Samsung N230 Review
Pros:
Terrific design, Ultra Thin Chassis (1 inch), Great keyboard, Matte Screen
Cons:
No dedicated graphics chipset
Bottom Line:
The Samsung N230 was first made available in July and it has an ultra thin chassis of just 1 inch, a strong 7 hr battery life, great keyboard and matte screen. The only complaint I can have is the lack of any type of hardware based video support and this is more of a want than a complaint. Hands down this is one of the best Samsung netbooks I've ever reviewed. The best part is that it's only $330.79
Quick Product Specs:
Intel Atom N450 1.6 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 Starter (See full specs)
Full Review:
Design:
The netbook is only 1 inch thick partly thanks to it's thin 3 cell battery but also due to it's slimmed down design. The netbook features a matte screen which makes it excellent for using outside and it also makes use of the newer chiclet style keyboard that looks great. The top lid does attract fingerprint smudges; however, that isn't enough of a deterrent for me to be too bothered over because the rest of the netbook looks so sleek and thin.
Usability:
The Samsung N230's keyboard is outstanding. It is the newer chiclet style keyboard which provides more space between each key and is 93% full size. I don't know why every netbook manufacturer hasn't adopted this layout because it's superb and continues to impress me in every netbook I use. It's very easy to type and I was able to type at full speed in less than a couple minutes of adjusting from my desktop keyboard. The touchpad is very responsive and another great feature of this netbook - I personally use the touchpad over an external mouse on almost every netbook that I buy so this is usually a deal breaker for me and fortunately the Samsung N230 failed to disappoint. The touchpad is sizeable and the accompanying buttons are also very responsive as well.
The 1024 x 600 resolution we've grown accustomed to seeing in previous netbooks is back again in the N230. I personally would like to see the higher resolution of 1366 x 768; however, I believe this will be a slow transition as netbooks begin to feature better graphic capabilities. As mentioned before, the netbook does feature a matte screen which makes the N230 an ideal choice for users looking for an indoor and outdoor computing machine.
Battery Life:
The Samsung N230 has a 3 cell battery; however, the small battery capacity packs a punch and provided an average battery life of about 7 hours. I think the battery life is more than sufficient because part of what I love so much about this netbook is it's sleek design. Without the smaller 3 cell battery we'd have a netbook that was much thicker instead of this stealthy 1 inch thick size instead. If you know you'll need a strong battery life than what the N230 provides than your decision is simple, but something with a 6 cell battery. I prefer to keep the Samsung the way it is with the smaller battery for the design's sake and reduction in weight.
Overall Performance:
Overall I think the Samsung N230 does several things right for only $330.79
See More Info About The Samsung N230 Series N230-11 at Amazon.com
Used Options:
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US $52.26
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