GADGETSLAB
SAMSUNG N150 PLUS NETBOOK
By JC Pulido III What makes the Samsung N150 Plus different from the other netbooks out in the market? Well, to be honest not a whole lot when it comes to specs. You get an Intel Atom 1.66GHz processor, the same amount of RAM at 1GB and 250GBs of storage as well as a webcam for video chats. The N150 Plus is using Intel’s latest iteration of the Atom processor, the N450 processor, codenamed Pineview. Although still running at the same speed as the previous Atoms, the Pineview processor has been tweaked to give it better performance with minimal cost to battery drain.
On the other hand, it is in the details that sets this netbook from the rest. The netbook we got is white with red accents as well as a glossy red lid. On the looks department, the Samsung N150 Plus has that certain chic-look which won’t make you embarrassed to pull out of the bag at a coffee shop. The keyboard is about the average size for a netbook but the chiclet design makes for a comfortable platform to type on. The Function button is in-between the right control and Windows buttons which is perfect so that people won’t accidentally press it.
Speaking of performance, the Atom processor is generally regarded as less than adequate for gaming. This is true for hardcore gamers but for those who crave interactive entertainment in-between sips of coffee, the Atom might just be enough. To test this, I installed a few “casual” games. Games such as Plants vs. Zombies and Worms Reloaded were playable at the native resolution although there were noticeable slowdowns, especially in PvZ when there are a lot of plants and zombies on screen. On the other hand, with Torchlight, a Diablo-style game, it was pretty much unplayable at the N150 Plus’ native resolution even with the games Netbook mode turned on.
Another great feature of the Samsung netbook is the matte display and the bright backlight. Although some might argue that the matte display dulls the color when watching videos, the upside of this is that you are able to use the N150 Plus without the glare of the sun on the screen.
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The N150 Plus comes with a slew of software straight out of the box. Some are worth noting such as the Microsoft Office Starter edition which give you a stripped-down, free version of Microsoft’s Office Suite, while others are forgettable, never to be used on a daily basis. On the Start menu, Samsung has replaced the Shut Down button
DECEMBER 2010 • JANUARY 2011
with Sleep. So instead of completely powering down the netbook, Sleep would only put the N150 Plus to a low power state. This concerned me at the beginning as I would consciously look for Shut Down but as I used this netbook more, and because of the long battery life I would just put it to sleep and move on. By the end of the day, I would just plug in to charge and promptly shut down the N150 Plus. As it happens, I have a spare 2GB RAM on hand and decided to replace the 1GB (the N150 Plus only has 1 memory slot) stick while I had the N150 Plus for review. I have to say, you will notice the difference with the extra gigabyte of memory. Applications load faster and I had more room to multitask such as having multiple tabs on a browser while having Word, my IM client, and Windows Media Player open. For a power user such as myself, this makes the Samsung netbook, much more usable. Good keyboard, bright screen, ample hard drive space and excellent battery life make the Samsung N150 Plus is a great investment for a netbook. On the other hand, the 1GB RAM does hold the netbook back. For the average users who do not
multitask, they would not notice the performance hit. For power users, just make sure that you pay extra and get at least 2GBs of RAM. The additional memory will definitely help speed up the Samsung N150 Plus.
SPECIFICATIONS OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Starter Edition PROCESSOR: Intel Atom N450 (Pineview) (1.66GHz) MEMORY: 1GB DDR2 DISPLAY: 10.1” LCD WSVGA (1024x600), Non-Gloss, LED Backlight GRAPHICS: Intel GMA3150 integrated graphics
WHAT’S HOT Bright Display Excellent Battery Life Good Keyboard
WHAT’S NOT 1GB RAM
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BOTTOMLINE The Samsung N150 Plus is a great netbook to tote around the Metro all day. Just be ready to spend a little more for additional RAM.