Closer look at the Samsung N150

You’ve seen the Samsung N210 and N220 netbooks with extra-long battery life and the NB30 “ultra durable” netbook. Rounding out Samsung’s new line of netbooks with Intel Atom N450 Pine Trail processors is the Samsung N150.

This model features the usual Samsung specs including an island-style keyboard, touchpad with support for multitouch gestures, and a matte display. It doesn’t get the same stellar battery life as the other models. Samsung says the N150 will run for up to 7.5 hours on a charge. I suspect you’ll see a bit less than that under real world conditions. That’s clearly not bad by last year’s standards. But with the N210 running for up to 12 hours and the NB30 getting up to 11 hours of battery life, it looks like the N150 is the weakling of the bunch when it comes to battery life.

Of course, that also means the N150 will probably be the cheapest of Samsung’s new netbooks. We should know for certain once they start showing up at retail, which should be any day now.

Posted on Sunday, January 10th, 2010, 3:08 pm by Brad Linder

gman

Thanks to Intel, battery life with netbooks is becoming the megapixel of computers. As is, who the hell cares about 12hrs vs. 9hrs? Do you need a 10 megapixel camera? No. More features trumps improved battery life. I'm looking at this N150 and asking, okay, less battery life, but what bonus are you getting? Certainly not ION. My point is, the selling point of longer battery life is null and void at this time. Like cameras, after a certain point extra megapixels becomes a joke. You aren't printing life size images, and by the same argument, you aren't taking your netbook to a deserted island without a power outlet. I'm slightly discouraged at the lack of improvements in this latest wave of netbooks. Seems like much to do about nothing.
lccurtis1

Gman your point is valid. However the newer models are not really for the tech savvy person because we understand that new specs and minor upgrades does not always allude to better performance in a product. These upgrades are out there to lure the gadget guy who is always looking for the latest and maybe greatest gadget. So overall I to have not been impressed with the newer atom chipset or specs for the latest group of netbooks. Once I discovered I could play some of my favorite games on my netbook I have been more than satisfied with my AA1 D250 with 2GB RAM and 160gb HD standard netbook display.

Every since netbooks have been on the market it has been a huge effort to make consumers believe that netbooks are not real computers and as time passes there's always someone out there that has proven otherwise. So let the newbies by the latest spec netbooks and can just continue to improve on the models that made the netbook what it is today.
ninetynine

You're actually complaining about too much battery life? I'm happy to see these strides in battery life. They mean you never have to turn off your netbook and you basically use it like a phone. Close it when you're not using it and then charge it overnight when you get home.

You're also disregarding the econimcal/environmental benefits of having a high batterylife/charging time ratio. I know you don't like that netbooks aren't making progress in speed/features but don't discount what they are improving on just because you're frustrated.
DavidC

I mostly agree with you gman. Battery life on some models is reaching a point where it doesn't matter as much. Except…If you have the model long enough and the battery starts to degrade, it's got farther to go before it's trash.

lccurtis1: Yeah, the current crop isn't thrilling.
http://www.access-databases.com/ Microsoft Access database

I also prefer the keys on the other models. The keys on this one look and feel as though they would eventuall fall off. I welcome the extra battery life on the older models also.
Marty

i think the saying is, “Much ado about nothing”…
pricedrops

Amazon just dropped the price of the n150 to $289, that's a pretty sweet deal. Check it out here: http://www.productvibe.com/product.aspx?id=3298
smidgenpc

Actually, most netbooks can't get 12 or even 9 hours of battery life. Some companies – ASUS and Toshiba in particular – are exaggerating battery life quiet a bit. I have an article about this : http://smidgenpc.com/2010/04/16/the-truth-about…
Mija412

Trust me dey fall off and dey void ur warranty what a bad keyboard this netbook has awful
Mija412

Trust me dey fall off and dey void ur warranty what a bad keyboard this netbook has awful
Mike_POR

Hello there 99. I think gman isn’t complaining about battery life. He’s saying that recently companies advertise ‘em (netbooks) highlighting the number of hours the battery lasts rather than improving performance or something else that could be improved. Prices vary according to battery life just like a digicam’s #megapixels. Which at some point like beyond the 8 or 9hrs of bat.life doesn’t really matter (for some ppl or most of ppl I dunno). I think they should instead drop the prices. But no, they gotta keep on the profit making so they improve their batteries I guess. I still think the prices are very high for computers with these specs! Not just these samsungs but all of netbooks like the asus eeePc and so on… I’m thinking of buying the n150 or the n210. The separation between keys on the keyboard are the same in both models right? The only difference is battery life, isn’t it? Thx in advance for any reply. Cheers to all.
Bmw318is1995

mine are falling off left right nd centre contacted samsung still havent got back to me regarding a new keyboard, on my dell one they sent a replacement in days, anyone else having this problem and what do you mean about th warranty?

Closer look at the Samsung N150

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