Samsung N130
Great little Machine! - Samsung N130 Netbook

Product Type: Samsung Netbook

Newest Review: ... and so portable. The processor works lovely and quick, and the screen size is just right. The graphics are brilliant, do not expect anythi... more

Great little Machine!
Samsung N130

Msteer

Member Name: Msteer

Product:

Samsung N130

Date: 03/09/11, updated on 03/09/11 (19 review reads)

Rating:

Advantages: Battery Life, Portability, Big Keyboard

Disadvantages: Build Quality

I have had this Netbook for one and a half years, I could sum it up in three words - The Headline.
The Netbook I have has 1GB of Ram and a 160GB Hardrive and runs Windows XP, you can also now buy a version of this Netbook that has 2GB of Ram and a 250GB Hardrive running Window's 7 starter; you will want to upgrade Windows 7 starter has alot of limitations such as not supporting these features :
* Aero Glass, meaning you can only use the Windows Basic or other opaque themes. It also means you do not get Taskbar Previews or Aero Peek.
* Personalization features for changing desktop backgrounds, window colors, or sound schemes.
* The ability to switch between users without having to log off.
* 64 bit version
* Multi-monitor support.
* DVD playback.
* Windows Media Center for watching recorded TV or other media.
* Remote Media Streaming for streaming your music, videos, and recorded TV from your home computer.
* Domain support for business customers.
* XP Mode for those that want the ability to run older Windows XP programs on Windows 7.
However, this may be perfectly acceptable for some people who just want to use this netbook to quickly browse the web, check emails etc...
For browsing the web, this Netbook is perfect; it is speedy, loads up quickly and has a large keyboard - 92% of a full-size keyboard so you won't have any problems typing.

In my experience with this netbook the battery life has been very good, usually achieving around 5 hours of web-browsing but ofcourse this won't be achieved if you are watching movies/listening to music.

Now not everything about this laptop is good, the build-quality certainly isn't.
This laptop made entirely of plastic and it is not un-common for key's/hinges to become lose and eventually fall-off, the laptop is also quite prone to scratches and finger-prints, particularly the glossy black version.

To conclude, for most people this will be a very capable machine to do most tasks that you will want it to do, however there are now more powerful netbooks on the market offering 10 hours battery life and having the new dual-core intel atom processor and now high-end netbooks do often ship with 2GB ram and a 250GB
hardrive like previously mentioned, this netbook however is easily upgraded to 2GB of ram by simply unscrewing the hatch containing the Ram on the back of the Netbook and swapping the ram over, there are various guides on the Internet to help you do this.
However, where this Netbook falls short is the build quality, and if your a clumsy person (I'm Not! and even mine has lost a hinge) even if your carrying this Netbook in a bag each day to work I would strongly recommend investing in a well-padded, sturdy case for this to travel in.

The list of Windows 7 starter limitations was found in this forum: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/w indows_7-windows_install/

Summary: Great Netbook for a reasonable price however there are now better Netbooks.