Samsung N110

...the production line, the new Samsung N110 netbook is the replacement for the brilliant and very successful NC10 model. It is evolutionary rather than revolutionary in terms of specification, but as the NC10 was widely regarded as being one of the best netbooks, this is no real criticism.


For the uninitiated, a netbook is a mini-notebook computer, usually with a less powerful processor, designed for very mobile users or those that ...
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BATTERY
Samsung claim 9.5hours for the standard 6 cell battery, but my experience with the screen on maximum brightness and with wireless enabled, is around 6-7 hours. This is still a very impressive total and to be honest is what you should expect from a computer that will mostly be used on the move and away from power sources. Frankly, a netbook with a 3 cell battery and barely 3 hours capacity doesn't make a lot of sense to me. ... more

INTRODUCTION
Hot from the production line, the new Samsung N110 netbook is the replacement for the brilliant and very successful NC10 model. It is evolutionary rather than revolutionary in terms of specification, but as the NC10 was widely regarded as being one of the best netbooks, this is no real criticism.

For the uninitiated, a netbook is a mini-notebook computer, usually with a less powerful processor, designed for very mobile users or those that need to perform basic computing tasks such as web browsing, email and word processing on a semi-regular basis.
SPECIFICATIONS
The N110 has the now familiar spec for today's netbooks.

• Intel Atom N270 at 1.6ghz with 1gb of memory (maximum is 2gb)
• 160gb hard disk
• 10.1" screen at 1024x600 pixel resolution, 128mb of graphics memory
• Integrated 1.3mp webcam, b/g wireless and Bluetooth connectivity

It also sports the usual external connections of 3x usb ports, SD card reader, microphone, headphone, external monitor and wired network port. All of the ports are located on the left and right sides rather than along the rear which makes connections easier.
The operating system supplied is of course Windows XP home with SP3. In common with other netbooks there is no internal CD/DVD drive, though there is nothing to stop you plugging in an external usb one.

Improvements over the NC10 include an even longer battery life, larger trackpad, glossy screen instead of matte and a slightly reduced total weight - down from 1.33kg to 1.26kg. Visually the case is almost identical to it’s predecessor - the chrome edge strip being replaced with a dark red one.

There is however a price to pay - an increase of around £30 to the NC10, nudging the average buy price to around £350 at the time of writing, taking it into the same price bracket as a low-end full-size laptop.

IN USE
Starting up is quick - about a minute to login and for the desktop to appear. Going into and resuming from standby mode with a couple of applications open, took an impressive 20 seconds each way.

The screen is fantastic - bright and sharp, although getting the optimum viewing angle can be tricky given the small size. Not one to rely on for precise colour photo editing.

The N110 has solid build quality and is virtually silent in operation with no noticeable heat dissipation when running on the battery - good for those users who take using laptops literally.

I was worried about overall performance with real applications such as Paint Shop Pro (admittedly an old version but I like it) and Outlook and Word 2003 but I needn't have worried. Apart from maybe a couple of seconds longer to start, there are no delays or noticeably slow moments.

You do of course need to be realistic - a netbook is not going to be as fast as your desktop or laptop computer, at least not a recent one. You can rule out those uses such as games and HD video playback that demand much more powerful graphics and CPU hardware.

BATTERY
Samsung claim 9.5hours for the standard 6 cell battery, but my experience with the screen on maximum brightness and with wireless enabled, is around 6-7 hours. This is still a very impressive total and to be honest is what you should expect from a computer that will mostly be used on the move and away from power sources. Frankly, a netbook with a 3 cell battery and barely 3 hours capacity doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

KEYBOARD AND TRACKPAD
Given the confined dimensions of the average netbook (the Samsung measure just 26cm wide by 19cm deep), A NETBOOK keyboard is always going to feel cramped, but the keys on the N110 like the NC10 before it, are almost the same size as my old full-size laptop - the row Q to P is only 1cm shorter. I have written this whole review on the N110 and it has been no great hardship - and I'm usually quite fussy regarding keyboards.

I have had no problems with using the trackpad on the N110. Samsung obviously listened to criticism of the smaller trackpad of the NC10 and decided to make a worthwhile improvement here.

EXTRAS
Very little other software is included apart from a suite of Samsung applications, mainly utilities. There is a comprehensive battery manager which allows you to set various power saving options such as screen brightness and cpu speed. However, with the luxury of that great battery, I mostly tend to use maximum performance mode.

Another interesting utility is the Samsung Recovery Solution which allows you to make a backup of your entire installation to a hidden partition on the disk. In case of future problems, you can simply restore the system back to a working state.

There is an on-screen instruction manual which is quite comprehensive, although the paper documentation supplied in the box is quite limited. Also supplied is an AC power adaptor and an almost use ‘slip cover’. You should definitely purchase a more rugged case if you want to protect your machine on the move.

CONCLUSION
There is no doubt that the N110 continues to lead the netbook pack at the moment. The well-designed keyboard, great screen and exceptional battery life do put it ahead of other netbooks that cannot match the Samsung in all of these important areas. It is not the most attractive netbook, and in the near future I am sure that some more high-performance models will be coming onto the market, but the N110 will still take some beating. If you need a netbook now, this should be at the top of your shortlist.
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