With the Samsung N110 (12PBK) ($470 street), the company has basically taken everything that's great about its original NC10-14GB 10-inch netbook, added a bigger battery, and renamed it. You can't even really call it an evolution because when a company launches a new model, the differences between it and the previous version should be more evident. Still, the N110 is a solid (albeit pricey) netbook that gives you a 93 percent keyboard and nearly 8 hours of battery life. If a better bargain is what you're after, however, the ASUS EeePC 1000HE is the ticket.
The N110's lustrous black exterior looks attractive, but blots, smudges, and fingerprints tend to proliferate if you don't have a wipe cloth handy. It's not alone, though. The ASUS 1000HE, the Acer Aspire One (10-inch), and the NC10-14GB are all smudge-prone. The HP Mini 2140 and the ASUS EeePC 1002HA have aluminum finishes that do a better job of warding off smudges, while the Samsung N120 (12GBK)'s offers a matte black finish.
Interestingly, the N110 is physically smaller (10.3 by 7.4 by 1.2 inches, HWD) than the N120 (10.8 by 7.4 by 1.2 inches), yet they both weigh 2.8 pounds and use similar six-cell batteries. The 1000HE has roughly the same dimensions (10.3 by 7.3 by 1.1 inches) as the N110 but, at 3.2 pounds, is heavier. Frankly, though, weight differences are inconsequential among netbooks. Even the ones with 12-inch widescreens, like the Samsung NC20 (3.3 pounds) and the Dell Inspiron Mini 12 (2.7 pounds), are in the same weight class and shouldn't feel too heavy.
The 10-inch widescreen was the size to beat six months ago, but as netbooks venture into the 11- to 12-inch screen space, the N110's seems a bit generic—as does its 1,024-by-600 resolution. Netbooks like the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 and the HP 2140 are already offering higher 1,366-by-768 resolutions. Alternatively, the NC20, with its 12-inch screen, can fill the big-screen slot, albeit at a higher price.
The N110's greatest asset is its 93 percent keyboard. It's a smidge larger than the keyboards found on the ASUS 1000HE, the HP 2140, and the HP Mini 1000, all 92 percent. Meanwhile, both its bigger siblings—the NC20 and the N120—boast full-size keyboards, which makes the N110 seem like the black sheep of the family. Nevertheless, the keyboard should serve a touch typist well. The mouse buttons aren't overly resistant, but the distance between them and the touchpad (the "pinch") could use a little widening. (The 1000HE, by contrast, has its mouse buttons wrapped around the front bezel, producing a wider pinch and a more comfortable navigating experience.)
The feature set is in line with that of the competition. The three USB ports, VGA-out, an SD card slot, and an Ethernet port are all present. But the N110 lacks an ExpressCard slot, like the ones found in the HP 2140 and the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (Red), which would have elevated its game. It also doesn't come with an Internal 3G modem like those offered on the Dell Mini 10 and the HP 1000, which would have added some business appeal. And an HDMI port, like the one found in the HP Pavilion dv2, would have been a welcome addition for the N110. What's more, the N110's pair of speakers is inferior-sounding compared with that of the N120, which boasts chargeable USB ports as well. The N110 comes with a one-year parts-and-labor international warranty.
The 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270 and the 1GB of DDR2 RAM are what you'll find on most netbooks, including the Samsung NC10-14GB, the Acer One, and the HP Mini 1000, so the N110 doesn't stand out from a performance perspective, either. The 1000HE has a slightly higher-clocked processor, which generated faster video encode times (the N110's, at 5 minutes 3 seconds was 39 seconds behind). Results of SYSmark 2007 Preview tests paint a better picture of the overall performance of netbooks. And according to the N110's overall score, the performance differences between it and netbooks like the N120, the Dell 12, and the NC10-14GB are all negligible.
Though they all have six-cell batteries, the one on the N110 has a higher capacity (66 Wh) than that of either the N120 (57 Wh) or the NC10-14GB (58 Wh). And the N110's score of 7 hours 54 minutes on MobileMark 2007 is more than 2 hours longer than that of the NC10-14GB (5:50) and at least an hour longer than the 1000HE's (6:36). Both the N110 and the N120 (7:57) were practically tied, but the Acer One (10-inch) reigns supreme with its 8-hour 46-minute battery score.
There's no question that Samsung makes great netbooks. What confuses me is how the N110 (12PBK) is positioned: It's almost identical to the NC10-14GB, and its list price is the same as that of the N120 (12GBK), which has a bigger keyboard, better speakers, and chargeable USB ports. And let's not forget the NC20 with its 12-inch widescreen and a full-size keyboard. If you had to choose a Samsung netbook, the N120 or the NC20 are much better options. But if you're looking for the best netbook deal, the ASUS 1000HE is still my pick.
Check out the Samsung N110 (12PBK)'s performance test results.
