Netbook Review Roundup 02/04/2009
April 2, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Netbook Choice’s roundup of netbook reviews from around the web on Thursday 2nd April 2009.
Acer Aspire One D150 @ GadgetMix
Asus Eee PC 1000HE @ vnunet.com
Quest For Netbook Nirvana: HP Mini 2140 @ Gizmodo Australia
Lenovo IdeaPad S10e @ What Laptop
Samsung NC20 @ Cnet
A Linux Netbook Done The Right Way: the Sylvania g Netbook Meso @ O’Reilly
Samsung N310 netbook, more hands-on impressions
April 2, 2009 at 5:19 pm
We’ve posted a number of impressions of the 10-inch Samsung N310 from European sites, however this time round Laptop Mag managed to get hands-on with the Samsung N310 netbook at the CTIA convention in Las Vegas. We already know that whilst the specifications are pretty similar to the Samsung NC10, it is the design that sets it apart. It has a ‘pebble’ design with the Samsung logo embossed onto the lid. It will also have a 92 percent size standard keyboard and will come with a 4-cell battery.
Whilst I’m not too fond of the large logo, they found it to be a nice touch. The overall feel was quite solid and durable. They were also impressed with the ‘chiclet’ keyboard which felt even roomier than the Asus Eee PC 1000HE. Check out our previous post for the full specifications of the N310.
CTIA is the world’s largest event dedicated to wireless gadgets. Interestingly, Samsung had the CTIA showfloor all to itself. Some of the biggest netbook manufacturers like Dell, Lenovo, MSI, Acer, Asus and Hewlett-Packard were all absent from the show. That left Samsung all alone to showcase its wares. A sign of the recessionary times we live in.
Samsung N120 netbook US/UK pre-orders open
April 2, 2009 at 4:18 pm
The Samsung N120 is almost unique when it comes to netbooks as it will support a full-sized 12-inch keyboard, despite only having a 10.1-inch display. To do this, sacrifices had to be made and what we end up with is a unit with quite a large bezel around the screen, Samsung has used this space to house the speakers on either side of the display (check out some larger pictures of the NC20 in this post).
The other interesting part of the netbook is that it will feature an integrated SRS 2.1 sound system featuring 2 x 1.5 Watt stereo speakers with a dedicated sub-woofer. Credit has to be given for Samsung engineers for making this happen inside such a small chassis, but I can’t help thinking it will still sound ‘tinny’.
The unit is expected to be released in the middle of this April and appropriately some sites in the US and UK have started to take pre-orders. In the US it is showing up at retailers for pre-order between $450 – $475 and one can choose between black & white colours. The cheapest we’ve seen is PC Connection which has it for $442.43. In the UK, it is showing up for pre-order at Laptops Direct for £379.97, but only comes in white.
Samsung has not officially released the spec-sheet for the N120, however all of the sites are listing a 1.6GHz N270 Atom CPU, 1GB RAM and 160GB hard-disk drive. Samsung claims that the N120 will have up to 10.5 hours of battery life with its 6-cell battery and will weigh 1.28kg (2.8lbs).
Samsung N110 does support 2GB RAM, page updated
April 2, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Last week when the Samsung N110 netbook first appeared on the Samsung US site, it listed that the maximum RAM available for the unit was just 1GB. We thought this was odd at the time as the N110 is a refresh of Samsungs NC10 which supported 2GB RAM.
Now potential N110 buyers can rest with ease. The product page has been updated and the N110 does indeed support 2GB RAM. The Samsung N110 is available to pre-order from a number of US retailers, however still no word on a UK release.
Netbook Review Roundup 31/03/2009
March 31, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Netbook Choice’s roundup of netbook reviews from around the web on Tuesday 31st March 2009.
Acer Aspire One D150 @ PC Advisor
ASUS Eee PC 1000H/ Lenovo IdeaPad S10/ HP 2133 @ Cape Cod Times
Asus S101 @ The Sydney Morning Herald
HP Mini 2140: A Nice Netbook With SUSE Option @ Linux Planet
Lenovo IdeaPad S10 Hands On Review @ Digitpedia
Lenovo S10e review @ PC Advisor
Samsung NC20 @ Cnet UK
Rating: 9.0
The all-in-one Sony VAIO P review post @ UMPC Portal
US pre-orders open for Samsung N110 netbook
March 30, 2009 at 8:52 am
The Samsung N110, a refresh of the best-selling NC10 10-inch netbook, has gone up for pre-order in the US. The N110 (N110-12PBK) has appeared on Buy.com for $441.99 and also at CompSource.com who have it for $450, both are offering free shipping. No actual release date is listed on either site.
Whilst no official release date has been announced, Samsung talks of an April release date in its press release. Therefore it cannot be too much longer before we start to see pre-orders open up on other sites such as Amazon. When keeping an eye out for US pre-orders, you may want to search by the manufacturer part number which is NP-N110-KA01US. Read more
3G Netbooks catch signals better than mobile phones
March 29, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Netbooks with integrated 3G modules are generally very quick to broadcast their own signals and offer good signal strength according to a recent study by ‘Connect’ magazine. It studied three netbooks for wireless data transfer and by far the fastest was the Acer Aspire One A150x 3G that has an in-built Qualcomm module. The Acer was even faster than 3G phones that have been available over the last two years. Even the Samsung NP- NC10 3G and LG X110 came out with above-average performance compared to the 3G mobile phones.
With many mobile operators now offering netbooks as part of subsidised data packages, there will come a point that most netbooks will have the ability to access the internet in our view. Whether that means 3G modules will be included in most models from the start or we start to see the adoption of ARM based netbooks that are always connected to a 3G network, this can only be a good thing, giving more choice to consumers.
“Mr. Compromise” looks at netbooks
March 29, 2009 at 4:23 pm
David Pogue’s “Mr. Compromise” of the New York Times has finally taken a look at netbooks with a ‘review ‘ of four different models. He asked Joanna Stern of Laptop Mag which ones to look at and came up with four 10-inch models. The Asus Eee PC 1000HE, HP Mini 1001, MSI Wind U120 and Samsung NC10.
Surprise, surprise he found that owning a netbook requires making compromises. Some of the issues with each netbook include mouse buttons on either side of the touchpad for the HP Mini 1001, the Samsung NC10 costs too much, the Asus is too heavy and the Wind doesn’t have upgradeable memory. The video doesn’t cover any new ground but is meant to be a bit of light relief, check it out after the break. Read more
Netbook Review Roundup 27/03/2009
March 27, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Netbook Choice’s roundup of netbook reviews from around the web on Friday 27th March 2009.
Asus Eee PC 1000HE @ Khabrein.Info
Rating: 5 Stars (out of 5)
HP Mini 2140 @ Wi-Fi Planet
Rating: N/A
MSI Wind U120 @ PC World
Rating: 4.5 Stars (out of 5)
Samsung NC10 review @ Cnet UK
Rating: 8.9
Sony Vaio P (P588E) @ Mobile Tech Review
Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)
Netbook Roundup (Asus N10Jc, HP Mini 2140, Samsung NC10, Sony Vaio P) @ Computer World
Rating: N/A
Video: Samsung N310 impressions & hands on
March 27, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Blogeee managed to get some time hands-on with the Samsung N310 yesterday and posted a short video of its impressions. They played with the black version, which judging from the video seemed slightly susceptible to fingerprints. Overall they found the N310 very well finished and surprisingly light and compact. The netbook was one of the most popular products on the Samsung stand. Read more
Netbook Review Roundup 25/03/2009
March 25, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Netbook Choice’s roundup of netbook reviews from around the web on Wednesday 25th March 2009.
Asus Eee PC 1000HE @ IT Pro
Rating: 5 Stars (out of 6)
Dell Inspiron Mini 1210 @ Cnet Australia
Rating: 7.3
HP Mini 1000 Mi Edition @ Cnet Asia
Rating: 7.8
HP Mini 2140, the ‘Mobile Professional’ @ Datamation
Rating: N/A
Samsung NC20 @ iGizmo
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
Samsung wants full Win 7 on future netbooks, no Linux plans
March 25, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Microsoft has openly talked about its hopes for Windows 7 running beautifully on netbooks. It does not want to make the same mistakes it has made with Vista and is keen for netbook vendors to ship with Windows 7 on launch rather than XP. Higher margins is one of the main reasons MS has actively talked about the netbooks + Win 7 combination. Windows 7 Starter (crippled) Edition will only allow three applications to run at one-time and MS are banking on being able to upsell the more premium versions to consumers. Read more
Samsung N120 Picture Gallery
March 25, 2009 at 1:22 pm
When we reported on the Samsung N120 yesterday we only had details on the netbook but no pictures. We now have a full gallery of pictures courtesy of Slashgear. The pictures show that it has a big bezel around the screen, not a surprise given the full 12-inch keyboard attached to this 10.1-inch display netbook. I suppose they did have to fit that stereo sound system, with dedicated subwoofer somewhere! The speakers are integrated on either side of the display.
The screen itself looks glossy rather than matte. Samsung expects that the N120 netbook will be available from April, no pricing has been revealed so far. Check out a full gallery of pictures after the break. Read more
Samsung N110 supports max 1GB RAM, may be deal-breaker for some
March 25, 2009 at 8:52 am
The Samsung N110 netbook is now listed on the official Samsung US site. From the initial announcement and review that appeared on Monday it appeared that the N110 was an improved version of Samsung’s best-selling NC10 netbook. Its improvements include an expanded touchpad and a higher capacity 6-cell 5900 mAh battery (versus 5200 mAh in the NC10) that should give 9.5 hours of continuous use according to Samsung.
However, browsing through the product page shows that the maximum support RAM for the N110 is only 1GB. This is a strange move in our view, especially given that the NC10 supports 2GB. Apart from that there doesn’t seem to be any surprises to what we already knew. The official product page already has user manuals, drivers and software listed.
The N110 is powered by a 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU and 1GB RAM. It also has a 160GB (5,400 rpm) hard-disk drive. It also comes with Wifi (b/g), Bluetooth and Windows XP Home SP3. The Samsung N110 is set to launch in the US in the first week of April for $469.99. A full list of technical specifications is attached after the break.
Update: The Samsung N110 manual refers to the maximum amount of RAM being 2GB. At the time of writing, the Samsung website still says that the maximum RAM is 1GB but this is likely to be a typo. Thanks VSB!
Netbook Review Roundup 24/03/2009
March 24, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Netbook Choice’s roundup of netbook reviews from around the web on Tuesday 24th March 2009.
Asus Eee PC 1000HE @ Tech Radar
Rating: 4 Stars
Asus Eee PC 1000HE @ ubergizmo
Rating: N/A
HP Mini 1018TU Vivienne Tam Edition @ TechTree
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Samsung NC20 @ Notebook Review
Rating: N/A
Toshiba NB100 @ Stuff.co.nz
Rating: N/A
Recent Comments