The Samsung N120 has a nice big keyboard, decent speakers, and a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. One thing it does not have out of the box is the ability to decode 1080p HD videos smoothly. But SammyNetbook forum member lilydreamy craked open the case and discovered that the laptop has a spare PCIe slot which means you can install a Broadcom HD Decoder without removing the WiFi module as you need to do with the Samsung NC10.

You can pick up a Broadcom HD decoder from eBay for under $30. It looks like the installation process is pretty simple. Just open up the Samsung N120 case, slap the Broadcom card into the open slot, and close up your case. Windows should detect the new hardware the next time you boot your system. I make no promises for other operating systems.

The results pretty much speak for themselves… which they do in the video after the break.

via SammyNetbook

Read the rest of this entry »

Samsung Hong Kong

The Samsung N120 packs a 10.1 inch display, decent speakers, and a nearly full sized keyboard into a 2.8 case that measures less than 1.2 inches thick. The US configuration also gets reasonably good battery life and sells for around $420 or less, making it a pretty good bargain. But if turns out if you live in Hong Kong you can get a little more bang for your buck.

Liliputing reader Anil wrote in to let me know that while the US model comes with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU and a 6 cell, 5200mAh battery, in Hong Kong you can get the computer with a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU and a 5900mAh battery. The Hong Kong version also has 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1, while the US model ships with 802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0. Anil says he gets about 9 hours of battery life from the netbook.

I checked with Samsung’s PR office and they say that the Hong Kong model is a regional variation. There are no plans to offer the same specs on the US model, as that would drive the price up over $500. But that decision could change in the future.

The Samsung N120-KA06 sells for 3,990 Hong Kong dollars, which is the equivalent of about $515 US.

thanks Anil!

I try to put the netbooks that I review through the paces and test them out in a variety of real world conditions. But one thing I don’t usually do is rip them apart and peek at their motherboards. I find that the PC makers who are kind enough to loan me computers don’t like it when I return them with the screens accidentally put back in backwards.

So I didn’t bother to dissect the Samsung N120 for my recent review of that netbook. Fortunately, the folks at Netbook Italia did, so if you want to know what this mini-laptop looks like on the insides, you can find a series of photos, plus some instructions (in Italian) for taking apart your own netbook.

This could come in handy if you need to replace some parts, or if you just want to figure out where you can attach your own peripherals like a GPS or 802.11n module (the Samsung N120 normally tops out at 802.11g speeds).

At first glance, the Samsung N120 looks like a cross between the Samsung NC20 and N110 laptops. Like the N110, the Samsung N120 has a 10 inch display and a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU.

But Samsung’s latest netbook has a larger chassis than the N110, which makes it closer to the size of the N120. And that means it has room for a larger keyboard than most of today’s mini-laptops. Samsung also crammed two front-facing speakers into the N120, which, along with a 1.5 subwoofer below the keyboard, helps provide high quality audio.

Samsung managed to pack these features into a laptop that’s barely any wider than the Asus Eee PC 1000HE, and which weighs about half a pound less. But the Samsung N120 isn’t without flaws. The speakers aren’t very loud, and the SD card slot is positioned so that memory cards will stick out right under your palm as you type.

The unit I reviewed has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, 802.11b/g WiFi, and a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. It has a 6 cell, 5200mAh battery, weighs 2.8 pounds and measures 10.7″ x 7.4″ x 1.17″. The Samsung N120 is available from Amazon for under $399.

Read the rest of this entry »

Last week when I unpacked the Samsung N120 review unit that Samsung was kind enough to send me, I mentioned that the netbook was going for $451 on Amazon. Today the price is almost $20 lower, at just $433 with free shipping.

That means this netbook still costs more than other mini-laptops with similar specs including the Asus Eee PC 1000HE and MSI Wind U123. But the N120 has one of the largest keyboards you’ll find on any netbook with a 10 inch display, while still weighing less than the Eee PC 1000HE. It also has decent front-facing speakers which make the sound quality slightly more bearable than on many netbooks, but it’s worth pointing out that they’re not the loudest speakers I’ve heard on a netbook. Not by a long shot.

I should have a full review of this computer sometime in the next day or two. In the meantime, you can read more about the Samsung N120 in the Liliputing Product Database.

via Little Laptop Deals

Samsung has been making popular netbooks for a while now, but apparently the company hadn’t seen fit to release them in Australia… until now. Samsung has begun adding mini-laptops to is Australian web site, indicating that the N110, N120, and NC20 models should be available in that country soon.

There’s no official word on pricing, but Portable Monkey found a few Australian retailers that are already taking orders with prices for the Samsung N110 between $772 and $838 AUD and the NC20 going for about $950 AUD.

Incidentally, somebody asked me the other day how wide the Samsung N120 lid opens. The picture to the right should give you a good idea.

Left: Asus Eee PC 1000H / Right: Samsung N120

The Samsung N120 has one of the largest keyboards you’ll find on a netbook with a 10 inch display. It’s nearly the same size as a full sized laptop keyboard. But in order to accommodate the keyboard, Samsung made the N120 a bit wider than most netbooks as well. But that doesn’t necessarily make the N120 the biggest, heaviest netbook around.

In fact, it’s almost exactly the same size as the Asus Eee PC 1000H, which I’ve been happily carrying in my backpack for the past half year or so. To give you an idea of how the netbooks compare, I shot a few photos of the two laptops side by side. While the N120 is a bit wider, it’s a bit thinner than the Eee PC 1000H and it looks even smaller when you open it up, since the screen folds down behind the keyboard to save some vertical space.

The Samsung N120 also weighs less than the Eee PC 1000H. The Asus netbook weighs 3.2 pounds, while the Samsung N120 weighs just 2.8 pounds. Both laptops have 6 cell batteries.

Both laptops also have fairly sizable screen bezels around a 10 inch display, but the Samsung N120 uses that space to house the speakers. The netbook isn’t necessarily louder than the Asus Eee PC 1000H, which has speakers on the bottom of the laptop. But the sound is a bit cleaner, and there’s even a 1.5W subwoofer on the bottom of the Samsung netbook to provide a bit of a bass boost. I’ll see if I can’t figure out a good way to demonstrate the sound differences in another post.

You can see more photos of the two netbooks side by side after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

The folks at Samsung just sent me an N120 laptop to review. I’ve only had the netbook for a few minutes, but I figured I’d share a quick unboxing video with you.

A few quick notes. First, my usual camera wasn’t available, so I shot this video using the webcam on my Eee PC 1000H. That means that the frame rate and resolution is pretty awful, and that I wasn’t able to take any comparison shots of the two netbooks. But it’s worth noting that they’re almost exactly the same size. The Eee PC 1000H is one of the largest netbooks around, and the Samsung N120 is a tad wider, but not quite as thick.

But the difference is that while the Eee PC 1000H has a nearly full sized keyboard, the N120 keyboard is a full sized keyboard. The computer has a 10. inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display with a larger bezel around the screen, but otherwise the N120’s design is quite similar to the Samsung NC20 which has a 12 inch screen. The NC20 also has a VIA Nano CPU while the N120 uses an Intel Atom processors.

Here’s a brief overview of the N120’s specs:

• CPU: 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270
• Display: 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixels
• RAM: 1GB
• HDD: 160GB
• Connectivity: 802.11b/g WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0
• I/O: 3 USB ports, 3-in-1 card reader, headphone, mic, VGA
• Battery: 6 cell,  57WHr, 5200mAh
• Dimensions: 10.7″ x 7.4″ x 1.17″

You can check out the unboxing video after the break. I should have a full review next week, but if you can’t wait that long, you can pick up a Samsung N120 from Amazon for about $451.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Samsung N120 netbook is a bit of a cross between the NC10, which has a 10 inch display, and the larger NC20 with a 12 inch screen, larger keyboard, and VIA processor. The N120, which just began shipping in the US, has a 10 inch display, but the same large keyboard found on larger Samsung models.

SammyNetbook Forum member Otacorb ordered a Samsung N120, and he’s posted some detailed thoughts on the new model. Here are few of the highlights:

• The N120 has a larger keyboard than the NC10 and better touchpad buttons
• The chassis has a matte  finish which is less prone to fingerprints
• The palm rest is comfortable, but no bigger than the one on the NC10
• The netbook has a glossy screen, but it doesn’t reflect as much glare as some netbooks

The Samsung N120 is an interesting laptop. It has a 10.1 inch display, which would lead you to believe that it’s a standard run of the mill netbook. But it has a case and keyboard similar to that found on the Samsung NC20 – which has a 12 inch screen.

The secret? A big bezel around the edge of the screen. While this bezel does allow Samsung to give put the speakers on the front of the unit instead of behing the screen or on the bottom of the case, I’m not generally a fan of large bezels. I am, however, a fan of full sized keyboards. And that’s what you get with this unit. So if keyboard size matters to you more than screen size, this computer might be worth checking out.

Portable Monkey discovered that the Samsung N120 is available for preorder from a number of stores, with prices ranging from $442 to $474.

The N120 has an Intel Atom CPU, a 10.1 inch screen, a 160GB hard drive, and weighs 2.8 pounds.