What one manufacturer says about netbooks (for those who might not really know?):

Netbooks have a smaller screen size (less than 12-inches) and smaller keyboard size.

They are designed to be simple and can be used to perform easy tasks like e-mail, Internet browsing, light entertainment and light productivity.

Laptops can range in any screen size and can be built to do complex and graphics intensive tasks.

As netbooks do simple tasks, they are best used as a companion PC rather than a primary PC.

Netbooks use low power processors like Intel® AtomTM and Intel® CeleronTM processors, while laptops use relatively power intensive processors.

Due to use of lower power, netbooks have very long battery life and can usually last a long time with a single charge compared to laptops.
Because netbooks are small and lightweight, they can be carried in a regular bag and may not need a specialized case for it.

Netbooks also generally come with integrated graphics capability, thus limiting the ability to intensive graphics and related tasks.

Due to the nature of companion PCs, netbooks typically have lower RAM (Random Access Memory) and lower HDD (Hard Drive) capacity as compared to laptops.

Netbooks are not built with internal CD/DVD drives as content used are mostly downloaded or stored in the hard disk drives. However, one can use an external CD/DVD drive and connect to the netbook using the USB port.

Incidental: the Toshiba NB 305-N410BN is apparently no longer made, but there is a recommended newer model that's very similar.

Incidental: Windows 8 has NOT BEEN RELEASED in a final version, although there are "mature beta" versions available. Microsoft advertises a lot of "Win8 features" that may not be available in all versions, and some beta features may not be included in any final release version.

OPINIONATIONS:

Full size keyboard and netbook are contradictory, since the whole netbook is smaller than a "full size" keyboard. Most netbooks have "all the keys" necessary for common tasks, but they can't be quite as large as on a full size keyboard. Some require somewhat "strange" key combinations for functions that are a single key on bigger machines, a few of of which are fairly standard between different brands but a few may be "quirky."

I haven't seen a netbook on which any significant "upgrades" can be made after purchase, although it's difficult even to find a comment about the possibility in the manufacturers' information (i.e. the advertising). The situation is only marginally better for larger laptops, and any graphics upgrade on most laptops will void your warranty. Even increasing RAM is generally not possible on most netbooks, and the "maximum supported RAM" to which even desktop machines may be upgraded can be "somewhat limiting" for what I consider common office tasks. This is no problem if you buy a device that does everything you need, but the idea of "fixing it later" won't work.

"We" (actually Lin) bought a Dell netbook some time ago, and it's a pretty nice little machine, for what we've done with it; but since it was purchased specifically to run her sewing machine I haven't had much of a chance to experiment with it enough to see what the performance limits might be.

Based on the published information I can't see that it makes much difference which netbook you buy, as long as it's built by someone with at least some kind of decent reputation. I would recommend at least some "hands-on" checkout of anything that you consider, since things like keyboard action and very minor key spacing differences can make a big difference (and Lin say's it's also critical that you get something in a pretty color.)

John