Review Will the tablet kill off the netbook? Probably not. Granted the netbook has never quite fulfilled its promise due to a combination of prices that went up with specifications that didn’t. Even so, I’ve yet to find a fondleslab that can truly replace my Windows 7/Ubuntu dual-booting Samsung N140.
Lap it up: Samsung’s NS310
The latest netbook from Samsung doesn’t address any of the fundamental failings of the breed – at £350 it’s still too expensive and even with a dual-core Intel Atom CPU, it remains a bit gutless. However, it has on-board some interesting new features compared to its predecessor the N310. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Tight spots don’t come much trickier than the one netbook makers find themselves in. Squeezed from above by prettier, more interesting tablets, netbooks such as Samsung’s £350 N350 are barely appealing alternatives to Apple’s glossy view of the future.
Samsung’s NC110: more of the same, but with a gloss-less screen
And take the new NC110 out of the box and it looks, depressingly, like business as usual. There’s a 10.1in screen, a dual-core Atom processor and 1GB of RAM, all of which adds up to just enough to run Windows 7 Starter edition, assuming you’re brave enough to remove the processor-crushing irritation that is Norton Internet Security. Read the rest of this entry »
Ever since Samsung released its first netbook in 2008 – it was the NC10 – it’s been churning out new models like there’s no tomorrow. And with the recent arrival of Intel’s second-gen Atom ‘Pine Trail’ platform, it’s no surprise Samsung has taken the opportunity to get some new netbooks to market.
Matte screen fans, rejoice! It’s Samsung’s N220
As far as first impressions go, the N220 doesn’t disappoint. The glossy black lid features a deep red glow that changes in intensity depending on the angle it’s viewed at. If red doesn’t rock your boat, there’s a rather funky green alternative. Being glossy, it’s a magnet for fingerprints.
The six-cell battery props the netbook up by roughly one centimetre at the rear, taking the total thickness to 36mm, but it sits flush with the rear edge. Read the rest of this entry »
Review The new N130 and N140 netbooks will probably be the last such machines we see from Samsung running the Silverthorn Atom processors as come January it is promising to announce a raft of new machines using the next generation Atom Pine Trail chips.
Of course we don’t know when exactly the new machines will be available to buy or how much they will cost, but its fair to assume they will replace most of the current range, specifically the NC10, NC20, N110, N120 and N310 machines leaving the N130 and N140 as the entry level of Samsung’s netbook range. Read the rest of this entry »
Review You don’t have to dig too deep to see that the diversity of Samsung’s netbook range is a case of flattering to deceive. Sure, there are plenty of them, but the differences are essentially Peripheral and cosmetic with all bar the NC20 having 10.1in screens and the usual netbook-norm Intel Atom chippery.
Samsung’s N510: a full res screen without a weak Z-series Atom CPU
The N510, however, diverges from the pattern established by the NC10 and replicated in such machines as the N110, N120 and N310 in that it uses Nvidia’s Ion LE graphics chip – along with a 1.66GHz Atom N280 CPU – and an 11.6in, 1366 x 768 display.
Despite the hidden differences, externally the N510 is quite clearly a Samsung. The design is restrained, if not to say conservative, and the only colours available are white and black. As with previous Samsung netbooks, the build quality is of a high standard. You get the feeling this is a machine that will take whatever life throws at it.
Easy-on-the-eye blue status lights abound, as do icons telling you what all the ports are for, together making this an ideal machine for anyone who loses sleep over whether or not they have left the Caps Lock key engaged or worry should they try to stick USB devices into HDMI or LAN ports. Read the rest of this entry »
