If you really don’t need to do more than send the odd email and browse the web while you’re on the move, and perhaps open an Office document from time to time, then the Samsung NC110-AM4UK could be the ideal option for you.
Don’t be put off by the low WorldBench 6 score of 36 – the Intel Atom processor and 1GB of RAM aren’t designed to handle many of the tasks in our productivity tests, so a low score is to be expected. Other netbooks we’ve looked at in the past posted similar scores. Battery life is a much bigger concern for a netbook and with a time of more than seven-and-a-half hours in the MobileMark 2007 tests the Samsung is more than a match for its bulkier, more powerful competitors.
One feature of the NC110 that we were really impressed by was the screen. It might not offer the richest colours, but it has a matt rather than glossy finish, meaning that reflections won’t be a problem even in bright conditions.
But, inevitably, you will need to be prepared to make compromises if you opt for a netbook. There’s no optical drive, for a start, and playing games isn’t a realistic option. Storage space is limited – the Samsung comes with a 250GB hard disk – but you will find decent connectivity options, with Bluetooth 3.0 support, three USB 2.0 ports and VGA out for connecting to monitors or TV sets.
And while the Samsung is lightweight and low cost, the Lenovo IdeaPad costs just £100 more and has a vastly superior feature set than the NC110 lacks, all while weighing a mere 300g more. So if you want something that can occasionally double up as a desktop replacement as well as a portable entertainment centre, the Lenovo is a better deal if you’re prepared to stump up the extra.
Comments
Matt Egan said: These are all valid points They are also all covered in the review that you find so shameful At 240 the N110 is an adequate netbook that will be fine for some people with the specific needs that you clearly have But its no better than that Im glad you arw happy with your netbook What a shame you presaged your interesting and sensible post with this is a shameful review In fact it is a reasoned three and a half star review and that statement is with respect juvenile
Owner of an NC110 said: This is a shameful review With a cheap RAM upgrade from the standard 1GB to 2GB my NC110 can almost match the performance level of my pentium dual core laptopIm a computer science student who regularly uses one of these awesome little things to write and compile programs create websites and I can even use photoshop CS3 on it quite adequately It travels to uni and back with me every day and is so portable you barely notice itSomething else I should point out is that 250GB is not limited storage space although if a quarter of a terabyte is not enough for you the hard drive IS replaceable although not easy to get to without voiding your warranty There is also the option of connecting external drives USB pendrives and SD cardsOne last thing of note is that perhaps you wont be playing the latest version of call of duty on this thing but you CAN play many classic PC games on it from earlier in time such as Grand Theft Auto San Andreas Halflife and most games popular around that timeWhile typing this comment on my NC110 with 2GB RAM I have had a video playing on youtube on one of 5 tabs that are open in Chrome web browser while simultaniously downloading 2 games on Steam The sound from the youtube video at 420p hasnt stuttered once and every time I have looked back at it the browser has responded smoothly and the video is still playing without any lag whatsoeverKeeping this kind of activity up you can expect around 5 hours out of the battery and you should get up to 8 or 9 if you switch the WiFi off and switch to power saver settings This is ideal for word processing late into the night if youre writing an essay or something The performance will take a hit on power saver but that should be expectedThis is a very underrated netbook and if youre looking for a portable gaming system most laptops that cost twice the price of this little gem wouldnt even suit your needs anyway
Paulcaira said: 100 pound more is fifty percent of the price