Samsung N120 - a great little machine!

Samsung N120 - a great little machine!,

May 15, 2009

By	Julie Mattingly "Firedanser" (Sellersburg, IN) - See all my reviews

Just received my Samsung N120 today and I am in love. I did a ton of research on netbooks and it was a toss up in between the NC10 and the N120. I finally settled on the N120 based on the size of the keyboard. The keyboard is fantastic and has a great touch to it, i'm a touch typist and don't have any problems using the keyboard. I used a USB driver to install Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and to my surprise - it works quite well on this machine. I bought this mainly for travel for it's ultraportability to use with our SLR camera. The glossy screen is really not an issue to me as a previous reviewer had mentioned. The wi-fi has been fantastic - picking up 8-10 networks wherever i'm located. The sound doesn't blow you away, but it is definetely sufficient for a netbook. The battery came fully charged and so far i've been working with it all day installing programs, music, etc. and i've gotten about 7 hours thus far. FYI - I purchased the white version and the exterior is a nice matte finish unlike the NC10 which is glossy and picks up fingerprints easily. I do like the fact that the two USB ports on the left are active all the time and you can charge your cell/Ipod/etc even if the computer is off. Hopefully this helps anyone trying to decide on this great little machine! Enjoy!

Samsung N120:Love that full size keyboard!

Love that full size keyboard!, April 21, 2009

By	DAB (Louisiana) - See all my reviews

Okay my N120 arrived a little while ago. The keyboard is freaking AWESOME! The trackpad/buttons are about the same size as the NC10 SE and N110. I found the raised buttons much easier to use than the ones on the NC10 which are kind of level or maybe even sunk down a tad. The specs in terms of the width of the case is pretty much the same as the NC10. The case itself is matte finish on the outside and inside on the palm rest etc. (Yeah no more fingerprints) The display is glossy, but really not as glossy as I was expecting. I had one of my staff that has the Acer Aspire One come to my office with his and both of us were shocked at how much more glossy and reflective his was compared to the Samsung N120. Now this isn't to say that it isn't going to have some reflection and glare, because it will, though the display is so bright that for me personally it is totally within an acceptable limit. In side by side comparison... (sorry I don't have my camera at work) sitting directly in front of both that Acer was was more glossy. given a choice, YES I would have preferred a matte display too!

The rounded or beveled edge along the front of the palm rest is really comfortable and it seems there isn't really much more palm rest area than on the NC10.

I logged into Pandora and played some tunes because naturally I wanted to check out that subwoofer. hehehe. It appears to basically be a bit larger speaker on the front left side, along with the 1.5 watt speakers in the bezel around the display. The volume turn up only 25 percent was plenty loud and when you turn it up all the way it is VERY loud. That Acer by comparison is very, very weak as is the NC10. I was surprised that the subwoofer seem to give it much more depth and clarity. I am very, very pleased with the sound. No you aren't going to get any thumping bass, but it certainly adds a dimension to the sound that is simply not there on other netbooks. You can also adjust it as initially I found the sound very tinny, but was able to boost it up with some more bass to level it out.

The bezel around the display isn't pretty, but I don't mind it, having the speakers on each side is a plus in my book.

I did do some comparison between the N120 and NC10 SE. I can tell you that width wise the N120 is about half inch wider, but pretty much the same in all other demensions. The track/mouse pad is a bit bigger.

Another thing I noticed is that Samsung now includes a battery extender like the Lenovo business notebooks. This allows you to only charge the batter to about 80% if you are going to use it on AC a great deal. Though the whole idea of a netbook is to take it off away from AC power. Still I think it is cool that they added this and of course the NC10 doesn't support this.

I think the N120 is a great netbook and it is really no bigger than all the other 10" diplay netbooks, weighs about the same and even less than some, yet has a killer full size keyboard.

Samsung N120 is Great Netbook!

Great Netbook!, April 29, 2009

By	just my opinion - See all my reviews

I bought this last week after reading a LOT of reviews on various netbooks. I wanted something lightweight, durable and reliable for traveling especially via plane. I have a fairly portable laptop already but every extra ounce seems to really seem heavy walking through airports, NYC, etc. I also like the idea of being able to carry a lightweight machine to public places where i can get a little work done without needing to carry a laptop, power cord, etc.
I was a little worried that a netbook would not be 'enough' but so far it has been outstanding!
This particular netbook is far nicer looking and seemingly more durable than ANYTHING i've seen at local stores. Although the screen is advertised as 'glossy' it is not overly so and looks nothing like the HP and Asus 'glossy' screens. The keyboard is fantastic and the built in track pad works really well. Battery life has been very good - I got close to 8 hours the first time I charged it. This netbook is comfortable to type on and has rounded edges. The speakers are decent and certainly better sounding than many other netbooks on the market.
I recently loaded Office 2007 - it runs just fine. I also UN-Loaded the pre-installed McAfee software, replaced with AVG and that was a good decision - things are much faster without McAfee. I plan to upgrade to 2 gb of RAM but right now everything runs just fine with the installed 1 gb.
Although a netbook will probably not ever replace my laptop, it is perfect for the times i want/need to have computer access for internet, email and word processing/office type work. The convenience of being able to take this very portable, lightweight machine with me is a real bonus!
Although this netbook is a bit more expensive than some others on the market, I think it's worth the extra money.

Samsung N120 review

Samsung N120 Review

Reviewed by: Rory Reid

Reviewed on: 11 May 2009

There's one born every minute. No, not suckers -- netbooks. the Samsung N120 is the latest mini laptop to find its way to the mothership, aka the CNET UK offices. Alongside the slightly smaller N110, this model is one of two successors to the highly rated NC10. It promises better usability, better battery life, enhanced sound capabilities and a user experience that belies its netbook heritage. It's available to buy now for around £370.

Design
The N120 is large by netbook standards. It isn't as big as the 12-inch NC20, but its 272 by 189 by 30mm chassis is wider and deeper than the NC10's 261 by 185 by 30mm casing. They share the same 1.3kg weight, but the N120 looks lardy next to the uber-sleek Eee PC 1008HA Seashell.

The extra 9mm girth has allowed Samsung to fit an even better keyboard than the one on the NC10. Whereas most 10-inch netbook keyboards are approximately 92 per cent the size of a full laptop keyboard, Samsung's tweaked the chassis sufficiently to wedge in a 97 per cent keyboard.

The N120's keyboard is larger than the average netbook's

Unfortunately, while the keyboard's bigger, there isn't enough travel in the keys. They simply don't go down far enough when you press them, meaning it can sometimes be unclear whether your keystrokes have actually registered when touch-typing. Still, the keyboard does have silver nano technology -- an antibacterial coating that helps prevent germs from breeding.

The deeper chassis should theoretically have allowed Samsung to fit a larger mouse trackpad, but that's not the case. It uses the same trackpad as the NC10 -- which is fine for the most part -- but a slightly larger model would have been welcome.

Connectivity is as we expected on the N120. It packs three USB ports, mic and headphone ports, Ethernet, an SD card reader that lives at the front edge and a 1.3-megapixel webcam above the screen.

What isn't so standard is the speaker arrangement. The N120 is the first netbook to feature an on-board 2.1-channel SRS TrueSurround XT sound system. Stereo speakers occupy each side of the screen, while a third speaker -- a 'subwoofer' -- lives on the underside of the chassis. More on this later.

Features
An Atom N270 CPU runs the N120's show. We'd have preferred the slightly quicker N280 chip that powers the Eee PC 1008HE Seashell, but the performance delta between the two isn't so great that we're throwing a tantrum. One gigabyte of 800MHz RAM comes as standard. This can be user-upgraded to 2GB of RAM quite easily, though you'll have to buy a 2GB module yourself and ditch the existing 1GB module in the process.

Storage is typical netbook fare. The N120 ships with a 160GB hard drive, which is capacious enough to stash around 230 standard-definition movies -- more than enough for a transatlantic flight or, better still, a week-long holiday away with your girlfriend's parents. If you're greedy for more storage, it's theoretically possible to swap the 160GB drive for a 250GB one, though a screwdriver and a modicum of skill is required.

802.11b/g Wi-Fi makes an appearance, but that's hardly news in a netbook. Unfortunately, the faster 802.11n protocol isn't supported, so if you ever install a high-speed wireless network in your home, the N120 will create something of a bottleneck. Bluetooth 2.0 is also present, but again, we'd have preferred Bluetooth 2.1, which -- among other things -- theoretically improves the battery life of Bluetooth mice and keyboards. Another small gripe is the lack of connectivity beyond range of Wi-Fi -- there's no 3G.

Samsung N120-12GBK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 6 Cell Battery

Samsung N120-12GBK 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 6 Cell Battery

Technical Details

* 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor

* 1 GB RAM

* 160 GB Hard Drive

* Microsoft XP Home with Service Pack 3, 6 Cell Battery

Product Details

* Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.6 x 5 inches ; 5.1 pounds

* Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

* Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.

* ASIN: B0021AFZOI

* Item model number: NP-N120-KA01US

* Average Customer Review:

11 Reviews 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Weighing just 2.8 pounds, the Samsung N120-12GBK mini-notebook in black improves on its predecessors with a sleeker, curvier design, a glossy LCD screen, a larger touchpad, an integrated subwoofer for 2.1-channel surround sound (via SRS audio technology), and a 6-cell lithium rechargeable battery that provides up to 6 hours of continuous use. An affordable mobile PC that's ideal for all your online needs, the N120 is designed to go almost anywhere--from kitchen and living room at home to Wi-Fi hotspots at coffee shops, airports and more. It sports a 10.1-inch LED-backlit SuperBright screen and a 97-percent full-size keyboard that's easy to type on and includes an innovative coating that helps create a more germ-free environment.

It's powered by the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, which is designed especially for mobile devices and features an innovative hafnium-infused circuitry that reduces electrical current leakage in transistors to conserve energy. The integrated 54g Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g) will keep you connected to email and all your social networks, while the Bluetooth 2.0+EDR technology enables you to use handsfree communication headsets while video chatting via the integrated 1.3-megapixel webcam. This model comes in black, but it's also available in white.

Other features include a 160 GB hard drive, 1 GB of RAM, built-in speakers and microphone, SD/SDHC/MMC memory card reader, three USB ports (with two of them able to charge your peripherals), and a VGA output to an external monitor. It comes preinstalled with the Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system, which offers more experienced users an enhanced and innovative experience that incorporates Windows Live features like Windows Live Messenger for instant messaging and Windows Live Mail for consolidated email accounts on your desktop.

Processor

The Intel Atom processor uses a brand new design structure that packs in 47 million transistors into a single chip sized at just 22mm (0.87 inches), and it uses just 2.5 watts of power--less than 1/10 of the 35 watts used by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor--for excellent battery management. This 1.6 GHz Atom N270 processor also includes a power-optimized front side bus of 533 MHz for faster data transfer on demanding mobile applications and a 512 KB L2 cache (which temporarily stores data).

Storage & Memory

There's plenty of room for everything you download from the web with 160 GB of hard disk drive storage. Plus, you'll enjoy a quick system boot-up and fast access to stored information. The N120 offers 1 GB of installed RAM, delivering maximum netbook performance for accessing the Internet and enjoying streaming multimedia.

Screen, Video & Audio

With its LED-backlit SuperBright 10.1-inch wide LCD, you can view the Internet or any application in full-screen mode (at a 1024 x 600-pixel resolution) without compromise and in a clear and comfortable display. Video is powered by Intel's integrated, power-efficient 945GSE Express chipset, which features a 32-bit 3D graphics engine based on the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950. Enjoy a full and rich multimedia experience on the go with high-quality sound thanks to the integrated SRS 2.1-channel system, featuring 2 x 1.5 watt stereo speakers with a dedicated subwoofer. It also offers an integrated audio chip that's compatible with HD Audio.

Integrated Webcam

An integrated 1.3 megapixel digital motion camera makes it easier than ever to keep in touch with friends and family, using video-conferencing or live messaging. The camera combines the resolution and image quality of a still camera with the sustained high frame rates of a video camera.

Connectivity

This Samsung N120 mini-notebook has an integrated 54g wireless LAN (Acer InviLink) that's compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g wireless networks, as well as an Ethernet jack for plugging into a wired network. With the integrated Bluetooth connectivity, you can communicate and synchronize with Bluetooth-enabled peripherals such as PDAs and cell phones as well as use Bluetooth-enabled headsets for VoIP phone calls and handsfree video chats. To increase your storage capabilities, you can access optional memory cards (Secure Digital, Secure Digital High Capacity, and MultiMediaCard).Here's the full list of connectivity options:

* 3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players (2 chargeable USB ports

* SD/SDHC/MMC memory card reader

* 1 headphone out/microphone in

* RJ-45 port for 10/100 Fast Ethernet connection

* VGA video output for external monitors

Operating System & Software

Pre-installed with Windows XP, the Samsung N110 includes the following software: Samsung Recovery Solution III, Samsung Magic Doctor, Samsung Update Plus Easy Display Manager, Easy Battery Manager, Easy Network Manager, Easy SpeedUp Manager McAfee Virus Scan, Adobe Acrobat Reader.