SAMSUNG'S N510-4B





The most remarkable feature of the Samsung N140 is its bright matte display. Most netbooks in the market have glossy displays which can be difficult to read in bright surroundings.

Samsung N140 Specs
The Samsung N140 is available in Blue or Burgundy.
Review laptop specifications
Display: 10.1 inch matte display with 1024 x 600 pixels
Processor: Intel Atom N280 (1.6GHz) processor
Graphics: Intel GMA 950 graphics
Memory: 1 GB
Storage: 250 GB Hard drive (5400 rpm)
Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium (Default – Windows 7 Starter)

Build / Feel
The Samsung N140 has an all matte interior which prevents it from collecting finger prints. The keyboard, display, palm rests and the screen bezel all have a matte finish. On the flip side the screen lid is glossy and very good at picking up fingerprints.

There is a silver rim around the edge of the chassis which lends the notebooka classy look. Build quality is reasonably good, and design is very attractive.

Keyboard
The Samsung N140 has a nearly full sized keyboard which occupies all the space on the chassis. The keyboard is very good. In fact, it is better than the keyboard on most 10 inch netbooks in the market. The keyboard is very sturdy and doesn’t show any flex at all.

Touchpad
There is a silver rimming around the touchpad. The touchpad supports multi-touch gestures including two-finger scrolling, zooming and pinching. It is the right size for a 10 inch netbook. Sensitivity is good. The touchpad doesn’t have separate left and right buttons. The single bar is easy to press and shows no stiffness at all. But it is a bit noisy when pressed.

Display
The Samsung N140 is one of the few netbooks in the market with a matte display. The display is very bright but it isn’t quite as sharp as glossy displays. Viewing angles are satisfactory. In fact, horizontal viewing angles are very good. While the screen itself is good, the lid does have some limitations. You can’t open the lid beyond 135 degrees. Another downside is the low resolution of the display which has only 1024 x 600 pixels. Samsung, however, has included a resolution application that allows you to raise the resolution to 1024 x 768 pixels.

Ports and Slots
There are 3 USB ports. Other features include LAN 10/100, WiFi 802.11b/g/n, 0.3 megapixel webcam, VGA, card reader, headphone and microphone jacks. There is no HDMI. The US model also doesn’t have Bluetooth.

Speakers / Audio
The stereo speakers come with SRS TruSurround XT, SRS WOW XT and SRS CS Headphone technology. Audio quality is very good.

Noise and heat
The Samsung N140 is almost silent. You have to try really hard to hear the fan humming even in a quiet room. Heat levels are within normal limits. The laptop does get a bit warm under heavy loads, but nothing unusual.

Battery Life
Most netbooks now offer all day battery life, but the Samsung N140 disappoints in this department. It has a 6-cell battery rated at 5,200mAh. While Samsung’s product page claims that the battery will offer up to 9.5 hours of uptime, in real usage, you will get only around 5 hours.

Performance
Don’t expect too much out of a netbook. These machines are powered by low power Atom processors. Samsung N140 is no different. It has enough power to handle everyday tasks. You will have no difficulty processing MS Office documents. You can browse the web with multiple tabs open. You can also run multiple applications at the same. But you won’t be able to play 3D games. You can’t watch HD video either.

Pros
Matte display
Really quiet
Good touchpad and keyboard
Good speakers
Affordable

Cons
Average battery life
Glossy screen lid prone to pick up finger prints
Not very upgrade friendly.
No WiFi with Linux

Samsung laptop




Samsung is yet to officially announce a Pine Trail Atom netbook, but some retailers are selling a laptop called the Samsung N220 which has a Pine Trail Atom processor. This mini-laptop, it seems, is the updated version of the Samsung N140. Here are the specs:

Processor: 1.66GHz Intel Pine Trail Atom N450 processor
Display: 10.1″ non-glossy display with 1024 x 600 pixels
Memory: 1 GB of RAM
Storage: 250 GB hard drive
Operating System: Windows 7 Starter Edition

The Samsung N220 has the regular array of ports. Supported connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 and Ethernet. There are 3USB ports, VGA, SDHC card slot, headphone and mic jacks. The machine weighs 2.9 pounds and measures 1.4 inches in thickness. Samsung claims that the 6 cell battery will give up to 11.5 hours of runtime. These claims are probably too good to be true, but you should be able to get 7 or 8 hours under real-world conditions.

Pricing and availability
The netbook now sells for 349 Euros in France (about $503 US). It is not available in the US at the moment, but it may in the near future and then it will likely sell for less.


TOSHIBA NB305 NOW AVAILABLE IN CANADA


These days almost every netbook maker is busy slipping out their Pine Trail powered netbooks. Toshiba is no different. The company has sent some units of its NB305 to aCanadian onlineretailer. There is no official press release though.

The Toshiba NB305 is available in ablue and browncolor design. In design it isn’t much different from the NB205. Specs are as follows:

Processor: Intel Atom N450 clocking at 1.66 GHz
Graphics: GMA 3150 graphics
Display: 10.1 inch display with 1024 x 600 pixels
Memory: 1 GB of RAM
Storage: 250 GB HDD spinning at 5400
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11b/g/n, Ethernet 10/100, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

There are 3 USB 2.0 ports, VGA, SDHC reader, 0.3 mega pixel webcam, headphone and microphone jacks. The 6 cell battery is expected to provide up to 11 hours of uptime. The netbook runs Windows 7 Starter.

Pricing and Availability
The machine is now available for $459.99 CAD in Canada.