Samsung N150 netbook

The Samsung N150 belongs to Samsung’s new series of netbooks that feature the next generation of Intel Atom processors. This particular model is powered by an Intel Atom N450, which is a single core Atom processor with a clock speed of 1.66 GHz. While this netbook offers a hardware upgrade from previous models, it’s the slick design and rock-solid build quality that will take this netbook places.

Design
The N150 has a solid shell and superb overall build quality, just like the previous models by Samsung, like the NP-NC-10. The plastic used is top-notch, but what’s different is that the NC10 was quite bulky, whereas this one, despite the solid build, is quite slick and looks much better too.

The entire body is pearl white in color with a prominent bronze lining running along the edges of the chassis, which adds to the stylish look. Also, the matte surface and slight shimmer makes the unit look sporty. So the overall aesthetics and build quality is certainly a five on five. The one thing one might pick on, is the size and spacing of the keys, if they were slightly larger and well-spaced, even the ergonomics would have been almost perfect. Nonetheless, since netbooks aren’t really meant for extensive typing, we won’t count that as a major downside. Even the touchpad is slightly smaller than what many netbooks offer. Overall, it’s a very classy piece of hardware.

Hardware
The only thing different about the hardware is the CPU and chipset upgrade from previous netbook models. Powered by an Intel Atom N450 CPU, this netbook has 1 GB RAM, a 160 GB hard drive, a 10.1-inch matte screen (which is a good thing) and has features that are common to most netbooks. Nevertheless, it’s nice to see that Wi-Fi N has become the mainstay in netbooks. Although the company website says that this machine has Windows 7 Starter, our test unit came pre-loaded with Windows XP SP3, so you might want to double-check the machine personally before making a purchase. In terms of features, there are 3 USB ports, a webcam, audio jacks and a memory card reader. Consider the absence of Bluetooth as a downside.

Performance
It’s a known fact that netbooks don’t differ much from each other when it comes to performance. So what we did is, we compared the performance of this netbook to two netbooks, one with similar hardware as this one and the other with older hardware, to see how this one is placed in terms of performance.

Alongside this machine, we compiled the scores of the Samsung NP-NC10 and the Lenovo Ideapad S10-3 . If you notice, there a very clear difference in the performance of the previous Samsung netbook which has the previous generation of the Atom processor, the N270, and the other two perform almost equally well, for they feature the same hardware. Now, keep in mind that these performance scores do indicate that the later generation Atom processors (and this netbook) perform better than the previous ones, but, in a real-world scenario, when using applications and the new Windows that’s usually loaded on the new netbooks, it really makes very little difference.

If this netbook featured a dual-core Atom, we would have given more importance to the performance part, but in this case, it’s really the overall look, design and aesthetics that make this machine stand out. All-in-all, the Samsung N150 is an excellent pick for people who are looking for a stylish netbook with the latest features and hardware.

Specifications:

• Dimensions (WxHxD): 10.4 x 1.37 x 7.4 mm
• Weight: 1.23 Kg
• Processor: Intel Atom N450, 1.66 GHz
• Memory: 1 GB DDR3
• Hard disk: 160 GB
• Graphics: Intel GMA 3150
• Screen size: 10.1-inch
• Connectivity: 10/100 Ethernet, Wi-Fi N.
  
  Update: The price of this laptop is Rs 18,802, and it's an excellent price point. Five on five.