double-layer discs, and supports Labelflash technology that allows you to burn monochrome labels and pictures onto special Labelflash media. It also includes a 5-in-1 media slot that accepts SD cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, MultiMedia Card and xD Picture Card.

Internet options

Most notebooks these days are connected to the Net 24/7, and the M305 provides just the basics. There’s onboard Intel wireless in B and G flavors, but no Bluetooth radio. Wireless 80211.N is also not supported. The onboard Ethernet port is the “fast” type rather than Gigabit, and runs at 10/100 speeds.

Ports and Connectors

Ever since our review of the MacBook Air, we’ve begun appreciating a notebook’s expansion ports since the Air has none. The M305 includes quite a few including VGA-out, three USB ports, FireWire, headphone and mic, VGA-out and a Kensington lock slot. There’s also an ExpressCard slot and a small area on the left-side labeled HDMI but it’s non-functional and is plugged up with a plastic cap.

Media Control

The M305 includes a row of soft-touch buttons below the LCD that glow with a soft white light. The buttons let you mute the speakers, open Windows Media Player and play/pause and skip tracks. They are flanked on both sides by Harman Kardon speakers.

The Chassis

We normally wouldn’t mention something as mundane as a notebook chassis, but the M305 sports a look that is quite unique. Most of the chassis is piano black with silver bars running horizontally across it, and the look is accented by the while lights that glow around the touchpad and at the top of the keyboard. The white lights are also used to indicate driver activity, power state and more. The keyboard is finished in the same glossy plastic used on the rest of the chassis too. Toshiba calls the aesthetic Fusion finish with Horizon pattern.

The M305’s elegant design will make people do double-takes at coffee shops.