Samsung N120-12GW 10.1-Inch White Netbook – 6 Cell Battery
August 16th, 2010 | 36 views |
- 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor
- 160 GB Hard Drive 1 GB RAM
- Microsoft XP Home with Service Pack 4, 6 Cell Battery
- SuperBright 10.1-inch glossy LCD screen
Product Description
Weighing just 2.8 pounds, the new Samsung N120 mini notebook is focused around multimedia, designed with built in speakers and subwoofer for richer online content experience. With Intel Atom processor, 160GB of storage, … More >>
5 Comments to “Samsung N120-12GW 10.1-Inch White Netbook – 6 Cell Battery”
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.
Rating: 5 / 5
I purchased a Samsung NC10 a few months ago and continue to love it. My wife and I travel around the world every year for business and pleasure, and after she observed my NC10, as I used it on our last trip, she was sold on it and decided to have me order one for her. So I decided that we may as well try one of the newer versions. I chose the N120, mainly for the track pad and keyboard size, and the supposedly better speakers.
Well, it arrived yesterday (5/14/09), and after charging the battery and playing around with it for a few hours we decided to return it and buy another NC10. If I had never had an NC10 for comparison, maybe this would have been fine, but in comparing them side by side, I felt the N120 was slightly inferior.
The first thing that stood out to me (I am very picky about screens) is that the screen was not as easy to read as the matte screen of the NC10. I observed the same photos on each computer and felt the colors were not as accurate, nor as readable as the NC10′s screen. It was bright enough, but the impression one would get from looking at both side by side is that the matte screen of the NC10 was overall a bit brighter and easier to view, especially off axis. When I brought the 2 netbooks outside to try them out on the back porch, it was over. The N120′s glossy screen made it nearly impossible to see what was happening, as the sky and trees reflected back into the screen, while the NC10′s matte screen was completely readable and usable. Also, as I continued to look at both, I kept thinking that the N120′s screen was smaller somehow, so I took out a measuring tape and sure enough, the NC10′s screen was 1/4″ taller than the 120′s, and they were both the same width. One thing a netbook is lacking in, is the screen height, and even though it was only a quarter of an inch, that was enough, combined with the inferior color rendition and the glossy screen, to put this back in the box and send it back to Amazon. Of course this is all subjective and ymmv as to what you like in a screen.
The positives of the N120 are that it’s still as well constructed as the NC10, has a nicer look with the rounded corners and slightly thinner appearance, plus the slightly larger size of the keys and track pad are desirable. However my wife had no problems with my NC10′s keyboard and she uses a travel mouse anyway so the track pad size was not an issue for her.
Further observations from the geeky tweak that I am:
I am always very concerned about wifi signal strength in my laptops because we travel so often and hotel wifi signals are many times so poor that every last bit of signal strength a laptop can provide is like gold to me. Nothing worse than sitting next to your buddy and he’s surfing the net while your laptop can’t even get a signal. So I though I better try some experiments while I had them both. I tried different positions around the house with both computers to see if either one had an advantage in wifi signal strength. Though this was certainly not a perfect scientific test, I noticed in every different location that the NC10 picked up at least 1 more local connection than the N120. The signal strength of each connection was either the same or one bar higher on the NC10. No biggie, but it was slightly in favor of the NC10.
Then I tried the speakers. Well, to my dismay, there was so little difference in quality between the 2 netbooks that I would have never chosen the N120 over the NC10 for sound alone, even if both were the same in every other way. Completely negligible. Yes, the N120 had a slightly richer bottom end, but believe me, the slight amount was indeed “slight”. Both were also almost equal in volume output. That “subwoofer” they say is in the N120 is a joke. Please don’t buy this expecting really great sound out of the supplied speakers. It’s usable in a pinch for music and completely usable for Skype, but that’s it. If you want good sound on the road, plug in headphones or buy one of those FoxL portable speakers on Amazon.
I hope any of this will be usable to those agonizing over which Samsung Netbook to purchase. I know I would have loved to have read someone’s observations about these while I was struggling to figure out if I should just get another NC10, an N110, or an N120. Now I know. The screen is better on the NC10 and the pluses of the N120 are negated by the things I mentioned.
Rating: 3 / 5
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.
Rating: 5 / 5
I did a lot of research on the differences between the Samsung NC10 and N120, and Asus’ 1000HE before finally deciding on the N120. So here is what i like about it & what i don’t like, with some comparisons to the Asus 1000HE and Samsung NC10. I think all 3 are great machines, here are MY personal likes & dislikes and what ultimately persuaded me to go with the N120…..
* Price—Not as big an issue these days due to recent price drops on the Samsung units……When i first started looking at the N120, the price was $460.00 at many places and i think amazon had it listed at around $432.00. so it was only like a $40 difference from the Asus 1000HE which was $389.99 but I was unsure of what to do. So i held out and i’m glad i did. I finally nabbed it for $399.99 which i think is a good deal. now the prices fluctuate every few days it seems. you can often nab this for well under $400.00, i have even seen it drop to $350-something. If you don’t need it right away & can stand to wait i would hold out for that price if you can get it. just be sure to check on it every day because they keep playing with the price….
* Battery life—all 3 netbooks have great battery life, in that area you can’t go wrong with any of them. You aren’t going to get as long a run as whatever they claim the max to be, and It’s hard to say exactly how long the batteries will last as it depends on the type of apps running, video playback screen brightness, using energy saver mode, etc; So i’m not sure which one actually lasts the longest, but i think it is the Asus 1000HE. but one can typically get 6hrs from any of the three. The N120 says up to 6hrs, i got about 6 hrs even watching videos & on full screen brightness. (Let me just say that previous to receiving my netbook I was borrowing my boyfriend’s macbook which, when brand new, used to hold a charge for only one hr. Now, a year and 1/2 later, the battery is shot. it lasts about 20 mins tops. So as far as i’m concerned, i feel SPOILED getting 6 hrs off one charge.)
* Keyboard/Touchpad—I hate chicklet style keyboards & despite having small hands i am a really sloppy typer and get easily frustrated by typing on netbook keyboards. I like that the 1000HE keyboard has been improved as far as the shift key & size. I tested out the Asus and the keyboard is pretty good. But i was not happy with the amount of pressure required to use the touchpad. I don’t like the stiff double button design, I had to press so hard i think it might make my finger hurt after a while, and it makes a loud click noise. In some reviews users noted that in time the stiffness seems to loosen up a bit, but i didn’t want to take the chance. The keyboard & touchpad on the N120 are both great. The keyboard is virtually full size, and is without a doubt the best keyboard on a 10.1 inch netbook. You don’t need much pressure on the keys. The touchpad is also the largest i’ve seen. It works great and has awesome sensitivity (not too much, not too little) The N120 netbook itself is about 1/2 inch longer other netbooks of this size screen in order to achieve the virtually full size keyboard, but the machine is actually lighter and slimmer than the 1000HE. And i am happy to report that the N120 has a page scrolling function built in on the right side of the touchpad. I somehow missed this while doing my research so it was a very nice surprise. I love it!
* Aesthetics—Asus’ 1000HE has that glossy finish most netbooks have that i absolutely LOATH. I for one can’t stand fingerprint smudges all over my laptop & don’t plan to waste time constantly cleaning it. I know that seems trivial to some but is a huge pet-peeve of mine. So i was willing to pay a little more to prevent having to deal with it. Also, both Samsung netbooks are prettier looking than the 1000HE, in my opinion. They are slimmer & the matte finish really does look less cheap than the glossy finish. For some reason i think matte plastic looks higher quality than shiny plastic, with or without fingerprints. Unfortunately with the samsungs you are limited to only black or white, but those pretty blues and pinks offered by other netbooks only get marred by a million streaky fingerprints anyway. If i ultimately ended up going with the Asus, i was going to get a laptop skin to help prevent most of the unsightly fingerprint marks, however i know that even with the skin on there are the sides & parts of the netbook exposed that will still get printed up. ugh…..Oh, let me just comment that the white N120 is not a crisp stark Apple computer white like i expected. It is a soft, pearly, slightly off-white white. So while it is matte, it has a slight sheen to it. LOVE that it doesn’t collect & reflect prints, it looks clean & classy.
* Speakers— The N120 has better speakers. Now, I have seen varying reviews on the speakers. Some people say they don’t really notice a difference while others think the N120 speakers blow other netbooks away. I think there is for sure a definite improvement with the N120 speakers over other netbooks. I can notice it & I am satisfied with the sound level on the N120. It’s nothing miraculous but i think the sound is better than other netbooks. (That weak, tinny sound produced by netbooks is annoying to me so i really desired an improvement in sound, even if only a small one.) speaking of sound, let me just say that the N120 runs absolutely silent. I am so happy that there’s no loud fan or hum produced by the processor. It is totally quiet. I have no idea if the asus or the NC10 run quiet or not so i can’t make a comparison in that area.
* Blue tooth/wifi/ports—For the most part these are the same on each model, with a few slight differences…..It’s nice to have the built in bluetooth, even if you aren’t using it. I was going to get a mouse with a bluetooth connection because typically i get annoyed with touchpads, but i didn’t need to because i’m actually quite pleased with the one on the N120. At this point probably the only bluetooth device i might get is headphones. The N120 has the standard b/g wifi. I think the standard b/g works fine. I’ve never had a problem with it. but just a point to make in case somebody really wants to try the new “n” wifi which is supposedly faster, the 1000HE comes with the new b/g/n wifi…..The standard 3 usb ports come on all 3 netbooks, but the N120 has an added feature in that 2 of it’s usb ports are chargeable, meaning you can charge usb devices even while the computer is turned off. I haven’t actually used this feature yet & i don’t know when if i will. But i like that i have the ability to charge my phone, camera, or mp3 player if i needed to.
*Screen—The issue of the screen made it hard to decide on which model to choose. I almost didn’t get the N120 because of the glossy screen. i had read in some reviews that the N120 glossy screen is less glossy than other brands and most people weren’t bothered by it. So i took my chances. Well I must say that is true that it’s not as high gloss as other glossy screens, but it is still a little too glossy for my taste. Indoors as much a problem, but outside i see a big glare. The color is bright & rich on the glossy screen, but i hate the glare. It is annoying & gives me a headache after a while. I much prefer the matte finish screens like the 1000HE and NC10 have. The samsung NC10 unfortunately does not have the same size keyboard & trackpad, better speakers, or the matte finish on the exterior So i ultimately decided against it. The NC10 screen is better though. It is noted in many places as being the same size on that as the N120 but they are not the same size. The N120 is 10.1 inch while the NC10 is bigger, at 10.2 inch. If you check out a video comparison floating round on the web of the 2 side by side, the NC10 screen definitely does appear a little bigger. Although i like really do like the look of the NC10 screen better, i really wanted the better sound quality & i just don’t think you are going to get it with all the speakers located underneath the system. I guess the slightly smaller screen is a trade off for the speakers….. as for the shiny screen, I plan on getting an anti-glare screen protector so that should solve that problem.
*Software—The software in general is pretty weak on all of them, and i mostly just play videos, surf the web, and email so i wasn’t really to concerned about what they come preloaded with. The samsungs have Mcafee preloaded on them, i got rid of it & I installed Comodo firewall & virus protection which is free, doesn’t bog down the system, and works very well. The samsungs give you an update manager, back up recovery & adobe. That’s about it. There is no word processing program. The 1000HE has star office on it. But there are plenty of free programs on the web that work fine. One can be easily downloaded so this doesn’t matter to me.
*Customer Service—It seems like Asus’ customer service tends to leave a bad taste in peoples’ mouths. I think the 1000HE is a well made machine & definitely a great option. But I was leaning more & more towards trying out a samsung. I have always had good experiences with samsung products and i did not see complaints about Samsung’s customer service in reviews. So i felt more secure purchasing a product from them in the event that i received a bad apple. In some of the ASUS reviews people mentioned receiving units DOA. Asus made them pay to ship the unit to them to get it fixed! that is ridiculous!!!
Overall i am very pleased. I think the N120 is worth getting for the awesome touchpad & keyboard alone. I’ve had no connectivity issues, the machine runs great. It is superfast, and boots up in no time. It’s not a perfect machine, the glare on the screen annoys me but fortunately can be fixed. for my needs & my likes/dislikes, i made the right choice.
add july 22 2009—-so far so good! I still love my N120. i have had no problems at all, the battery is great and it boots up & connects to the internet superfast. The glare on the screen got to me so i ordered a screen protector designed to fit the asus 1000he. (i couldn’t find one made for this model computer) it fits pretty well, is a tad too big but not bad. i was going to use an exacto knife to cut to size but the part that overlaps is at the bottom of the screen. it’s only slightly too big and when the computer is on i can’t even tell, so i just left it that way. It works great at cutting out glare but the picture doesn’t seem as crisp now. I guess you can’t have it all. Oh, and I also upgraded the memory to 2GB because i thought i might need the extra ram. to be honest i don’t notice a difference but i mostly just surf the web. i have watched netflix movies without a problem when there was only 1gb ram in the machine. so i probably spent $25 i didn’t need to but it’s there if i ever need it
update Oct 18 2009—still awesome. no complaints at all. i love this netbook. SO happy i went with a samsung
Rating: 5 / 5
Samsung has hit a home run with the N120, which I purchased last week from Amazon. I couldn’t be more delighted: full size keyboard, longest battery life of any netbook (rated at 10.5 hrs), beautiful screen (glossy but sharp and bright with vibrant colors), and exceptional quality at every turn, even down to the Samsung proprietary software. I have previously owned 6 laptops (5 five different manufacturers), all but one of which I have liked. This is the best so far, and blows away the competition in netbooks. And no, I don’t work for Samsung, nor was I asked to write this review. In fact, I have never written a review before, and probably won’t again. But Samsung deserves applause for what it has done with this awesome little machine, perfect for traveling. Thank you Samsung.
Rating: 5 / 5