I do a lot of traveling, and often stay in developing countries. I decided about 4 months ago to buy the Samsung N110 netbook as it looked like it would fulfill my requirements; a laptop that was easy to carry around, with long battery life, easy to type on, and with enough performance to handle all my programs. The Samsung N110 netbook met all my requirements and then some. I upgraded the RAM to 2 GB as soon as I received the netbook.
The battery life was very important to me, as the city where I am presently residing have many electrical power outages, sometimes up to 14 hours without power every other day! My old laptop, a Dell Latitude D610, with the screen brightness turned down, could barely manage 1.5 hours before the battery died. In other words, I couldn’t get any work done when the power was out. Now, with the netbook, I can work continuously at least 6 hours and still have battery power remaining. Not only that, I discovered that when I connect the Logitech V20 USB powered speakers Logitech 970155-0403 V20 Notebook Speakers (Black) to this netbook, I get good room volume sound (all built-in laptop speakers sound horrible to me) and it uses the netbook battery so it doesn’t rely on external power. When the power goes off, I can listen to my iTunes music or internet radio at room volume for several hours, at least 6 hours with battery power remaining (internet radio is great when traveling). I also like the way the netbook goes to standby mode when I completely close the lid. I can listen to music when I go to bed (with the lid raised about 1 inch) and then just close the lid to shut the music off. It doesn’t seem to use up any battery power in standby mode and quickly resumes where it left off when I reopen the lid and press the power button.
I discovered another use of this netbook (something that was never mentioned before). During power outages, I can read for several hours using the light from the netbook screen! It also lights up the room sufficiently to do things around the room. Granted, the brightness of the screen has to be turned up and you must be relatively near the screen to read a book, but it works (you must also turn off the LCD auto-dimming function by right-clicking on the BatteryMgr icon in the toolbar).
I use the netbook to give PowerPoint presentations. Even though the resolution of the netbook screen is 1024 x 600, the resolution is much higher on external monitors and projectors. So far I was able to use the maximum resolution capabilities of the projectors I have used. The presentations are just as sharp and clear using this netbook as when using high-powered expensive laptops. With the long battery life, I don’t bother using a power cord and looking for the right adapter for the type of power plug the country uses. I can give PowerPoint presentations for 8 hours without using external power.
PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and Access on this netbook all work very well, and seem just as fast, or faster, than my old laptop. I had installed my own Microsoft Office Pro software.
I also burn DVDs and print LightScribe Labels on them using the Samsung external DVD Writer SE-T084M Samsung SE-T084M/RSBD External Slim Slot Load USB Lightscribe DVD-Writer (Black/Silver). This DVD writer is very elegant and works very well. It uses power from the netbook so it does not rely on external power. Recently I burned 4 DVDs and printed LightScribe labels on them (using best setting) during a power outage. I still had 50% battery power remaining afterwards.
I also use the 41U5008 Lenovo Thinkpad Bluetooth Laser Mouse Lenovo ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse – Mouse – laser – 3 button(s) – wireless – Bluetooth – stealth black with this netbook. It is small enough to be easily carried around and works well. Its black colored body and red scroll wheel goes well with this black colored netbook with a red stripe.
This netbook is very useful when traveling for checking e-mails, video and audio conferencing with family and friends (this netbook has a built-in video cam and microphone). I use Windows Live Messenger for video and audio conferencing with friends and family while I am traveling, a good and inexpensive way to keep in touch while being away.
The only thing negative I have to say about the netbook is that my old laptop plays 3D games better. This is a common characteristic of netbooks using low power processors, but I consider it a good tradeoff for the great battery life.
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Tags: Samsung N110, Samsung Netbook