Exactly one year has passed since the last testing of the netbook. Mobile inexpensive PCs, during this period, managed to change significantly. Firstly, the dominant hardware platform has changed (one chipset NM10 Express and Intel Atom N4xx replaced the Intel 945GSE system logic set and Intel Atom N2xx processors), and secondly, manufacturers began to give preference to new operating systems, and netbooks are now preinstalled Windows 7 Starter instead of the outdated Windows XP Home. In this review we will try to understand the superiority of the new generation of netbooks based on the Intel Pine Trail platform over their predecessors in 2009. For the experiment, we needed a Samsung model - a compact and very attractive machine called the N 220 Plus.
Note that the N220 Plus, in terms of its characteristics, does not fundamentally differ from the N220. Both models are almost identical, except for the Bluetooth 3.0 adapter, which is installed in the model with the Plus suffix. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen to check its performance, since there were no devices with Bluetooth 3.0 in the editorial office.
Specifications Samsung N220 Plus
• Operating system: Windows 7 Starter
• Processor: Intel Atom N470, 1.83 GHz
• Chipset: Intel NM10 Express
• RAM: 1 GB, DDR2 800 MHz
• Hard disk: 250 GB, 5400 RPM
• Display: matte, 10.1 inches, 1024x600, LED-backlight
• Video card: integrated, Intel GMA 3150
• Dimensions: 264x189x35 mm
• Weight: 1.32 kg with battery
• Battery: lithium-ion, 4400 mAh (48 Wh)
• Communications: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 HS, Ethernet
• Connectors: USB 3pcs, VGA, Ethernet, audio, microphone, SD / SDHC
• Webcam: VGA (0.3 MP)
Appearance and design features of the N220 Plus
I would like to draw your attention to the extreme accuracy of the Samsung N220 Plus. The cheerful coloring of the netbook seemed to everyone very attractive and original. True, the body turned out to be quite easily soiled, due to the fact that most of it is covered with glossy varnish.
I was also pleased with the very convenient location of the ports. On the right were two USB and VGA (analog video output).
On the left, there is another USB, a LAN socket, a power supply connector and connectors for audio devices.
The power supply includes a slider switch located on the front edge. Not far from it, there is a device for reading memory cards.
With the replacement of the hard disk, the user may have difficulties, due to the lack of function as such, but there is still a hatch that opens access to the slot for changing the RAM.
N220 Plus screen
Traditional netbook screen with a diagonal of 10 inches with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels. Working in Windows with such a resolution is unlikely to be comfortable, because for this reason, many OS dialog boxes simply do not fit on the screen.
Perhaps this drawback will be slightly compensated by the matte finish of the screen, for which the manufacturer Samsung N220 deserves a special thanks. Fashionable "mirrors", today, cannot be compared with a matte screen, which allows, if not completely get rid of parasitic reflections in the plane, then at least reduce them to a minimum.
Samsung N220 keyboard and touchpad
Due to its diminutive size in Samsung N220, the best option was to use the island-style keyboard. The keys are small, but this compensates for the large enough spacing to minimize the possibility of touch typing miss. The absence of a vertical backlash of the substrate, and a clear pressing of the buttons testify to the high mechanical quality of the keyboard.
I was also pleased with the layout, which turned out to be very convenient to use. All keys are in their places, the alphanumeric keys are the same size, the cursor block is shifted relative to the bottom row.The enlarged left [Ctrl] and [Alt] indicate that developers are especially attentive to the needs of an ordinary user.
Although the keyboard turned out to be such a reference, the same cannot be said about the touchpad. Its main disadvantage is its small, very small size (exactly 4 times smaller than the touchpad on our aluminum MacBook). In terms of functionality, it took the same capabilities as all new netbooks with Synaptics touchpads, supporting multi-finger gestures (zoom, rotate, scroll).
Pre-installed software Samsung N220
The pre-installed version of Windows 7 Starter turned out to be extremely stripped down in minor functions, such as changing the wallpaper on the desktop. But, on the other hand, it allows you to run all kinds of Windows programs and any games. But this is the main function of the operating system.
In addition to the Samsung N220 Plus, the developers have provided a whole bunch of proprietary utilities. Some may even be helpful.
Battery Life Extender monitors the battery. It aims to extend its service life. When the mode is on, the maximum battery charge will be 80% of the nominal capacity. Thus, the heating of the battery is reduced and the initial number of charge / discharge cycles increases threefold.
Chargeable USB enables or disables the left-side USB charging function when the netbook is turned off.
Fast Booting allows you to bypass the power profile settings and quickly put the netbook into standby mode. This helps to make the subsequent boot of the OS in just a few seconds.
Easy Resolution Manager allows in some way to solve the problem with non-accommodating diagonal windows of the operating system. When the OS asks a question, there are often difficulties with pressing the "OK" button, due to the fact that it is outside the screen, and the program switches the screen resolution from native (1024x600) to interpolation (1024x768).
Easy Content Share is not a very successful implementation of the UPnP and DLNA standards. The utility allows you to exchange multimedia materials with devices that also support similar standards, including Samsung TVs with the Media Play function. In fact, the utility is not stable - working with the MediaTomb DLNA server, it constantly freezes and loses its connection.
Samsung N220 performance
The most basic netbook performance, no bells and whistles. It is quite suitable for office applications (Excel, Word) and for weak old games. For something more substantial, it will not work. Also, all netbooks, both old and new designs, alas, cannot play high definition (HD) video.
Power and battery life Samsung N220
The battery capacity of the Samsung N220 Plus is 4400 mAh (48 Wh). Previously, such batteries were considered insufficiently capacious and provided only 5-6 hours of operation. However, the new Intel Pine Trail platform differs from its predecessors in lower power consumption. Due to this, in the maximum load mode the netbook will be able to work for almost 4 hours, in the video mode for more than 5 hours, in the "internet + WiFi" mode for 7 hours and in the reading mode for 8.5 hours.
An optional 5900 mAh battery can be supplied. According to the manufacturer, it will be able to provide up to 14 hours of work.
The bottom line is Samsung N220
Samsung N220 Plus is a beautiful and compact netbook with excellent top-end hardware and case quality. The set of preinstalled utility software is certainly a nice little thing, but nothing more. But the possibility of long-term performance of the equipment, this netbook can be attributed to the leaders.
As mentioned above, the user will not have access to the hard disk, therefore it will not be possible to independently change it to a more capacious version.
4 reasons to buy Samsung N220 Plus:
• attractive design;
• excellent build quality;
• top-end configuration (for netbooks);
• long battery life.
1 reason not to buy the Samsung N220 Plus:
• impossibility of self-replacement of the hard drive.
You can buy the Samsung N220 Plus netbook in our online store at the lowest price.
