Introduction to Netbooks

Samsung Netbooks are becoming very popular and we try to provide an overview of their models and features.

The term Netbook is ‘used to define a category of small portable computers that generally use small X86 CPU: Most use an Intel Atom CPU family that is  more ‘efficient from an energy point of view, but less powerful then processors used by Notebooks.

They are optimized for wireless communications and easy access to the Internet and are highly portable.

They are mobile computers especially useful on the road   because they are easy to carry and because the duration of their battery can reach almost 10 hours. The only failing – not very serious since the USB sticks now replace the CD / DVD – is that the CD or DVD drivers are missing, for physical reasons, because there is no optical drive small enough to fit in their body .  It is ‘still possible to connect external CD / DVD drives.

Netbooks were launched in 2008 by ASUS and are finding favor with the market so that the major computer manufacturers (HP, DELL, ACER, …) have in their catalogs at least one netbook. Among the major suppliers there is the Korean giant Samsung and Samsung Netbook are well known for their excellent functional features.

The Samsung Netbooks

Most Samsung Netbooks are equipped with Atom N270 processors. The new  Samsung Netbooks  use instead the N280 or even the N450 processor .. Among the successful Samsung Netbooks  there are the multi-media Samsung N120 and N130 models, which while maintaining the 10.2-inch display and a large part of the hardware components of the previous model Samsung NC10, offer a higher quality audio and a series of devices that enhance the digital experience.  The Samsung N120 uses a pair of stereo speakers and a subwoofer,and offers a display with glossy treatment.

The chassis is made with the manufacturing technology “DuraCase” and offers a better resistance against impact and scratches.  Samsung Netbooks  N120, N130 and N140 have the  Atom N270 1.6GHz processor and chipset 945GSE,. They are equipped with 1GB RAM and a 160GB hard drive.  They have a 10.1-inch display (1024 x 600) and include Wi-Fi (including Draft-N), a webcam, a card reader 3-in-1, the USB ports and 6-cell battery.

The Samsung Netbook N140 is a  premium model that offers Bluetooth 2.1, stereo speakers with SRS  (N130 only offers single speaker) and a battery capacity of a 5-cell and  above. The N130 netbook battery should last for about 7.5 hours, while the N140 netbook should last up to 11 hours ..

Samsung Netbooks  are normally supplied with Windows XP or Windows 7, but you can also install Linux. I read about satisfactory installations of Ubuntu Linux and Moblin Linux, The version of Windows 7 installed on Netbooks is usually the Starter Edition, which, compared with the Home Edition, has some limitations because Microsoft wanted to offer it at a cheaper price. Some features which generally are not used on netbooks have been disabled  (For example, components for DVD playback or for the creation of Videos).

We can conclude that Samsung Netbooks offer many models of small computers which can be very useful for mobile computing.