Samsung N140 Netbook

The Samsung NC10 was a winner, a solid system in the highly competitive netbook industry. A year on, Samsung has unveiled the N140, the natural successor to the much-loved NC10 which comes with a more powerful Atom processor, a larger 250GB hard disk, and Windows 7, but is it enough to survive in a cluttered niche market?

Samsung N140 NetbookThe N140 retains much of the NC10 design, which is great since the predecessor was drop dead gorgeous, but the glossy lid, which comes in burgundy and blue, easily attracts fingerprints. That said, the N140’s silver detailing and beautiful chassis results in a very elegant machine. The ports on the N140 are pretty standard fare amongst netbook nowadays: the customary 3 USB, headphone, mic, Ethernet, and a 3-in-1 card reader.

Another plus point for the N140 is that no excessive heat was noticed from the machine despite moderate use. The keypad for the N140 is also a breeze to use and comfortable to type on which the touchpad is also excellent. The audio quality from the N140’s speakers is also a joy to behold, delivering some of the best audio we have heard from a netbook in a long while thanks to the bundled SRS Sound software. The 10.1in, 1024x600-pixel WSVGA matte display also does a commendable job, colors were vibrant and viewing angles were adequate.

The updated 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 CPU and 1GB of RAM both ensure that the N140 delivers snappier performance when compared with other netbooks in its class. The N140 comes with Windows 7 Starter Edition, which is a lightweight edition of Windows’ latest incarnation of its OS. However, battery life on the N140 is nothing to shout about, lasting a little longer than 6 hours with excessive internet browsing, video playback, and productivity work. Nonetheless, the battery life will still allow you to work away without the power adapter for more than the tested 6 hours if you use the N140 moderately.

Samsung N140 SideviewSamsung has managed to find a worthy successor to the NC10 in the form of the Samsung N140. While the N140 sacrifices a little bit of battery life when compared to other netbooks that are currently in the market as a 9 hour battery life is increasingly becoming the norm, it still offers good performance and a stylish design and amazing sound quality, making it a suitable candidate for anyone looking for a portable, light, and decent-powered Windows 7 netbook on the go.[source]