NbC: Samsung N120 Review
May 18, 2009 at 9:32 am
Conclusion
The Samsung N120 puts two big ticks next to two of the most important features of a netbook, keyboard and battery life. The keyboard is the biggest you’ll find on a 10-inch netbook, but bigger doesn’t always mean better. Thankfully, Samsung has provided a keyboard with very good tactile feedback and large keys that mean errors should be kept to a minimum. A full-sized Enter key and two large Shift keys should also keep touch-typists happy. If I was being picky, then the space key could be a little bigger along with the arrow keys, but overall the keyboard provided a very solid typing experience and I’m sure this won’t be the last 97 percent keyboard to feature on a 10-inch netbook.
Battery life is also very good. Whilst you may not get close to the 10.5 hours of Samsung’s quoted battery life, 7-8 hours is likely under normal use with wireless switched on. Battery times fell short of that seen with the Asus Eee PC 1000HE, but there wasn’t that much in it. It is positive to see netbook manufacturers concentrating on battery life in newer models and the N120 is one of the best examples of this.
The good points don’t stop there, the Samsung N120 felt very solidly put together and I really liked the satin exterior. If it were up to me, all netbooks would come with this type of finish. It keeps the device looking great all the time and you don’t have to worry about fingerprint smudges. I’m also happy to report that the 2.1 sound system isn’t a gimmick. The front facing speakers combined with subwoofer provide an excellent sound stage for a netbook. Don’t expect the subwoofer to provide any bass, but it does pad out the mid-range. It is one of the best sounding netbooks which is only enhanced by the SRS software.
There are a few negative points though, the glossy display will annoy some people and Samsung could have made an easier job of providing access to the HDD, especially since upgrading the RAM has been made so easy through its dedicated access panel. I also found the HDD to be annoyingly loud.
The Samsung N120 manages to pack in a lot of tech into a chassis that is still reasonably slim and lightweight, considering the inclusion of a 6-cell battery. However, at the current time, the N120 is around £50 more expensive than the best-selling Asus Eee PC 1000HE. Despite being cheaper, the 1000HE offers a faster processor, draft-N wireless, better battery life, a matte display and easier access to both the HDD and RAM. On the flip side, the 1000HE is not as sleek and light as the N120 and nor does it have as good a keyboard in our view.
Whichever way you look at it, the Samsung N120 is one of the best netbooks on the market today, despite not presenting the best value for money. Only you can decide whether the typing experience, sound system and less bulk justifies the premium over the Asus Eee PC 1000HE.
May 18th, 2009 1:19 PM
Feedback so far suggests that people are liking the larger N120 keyboard. Well played Samsung.
May 19th, 2009 8:33 PM
i would like a larger keyboard, but with a larger screen too.
something like 11,6″ oder so – i think it would fit in the n120 case
is this one a review smapleor have you bought it ? in Germany they sell the N110 only with the 58 Wh // 5.2 Ah battery, but the reviewers get the 64 Wh // 5.9Ah one.
good review
May 19th, 2009 9:15 PM
We tested a final retail version, as you would find in the shops here in the UK. As far as I know all Samsung N120 netbooks come with the 5900mAh 6-cell battery.
May 20th, 2009 11:29 AM
In my view, literally, the most important aspects in regard to netbooks are display quality and weight/size. Because I will use it for seeing informations not writing that much, that I will do either at the office or home desktop. And unfortunately, the bulk of newer and announced netbooks is worse than before: the unending trend for glossy displays kills the usability at least for me. (plus that so few are available with built in 3G/UMTS modems.)
May 20th, 2009 11:51 AM
No doubt, everyone has a different view as what are the most important netbook considerations. We should perhaps do a poll at some point to find out what comes out on top!
May 20th, 2009 9:45 PM
The U.S. version has a 5200mah battery. Interesting as the U.S. N110 is 5900mah while most N110’s in Europe are 5200mah..
May 20th, 2009 10:47 PM
I wasn’t aware of that, thanks for the clarification!
June 11th, 2009 6:25 AM
Sorry, but this is stupid.
If they’re going to make it this big, the display should be BIGGER. A 1024 x 600 display has you scrolling around constantly, especially vertically. If you have room for it, a 720p display at 11″ or so would be MUCH BETTER.
Sorry, but the size of a netbook matters. I take my 9″ netbook (too small) lots of places I would never take my 13″ laptop. Make it too big and its not a netbook anymore, at least to me. If you’re going to put a 10″ display in the thing, make it no bigger than necessary. You can find perfectly acceptable keyboards on 10″ netbooks (check out the HP 2140 for example), without resorting to this.
They didn’t “squeeze” the keyboard into anything. They just cranked the bezel up until the regular keyboard fit. Not for me.
June 25th, 2009 5:13 PM
It bears mentioning that the N120 also supports charging peripherals while in sleep mode through a BIOS setting. In addition, the internal wireless card can be changed for one that supports draft 802.11n (the Intel 5300 is your best bet).
June 25th, 2009 5:19 PM
We did mention that two of the USB ports are chargeable on page 4, something that most other reviews missed. Also, not many mentioned the fact that the N120 has a multi-touch touchpad.
September 8th, 2009 8:36 PM
I just ordered the samsung N120. I would like to play dvd movies on it. what do you suggest I do to accomplish this.
Thanks
ann
September 23rd, 2009 2:51 AM
Thank you for your review of N120, it’s mostly convinced me to buy one – my local university has a sale, it’s priced at USD $371, and its battery is 9-10 hours (regional Hong Kong variation I’ve been told).
September 23rd, 2009 2:52 AM
PS. No sales tax
January 24th, 2010 5:59 PM
I have one of these machines that i picked up for $299. I’m fighting the kids over who gets to use it. The battery seems to alst forever, it’s fully functional, and yes, the screen size is a bit small but for the price i’m happy to deal with it. The screen size is adequate to watch video, and there are only a few websites that require careful scrolling and panning. This is a great airplane worker – small enough for the tray table, big enough to get real work done.
I asked my office to buy two more for “floaters” that employees can grab on their way out the door for work trips.
in short, i love it.