Customer Reviews

Samsung N150 10.1-Inch Netbook (Black Matte)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Build:

The matte finish is great and lends a sleek, businesslike look to the netbook. This sets it apart from its cheap-and-shiny peers and makes it look more expensive than it is. The plastic quality is great and there is no flex in the case. Adjusting to the smaller keyboard isn't a big problem. This is a very quiet netbook. Even when it's really working hard, the fan is nearly silent.

Software:

Terrible, just terrible. When the hour-long initial install is finished, you'll be left with a boatload of trail software and junk that slows down the netbook. Get rid of all of it and upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate as I did. Your experience will be significantly better.

Performance:

I'm pleasantly surprised. It will play most 720p videos smoothly and is snappy navigating Windows. Just don't expect much multitasking. Battery life varies between 5 and 9 hours and is heavily dependent on screen brightness.

Summary:

This little netbook is a bargain and once the software is sorted out, it's great to use.

When my ancient HP laptop finally bit the dust earlier this year, I opted to change directions and buy the Samsung N150. Surprisingly, its a decision that has paid off big. I actually don't miss the larger keyboard. I upgraded to 2GB memory, installed Windows 7 Home Premium, and dumped the way too proprietary Samsung Update Manager. Its been a smooth ride since.

Functionality, usable keyboard, fast speeds, and a seven hour battery that has repeatedly gone over eight hours, are only a few of this unit's features. The flat screen speaks volumes in display and color richness. Video display is crisp and clean. The on board 1.3 mega pixel webcam is average at best but definitely not a deal breaker. The built in mic works better then expected with no distortion.

The NC150 comes packaged with the industry standard 1GB Ram, 160GB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Home starter package. The SD/HC/MMC reader is located in the front of the NC150 and is a sweet add on. Measuring 10.4" x 7.4" x 1" and weighing in at almost 3 pounds, the N150 houses 3 USB ports, a 3-in-1 memory card reader, microphone jack, headphone jack, a VGA port, and an ethernet jack.

One of the biggest selling points for me is the 93 percent full size keyboard. Combine the raised keys with the full size right shift key, I have a layout that easily meets my comfort zone. In order to accommodate the keyboard real estate had to be re-portioned. Avid touch pad users will find the compromise immediately. At 2.3" x 1.1", the touch pad is small but navigable. I found clicking and scrolling features very crisp. The scrolling bar works exceptionally well when viewing large web pages.

A dedicated slot for a mobile broadband modem card would have definitely sweetened the pot on the N150. Not a biggie since my Clear WiMax usb modem covers all of my mobile needs. This system is packaged with a power cord and a black, protective slip on cover.

The Samsung N150 Netbook also includes the standard one year parts and labor warranty. 24 hour toll free phone support is available as well as an online knowledge base and driver downloads. Unlike most product websites, the Samsung site is easy to navigate and consumer friendly.

Upgrading to 2GB memory is a breeze and functions normally performed with my desktop are now achieved easily since loading Office 2007. Coming from a die hard HP user, I have to say that the Samsung N150 has far surpassed my expectations.

Whether its travel, work or just kicking around the house, it has become my go to system. It leaves quite an impression to the point that I have purchased two of these as gifts for family members. With my upgrades, it easily covers the basics and more. The N150 is simply a high quality product that delivers.

Just ordered second Samsung Netbook N150. Pleased with #1 which was a Mother's Day present for my wife who is very happy with it with exception of small keyboard which works fine for email and web surfing, but not so comfortable for wordprocessing. Ordered #2 for our daughter whose laptop is outdated and needs to be replaced. Must be careful when starting out upon receiving it because I inadvertantly must have selected the "French" language for the unit and could not change that at home. I had to ship it via UPS (they pay) to a factory out of state to have it cleared for use.

The N-150 can be good with a couple of tweaks. First, upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium (Windows 7 Starter STINKS!!!!) Then, upgrade the memory to 2GB. And last, get Trend Micro Titanium Security for Netbooks (It will not take up much hard drive space, and runs quietly in the background). Also get rid of as much pre-installed crapware you can find. Do this, and you got a really fine Netbook.

This is a GREAT little computer. The LED screen is bright and clear. There is a unique feature on the mouse in that it works just like an iphone, two fingers sliding down will scroll, three to the left or right will go back or forward on your browser and spreading two fingers apart or together will enlarge or reduce your screen magnification. The light weight makes it really portable without any hassle and not to mention convenient to keep next to your recliner for casual browsing and stores easily. The battery life on this unit is SUPER!!

One of the first things I did when I got it was to order the 2 gig DDR2 RAM stick. It performed a little sluggish to my standards on the 1 gig that came with it. Adding the extra memory makes it fly - worth the $50.

Only drawback if I had to pick one is that if you are a 'lazy typer' and tend to rest your thumbs on the keyboard, you may get frustrated because they will rest right on the mouse pad. Just takes a little getting used to. You can turn off that feature if you do some heavy typing and use a wireless mouse.

I use mine without a broadband card. ATT makes the same unit with that included, but who wants to pay $60 for the service. You can easily tether it to a smartphone for mobile service. I am happy using it on WIFI.

Simply a great little computer and you cannot beat it for the price!

This is a great net-book for all your needs. Upgrade the RAM to 2GB, remove all the bloatware and Vola! You have a great machine on the go. I installed Microsoft essentials for security. Battery is pretty good (~4-5 hours). I got it for about $279, which is a great price for this netbook. I will recommend this one. One of the best netbooks out there in the market.

Purchased June 2010 for $269 through Amazon, the Samsung N150 is a handy little netbook. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is because of the RAM and the OS: it comes with 1 gig but needs 2 (the upgrade is easy and about $40); and Windows 7 Starter is too limited. This machine is fast, silent and very compact. The display is small, too, but it is bright and easy to view. The 160gigs of storage are more than enough.

I have made my N150 into a 5-star machine by doubling the RAM ($41), upgrading the Win7 Starter ($52), and purchasing a Samsung outboard DVD reader/writer ($48). But be aware: those upgrades boosted the price of the machine about 50 percent, from $269 to $410.

I did tons of research on netbooks before settling on this one. It had a favorable price tag of under 300 and seemed to have decent specs. It also had a matte screen which was very important to me. The battery life is sufficient but does depend on your monitors brightness setting. The keyboard takes a little getting used to if you're accustomed to full-size ones but after a couple hours, you should have no problem typing efficiently on it.

The only things that I can complain about are the preloaded demos & games, their OS backup only works 1 time and no back lighting on the keyboard.

I was a little insulted when I learned that Windows 7 Starter wouldn't let me change the wallpaper so I went on a quest for a dual-boot. Long story short, I ended up messing up the preset recovery partition in gparted so I decided to start anew with Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Everything works in Ubuntu with this netbook with the exception of the brightness keyboard shortcuts (Fn+up and Fn+Dn). There are workarounds for that if you're the Linux type, though.

All in all, no complaints and I see myself using this thing for a long time.

UPDATE: The built-in microphone doesn't seem to work in Ubuntu (Karmic) either.

Lets face it, it's a netbook,It's great for web surfing, checking e-mails and writing Amazon reviews. If you are looking for a laptop... go buy a laptop. It's not perfect but for less than $300 it's hard to beat. I have also used a Toshiba NB 305-410 netbook and other than the Toshiba being a bit bulkier, and the Toshiba's touch pad is quite bit larger (not better but larger )not a lot of differences.One thing I definitely like better on the Samsung is the speakers ( I find the Toshiba's hard to hear even at full volume).The Samsung has gotten a few knocks for it's keyboard but I happen to like it I especially like the "feel" of the keys vs the Toshiba. Both seemed to connect equally well to my wireless router ( Net Gear 2000 "N" Router ) and had no problem locking onto a strong signal anywhere in the house. Both Netbooks had painfully long initial setup/registration times , not difficult just long and slow.
I found them both to be reasonably fast a web surfing once I deleted any unnecessary pre-installed software programs and ditched the Explorer browser and moved over to Mozilla Firefox. I have streamed Live MLB games on both, while there is a small but noticeable lag time on each they both handled it pretty well.
Don't believe the few negative comments you read about windows 7 STARTER. For a Netbook it's just fine , remember this is a Netbook not a Laptop . Yea, it would be nice to change my desktop background but that's one of the few idiosyncrasies that most will notice. It's fairly intuitive an seems to work well.

I did alot of research before choosing this netbook for my wife's birthday present. I heeded the suggestions to put a 2GB DIMM in before giving it to her. She uses it constantly with no complaints. It is a huge step up from the Samsung Q1 she won from a contest.

I keep waiting for her to complain about Windows Starter Edition. Last time I looked an upgrade to Home Edition was $65. From what I read you can't even watch movies on Starter. I haven't tried it out though.

As long as you keep the two issues in mind that I mention and they are acceptable or remedied, you will be quite happy with one of these netbooks.