It’s been at least two weeks since I’ve had the Samsung N210, so I thought I’d continue with the review that I previously wrote. I’ve been using this as my primary commuting device – as it’s both lighter and smaller. On the upside, the weight has relieved the strain on my back, particularly useful if you’re wearing a courier-like side satchel. The smaller size has a number of advantages as well, such as being able to comfortably use in in a commuter train without being in the more spacious four person seat. I can comfortably prop this up on the bag and then type away whilst sitting on one of the smaller two-person seats on an East Coast Rail Train, and still be able to see the screen at a comfortable distance without craning my neck.
I’ve continued to tweak with most of the system settings, expunging as much of the start up services as I think I can get away with. The biggest contributor (it seems) so far was to disable the microsoft indexing/searching service as it seemed to cause typing to be jittery whenever running. I also managed to play some other video formats using VLC player (MP4) and the machine seems to be able to handle it fine.
I also did my first backup of the system, using the in built Samsung Recovery Manager. I figured this would be quite important seeing as I don’t have a reinstaller CD for it. Using a little portable hard drive, it took about an hour to backup the 20GB of installed programs so far.
I haven’t had any problems browsing the internet or using it for normal writing use, however I want to see what it’s like with upgraded RAM, so I’ve ordered a 2GB stick off crucial. I’m hoping programs load a bit faster if I have other things running. I think installers will probably run faster but seeing as they are a once-off affair, it’s not really going to bother me in the long term. I can’t really complain about the startup/shutdown speed. It’s plenty faster than I remember on my last PC box.
The keyboard has been the biggest win so far. I’m a touch typist, absolutely hate using the mouse if I don’t have to, and the chiclet keyboard has been a lifesaver as I don’t feel like I am modifying the way that I type to type normally. When I do use the mouse, I do appreciate the gestures they’ve built in – something that my work laptop (a Mac) has been training me in use and would be frustrating to return to without it working. I’m pleased that it continues to work although I’m happy for that right click button.
Not everything has been perfectly plain sailing though. In use, I’ve found the opening latch, that plays dual role of power switch) a bit fiddly. As a right hander, I want to use my right hand to flick the switch, but the “stickiness” of the lid means that I have to use both hands to carefully open the laptop. I can’t honestly say I’ve gotten used to it but definitely not a show stopper.
I’ve also noticed that the default setting lets you switch resolution modes (from its default 1028 x 600 to a pixelated/stretched 1028 x 768) that I triggered by pressing SHIFT+FN+LEFT or SHIFT+FN+RIGHT keys. Being a touch typist, it took me a while to work out which combination of keys triggered this (you can use their Easy Resolution Manager application to change this just as you can use their Easy Resolution Manager Options application to disable this shortcut).
The only other thing that has been slightly annoying is the mouse buttons that you have to depress slightly forcefully – something that isn’t really a problem if you prefer the keyboard, but I could see potentially affecting those who like the mouse. On the flipside, you would probably bring a travel mouse or something like that.
Given that the issues I’ve had are very minor, everything else has been true to form. The screen is lovely and bright, and the battery life seems to work very well.
Be interested to know what difference the upgraded memory has made
In line with Mike’s question, can you detail what memory you purchased? I’m concerned that there may be more than one type that fits the machine and they might perform differently.
Hi Mike and Nigel!
I bought the memory from Crucial and it arrived very promptly. It was a snap to install (with a small screwdriver) and it got detected without any problems.
Interestingly, I haven’t noticed a significant difference in normal day to day use. I feel like opening more applications doesn’t feel as sluggish (ALT-TAB works well between them) and opening larger images (from an SLR) seems to work much faster now.
Hope this helps.
Hi, I recently bought a samsung N210. This my first samsung netbook. Trouble is I couldnt seem to figure how to get it to start. I’ve tried to slide the power switch by holding it for a few seconds before releasing as well.. -blank screen, no power on lights-.. tried with batt, and without batt.. same response.. did you face any such probs?
Nope. No problems for me. I just held the slide of the power switch to the right and it turned on. Sounds like you got a dud.
I note the excellent review and it was useful in making my decision to buy… I bought the slightly higher spec n220.
Words of warning would be the machine is overloaded with software that slows down start up and Mcaffee was a killer, I’ve tried to remove as much as possible, as per reviews, but even after upgrading the RAM, its still unable to run I-player or Skype video calls….
So unless I have a dud, you may want to think carefully..
Hi Jonathan,
Sorry to hear that you had problems with your N220. Interestingly I didn’t have any problems from the get go running Skype video or iPlayer and that was with the factory installed software. I did remove them anyway, but that’s a bit strange. Even start up with them wasn’t significantly longer on the N210.
thanks for this, I’ll take it up with Samsung, there is some improvement on mains power but I player is still jittery despite being connected directly into the router, and bearing in mind my Iphone can play iplayer seems a little odd…
Jonathan,
One thing you may want to check is what your CPU usage on the “battery” profile is. I didn’t notice this but mine was set to 50% when on battery making video much slower. Could be one reason.
Hi thanks for the reviews I’m using the N220 ram upgrade to 2gb and running win 7 home premium I’ve shut of the paging file and use just ram. I’ve also loaded nero 10 and encoding dvd’s takes up to six hours to do a 4 to 5 hour super-long play dvd. Skype won’t work here for video calls either machine seems abit slow still need to reduce the processors and start up programs. Other wise it’s fine.
I must say my pouch didn’t have samsung on it but my deal came with a Targus carry bag and samsung cd/dvd burner.
Thanks for both of your reviews for N210; they were very useful indeed. I bought Samsung N210 too and installed some of the same apps as you, based on your recommendations.
One question: did you ever have problems making TweetDeck work? I can’t get either TweetDeck or SeesmicDesktop to load. They open but don’t load any tweets. Tried deleting and re-installing (incl Adobe AIR) but to no avail. I wrote to the Seesmic helpdesk and they think the problem might be the OS. I still use Windows 7 Starter, which came pre-loaded w/ the netbook. I know the Starter edition has got some restrictions and have heard it can only handle 3 apps at the same time. But even when I only have Seesmic open, it still won’t load. I’m wondering if I need to pay another £60 to get the upgrade from Amazon. 🙁
If you had any similar problems, I’d be interested to know. Thanks!
Hi Chie,
I didn’t have any problems installing TweetDeck. I’m still using Windows 7 starter as well. I also tend to run way more than 3 apps, so definitely not a limitation there.
Skype video does have a problem which is caused by the 600 height resolution not being enough to display your own and someone else’s video at the same time. I found changing the res to the 768 one then worked okay OR detaching the video window then allowed room for your own screen. In fact it does appear to work anyway just that at 600 it cannot display your own window properly so doesn’t but the video was still sending okay.
I bought my N210 in Dover on the way back to NZ and have upgraded to 2Gb and Home Premium – all without any problems. I am using the pc on the road to develop my website but suddenly (ie I left the pc for a short time) the resolution has become a problem. it is horizontally stretched causing various line overflow problems and html table alignment problems (ie previously the columns vertically aligned, now they do not). I have not installed any new s/ware and tried a restore to yesterday without any improvement.
Any ideas anyone? Thanks.