2. Samsung N130

Display

We’re jumping for joy. Matte-surfaced LCD panels are finally making a comeback! And with HP Compaq getting on the bandwagon, there’s no reason why their competitors won’t too. Reflections in the screen surface are non-existent, which we greatly appreciate, and the maximum brightness is 293 nits, which is good enough for outdoor use. We should mention, though, that the way the brightness adjustment works is pretty odd – you go directly from 293 nits to 140 nits. There’s no intermediate adjustment.

The display’s definition is fairly low, at only 1024 x 576 pixels. Most software needs a minimum height of 600 pixels, and we ran into problems on several occasions.

The panel uses TN technology and has an average response time of 5 ms, with narrow vertical viewing angles. The response time is sufficient for office applications and playing movies.

The default colors were totally off, with a Delta E (average difference compared to true colors) of 11.3! Not a single color was close to being true and all colors were cold. We also noted a strong colorimetric shift towards blue.

Contrast is poor, with a measured rate of 310:1 for a black level of 0.93 nits and a white level at 288.3 nits.

The N130 is positioned as the more affordable little brother of the Samsung N140. "Affordability meets state-of-the-art technology," says Samsung. The two machines are almost identical, except for a few details of visual design. The big difference is really the N130’s lower-capacity battery.

First impressions, design

The Samsung N130 is less prestigious-looking than the N140. Our test machine was black, but a white model is also available. It’s a restrained look, with soft, rounded forms. All the plastics are matte-finished, including the lid, which is a very good feature if you want to avoid constantly having to wipe dust and fingerprints off your netbook.

The finish on the machine is faultless, though we would have appreciated a little more snazz (and we don’t mean "glossy plastic").

The keyboard is identical to the one on the N140. It takes up all the available width. The feel of this keyboard is surely one of the best we’ve seen on a netbook this size. You get used to it very quickly and typing is soft, fast, and quiet.

The touchpad is also good. It’s fast, precise, and reactive – a pleasure to use and a good substitute for a mouse in many situations. The large surface area is another plus.

The click buttons under the touchpad are good, though we prefer the ones on the N140 – they’re not separated from the touchpad, whereas the N130’s are separated by a very thin plastic bar, making them a little less convenient to use.

The Webcam produces fairly good images. Despite decent colors and contrast however, overexposed areas burn out, and the fluidity leaves something to be desired.

Sound capture is poor because of the microphones’ location to the left of the touchpad.

The fan is relatively quiet and doesn’t ramp up into "turbine mode" as on some competing models. The noise from the fan is muffled and not very audible.

Equipment is standard for a netbook – Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, of course, along with three USB 2.0 ports, VGA, Ethernet, headphone and microphone inputs, and 1 anti-theft lock connector.

The on/off button is on the front, along with a 3-in-1 memory-card reader.

Under the computer is a panel for access to the RAM module. To access the other components, you have to take the machine apart, which isn’t very convenient.

RJ45, VGA, air exhaust,USB, mic, headphone	Microphone (for Webcam),touchpad, and click buttons
On/off switch	2 USB 2.0, anti-theft, power connector

Processor power

The processor used is an Intel Atom N270. It’s an aging classic in netbooks and its performance held no surprises. Compared to our reference computer, the Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Xi3650, a standard netbook equipped with this processor scores 20 (as indeed this one did). With no antivirus installed, the netbook booted up in 42 seconds with the factory installation.

The chipset associated with the processors in the N series (N270 and N280) won’t decode HD video. If you want to be able to, you’d do better to look at netbooks with an Nvidia ION chipset, like the Samsung N510.

Games

Gaming on netbooks is just starting to catch on, especially on machines with the Nvidia ION chipset. But since this netbook doesn’t have one, you’ll have to settle for older 3D games (Quake III, Warcraft III, etc.) or 2D titles.

Audio

The sound from the speakers is poor. You’d do better to use the headphone output, which is pretty clean.

Mobility, battery life

The main difference between the N130 and N140 is the battery – 4000 mAh for the latter, 5200 mAh for the former. The N130 clocked in with 4 hours, 16 min. of battery life, while the NC10 achieved 4 hours, 49 min., and the N140 clocked 5 hours, 29 min. But 4 hrs. 16 is reasonably good, making this model a good choice for those who don’t need especially long battery life and want to save some money.

The 6-cell battery is well integrated and protrudes only slightly under the machine. At 2.77 pounds, the N130 is about 0.3 ounces heavier than the Compaq Mini 110, and 0.3 ounces lighter than the Dell Mini 10. The N140 is only one gram heavier, which is negligible.

The Samsung N130 has very similar characteristics to the N140. Its battery’s life is shorter by 1 hr. 13 min. and its visual design is a little less classy. But in all other areas the two netbooks are about equal, and both are very well designed.