Samsung N120 - Now Available

Not withstanding my frustration at all the numbers listed for battery life and all my other questions, I would be interested in the 9 cell battery, depending on weight & size, well, and price (to a certain point). Where is it sold and/or what is its name?

Your answer, by the way, seems to imply that the battery on at least some of the Samsungs in the Netbook family (N110, NC 10, N120) have the same type of battery hookup and can use each other's batteries, is that right?

 

Yes they can use the same batteries.

 

There are piles of them on ebay for as low as $55 shipped free. Just search for "Samsung NC10 9cell"

 

$51.25 on Dealextreme: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.22496

 

not to be a pest but i'm still concerned about these two here. i do have the brightness all the way up but something still seems a little off about the color. i may just be expecting too much out of a 10" screen but if there is some sort of "backlight" that i at least thought i read about i'd definitely like to know if i have it turned on or not.

and if someone could direct me to where to make sensitivity adjustment on the touchpad i'd appreciate it.

 

To adjust trackpad sensitivity
click Start>programs>control panel>mouse>pointer>settings.In left panel you will see a 'tree' . click on trackpad then sensitivity. Adjust on the right hand side >Apply>OK .

Fn + F5 switches on/off screen backlight. I haven't yet thought of a reason to do this.
Further useful controls can be found by Start>Programs>Samsung> Samsung Battery Manager (thanks to OTACORB for pointing me to this).

To get the best out of your sound you need to use use settings SRS and Realtek both found in control panel.
More info in User Guide on Desktop.

Hope this is of some help.

 

How does the n120 handle Flash based games on the web?

I'm thinking of getting a pair of netbooks for my nieces as first pc's, and the Samsung n120 is the one I like best, but if it can't handle Orisinal they'll just get mad at me for buying them junk lol.

Also, can it handle h264 720p mkv's?

 

To get an indication: This flash based video (HD) causes 90% CPU utilization, and does not play 100% fluent. (occasional ripple)

Yes with CoreAVC+MPC it's 100% fluent.

 

Does anyone have some hard numbers for battery life? I've heard suggestions for a larger battery, but still nothing about how long the battery it already has really lasts (as opposed to what a battery meter says at some point).

 

It's in the PCMag review.

And here too:
While he didn’t use the same battery test that we do, he noted that 5200-mAH battery lasted 6 hours during anecdotal use.
http://blog.laptopmag.com/samsung-n120-reviewed-dissected-found-similar-to-previous-samsung-netbooks

 

Yes, I had seen that. With the stated numbers I've seen ranging from 5 hours to 10.5 hours that just isn't good enough. I was hoping that several people here would chime in with "I actually got X with Y kind of usage".

Anyway, the prices keep dropping so maybe it is good that there are no hard numbers out there.

 

Fn + cursor up should increase brightness and Fn + cursor down decreases it. If the display is still dim or noticeably off color at full brightness then I think you have a duff display. If you have only had the N120 for a few days then contact Samsung. They should treat it as Dead on Arrival and arrange for a replacement, not repair.

If the Fn keys are not working then you need to install one of Easy display Manager or magic Keyboard. I think it is the former.

John

 

I'm afraid I can't offer any useful information since I don't charge to 100% (using the battery save to stop at 80%), and I haven't used it until it shut off yet. From what I could tell from the estimates in the system tray seem pretty accurate.

 

Thanks for answer re flash and mkvs.

Another q:

So we've got mini hd camcorders coming out like Flip HD and Sony Webbie. Is the n120, or netbooks in general I guess, powerful enough so you can hook these cams up, view and upload files? The models I'm looking at record in mp4. What happens when the vid/image res is higher than the n120's display res?

 

i have a quick question..

since n120 does not come with Restore DVD/CD,, can i just use nc10's restore DVD? (based on their spec similarities.)

 

Very likely since it is Samsung and basically the same hardware.

However, until someone tries it we can't be 100% certain.

John

 

i don't have my n120 on me right now and can't quite say exactly how it happens but when i'm gently moving my finger along the touchpad with another finger lightly on the click i get these strange looking "swirl" icon. what is that and how can i turn it off so i can move on the touchpad as lightly/slowly as i want with fingers on both parts?

 

@ burman, yes you can disable ChiralMotion in Control panel > mouse > device settings.

 

Is copying my friend's nc10's restore disk legal? just curious..

 

It is if you don't tell anyone.

My question... I have the N110 and can't find the battery extender (max 80% charge).
It is not on the battery management program, as far as I can see.
Anyone care to tell how you access it, or if it is on the N110 too? Would be odd if it wasn't...

 

Look at it another way, how else would you be able to install the XP which you have paid for if you happen to wipe the HDD and lose the restore partition? It is a netbook XP licence and a netbook XP installation disc.

John

 

for the choralmotion - i'm not seeing it under mouse settings. little more help?

also i've turned off all sounds, yet i still get this little scratching sound every so often. not sure what it is or where to turn it off. pretty sure it's not an outside program.

 

i just took a delivery of n120, purchased 3 days ago from amazon.com

nice little machine. great keyboard, great matte screen (j/k it is glossy)
bit smaller than i thought, fan is quiet/smooth. fast with stock 1G of ram.(i have not installed anything yet.

one thing i found out is n120's battery is rated 5200mAh instead of 5900mAh.
i thought all n120 is equipped with 5900mAh.. may be i was wrong...
what about other n120 users what kind of battery did you get?

 

What are dimensions for top? want to order a custom decal and need to know dimensions. the flat area, just before it starts to round toward edges. Also what are the full dimensions? as I keep getting different dimensions from different sites.

I am seriously thinking of ordering a NC120 soon.

What other accessories do I need to go with the Samsung? I already have an LGslim DVD drive and 8GB flash drive.

thanks

 

i did not measure mine..^^

here is the spec according to samsung

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/...&subtype=mininotebook&model_cd=NP-N120-KA01US

 

weird, the NC120, black and white version have different thickness? huh?

white - 1.21
black - 1.19

plus the regular dimensions is off from what reviews have it listed at:

reviews - 10.7 x 7.4 x 1.2
samsung website - 10.27 x 7.3 x 1.21/1.19

the length quite off.. which is true?

 

US model comes with the 5200 mAh battery!

 

I think N110 comes with 5900mAh. True?

 

Not always...

Check THIS...

At least, Spanish one comes with 5200mAh battery...

 

Yeah true, European ones all come with 5200.

I was referring to the US version.

 

is that why n110 is bit more expensive than n120?

 

Start, Programs, Samsung, Battery Life Extender, BatteryLifeExtender

Then you'll see this:

 

Is is even available on the N110? Just asking as I don't really know.

 

Well, I ordered a white N120 just now! After I bought the HP Vivienne Tam at Samsclub today. Gonna compare the two. Not happy with 2 hour battery on HP and games are not working well with it. Mainly due to weird resolution.

Anyone had both?

 

Well that might not be good news for you because basically specs wise the HP Vivienne Tam and Samsung N120 have the same specs, though one has a larger battery, which last much longer.

 

That's an interesting application. I wonder if it will work on NC10.

I noticed on my NC10 the charged capacity has gone down quite a bit. It used to be 5550, now it's 4950.

 

That would make sense.

 

I know it doesn't work on the NC10, but I am not sure about the N110, because this has to be supported in the BIOS and then the software controls it from within Windows. I installed it, but was immediately warned that my BIOS didn't support it.

If someone uses theirs plugged into AC power a great deal, using this is great, because you really shouldn't ever keep your battery charged at 100% all the time. This software will allow you to only charge up to 80%, so unless the battery gets below that it won't charge at all.

 

True, it did not work on my NC10 either.

 

Don't they have different, screen resolution? Battery in itself might sway me. Since we are talking 2 hours compared to around 8.

I also want to see if the sound is a lot better on the N120.

Also, it seems there are tons of games that work with the N120/NC10. But I can't get simple puzzle games to work on the HP. They don't go fullscreen and drop off bottom of screen. Is there a easy fix for this problem? It only let's me change resolution to 640x480.

 

How far back does the screen hinge back?

 

really?.. i thought it was just a program that works on *any* sammy netbook

i am so privileged

 

it does not tilt all the way, but pretty far..(farther than Lenovo s10)


edit: found this pic

it is about 140 degree

 

without having to read back, has anyone been having any network issues? i'm still on XP, away from home on a cable connection. the person i'm with who's on a mac has steady connection while mine seems to freeze and drop out every 10 minutes or so. if there a driver i should have updated by now?

 

mine works fine.. i would (re)install driver first...

 

It is just a program, but the BIOS of the Sammy must support it! The NC10 does not!

 

Nope....

Battery extender is NOT on the N110. Well, not on mine. Anyone else?

Why? It is the same insides, and they are both the next gen of Sammy netbooks!

 

n110 does not have it? but it has higher capacity battery than n120..right.
i rather have longer battery time than longer battery life..

 

Thanks. Looks like it definately goes back farther than my HP viv.

Anyone know why games are not going full screen and most don't show the bottom half?

How do I fix this?

 

i don't play games on my laptops. sorry can't help you here..