Traveler 2.0

Samsung N120 Netbook Shows Stamina at Twitter Conference

Last Sunday, I attended TWTRCON SF 09 in San Francisco, the first conference focused on Twitter. It was a long day. But I'm happy to report the Samsung N120 netbook I took lasted longer than I did.

Though power plugs were available to attendees in the Hotel Nikko conference room, I decided to push the netbook's battery as long as possible. Despite having Wi-Fi wireless networking on, the screen's brightness jacked all the way up, and frequent hard drive saves, the N120's 6-cell battery went for about 5 hours before I received a warning that only 10% of the battery's juice was left. Add that to what's probably the best netbook keyboard yet, and we have a winner, ladies and gentlemen.

My next stress test will be to play a video downloaded from iTunes. Video is a weak spot for many, but not all, netbooks. So far, the netbook that's performed the best in my video tests is the Asus Eee PC 1000HE.

As for the Twitter conference? Lots of interesting stuff. But I can't get the words of one analyst out of my mind: "Three years from now," he said during an on-stage panel discussion, "we'll laugh at ourselves for attending a Twitter conference."

Samsung N120 Netbook: Great Keyboard (for a Netbook)

Samsung has become the Octomom of netbook makers, dropping new models out every five minutes or so.

Just got my hands on the Samsung N120, which is getting kudos for having what's said to be the largest netbook keyboard yet. Truth be told, I don't know that the keyboard is physically any larger than those found on HP's Mini 1000 and Mini 2140 netbooks. But the N120 keyboard feels somehow a bit more spacious--just a bit. I do find it comfortable to type on.

Anyhow, of the netbooks I've tested so far, I'm liking the N120 the best. The screen is bright (and glossy, yes, but not obnoxiously so), and the speakers put out decent audio (for a netbook). A big bonus: You get a 6-cell battery, which should last you about five hours or so, maybe more, depending upon how you use it. But the battery doesn't protrude much; at least, not like the 6-cell batteries I've seen on other netbooks, like the HP Mini models.

I've seen the N120 for about $410 online at JR.com. That's a little pricey, but I think it's worth it. I've only had the Samsung in my greedy clutches for 2 days now, so take that into account.

Tip: If you buy a Samsung N120, get it from JR.com, because they have a 30 days return policy but don't charge you a restocking fee if you return it because you don't like it. The majority of online retailers, however, will hit you with a 15% restocking fee, unless the merchandise you're returning is defective or was shipped in error by the seller.