When Asus broke grounds by introducing the Eee PC netbook series in 2007, it set the criteria on what defines a winning netbook – small, light, loaded with basic computing features and affordable.

As the netbook market evolves, we see niches sprouting within that market itself. Consumers are fervently dictating the features they want to see in a netbook and manufacturers are just as eager to please them. There are now netbooks that can operate for very long hours on a single charge, netbooks that can take on multi-media tasks, and netbooks that are designed for the higher end consumer.

The N120 has to be one of the best-designed netbooks in the market today. The curves are in the right places, the edges are rounded and there is strip of chrome tastefully fitted at its sides. It is not only well designed it is also sturdily built.

The near-full sized keyboard is comfy to use and its ease is aided by a responsive touchpad. The N120 gets its juice from a six-cell battery that some claim can last up to 10.5 hours but in reality, it manages a still-impressive 7 hours of use.

The N120’s 10.1-inch screen provides the right amount of contrast and brightness. Viewing the screen from certain angles produce average results and because of the size of screen, running programs that need a lot of screen space would be a challenge.

We also noted that first-rate speakers that come with the device – there are actually 3 speakers apparently aimed at giving the user a surround sound experience. Not bad, from our account.

The device also has 3 USB ports, a card reader, Ethernet, 802.11b.g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Pros

We were drawn to the Samsung N120’s appealing design, its light weight, the near full-size keyboard and the outstanding battery life. Touchpad was easy to use, start-up time was relatively fast and build quality is excellent.

Cons

We only have one gripe – it’s a bit pricey.

Conclusion

This is one great looking and great performing netbook. Lightweight, durable and well designed, the N120 delivers what is expected of it – allowing you to perform regular computing tasks, web browsing, listening to music and watching videos. Just do not expect it to do more than that.

Best Places to Buy Samsung N120 – Review

	Store Rating	Store Name	Price	Visit Store
	5721 Store Reviews	PCConnection Express	$ 688.35
	1486 Store Reviews	PCNation	$ 665.38
	1685 Store Reviews	Amazon	$ 649.00
	3742 Store Reviews	Buy.com	$ 679.00
	185 Store Reviews	Amazon Marketplace	$ 679.00

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In our list of the Top 5 Netbooks for 2009, we rated the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 as the best among the netbooks available in the market today. In that article, we mentioned how the IdeaPad made us rethink what a netbook should be. Just when we thought that our minds have been properly conditioned by the format defined by the Asus Eee series, Lenovo gave us a netbook that has a larger screen size and a more comfortable keyboard at a price that is still at netbook levels.

We had also mentioned that the IdeaPad S12 is powered by an Atom N270 processor at 1.6 GHz. The S12 is also one of the first netbooks to feature VIA’s Nano mobile processor as an option. The Via Nano processor has been getting great reviews so far in its head-to-head comparison with its Atom counterpart and many see this as a boon to netbook technology. But, there is still greater news. It seems like the S12 will be featuring NVIDIA’s Ion technology soon. For now, we are happy to share with you our full review on the Atom-powered Lenovo IdeaPad S12.

Given its size, it is definitely bigger than the average netbook, but, still lighter than the typical notebook. It appears to be well-built and the plastic chassis’ design gives it a bit of a business look as is mostly the case with Lenovo laptops.

The 12-inch LCD display is a joy to behold if you compare it with what the other netbooks have to offer. The screen is bright and viewable at many angles. Watching videos and pictures in the S12 offers nearly the same level of satisfaction one can get from standard-sized laptops.

The full-sized keyboard is also a feature that many netbooks wished they had. Typing over long periods is much more comfortable in this netbook. The touchpad is also easy to use.

An interesting feature that the IdeaPad S12 has is the face-recognition application which allows users to log in by posing their faces in the laptop’s webcam. It does feel nifty but after awhile the novelty wears off.

Performance-wise the Atom-powered IdeaPad S12 can handle basic office applications, media playback and normal web browsing duties. Too much multitasking would be stretching its processing abilities.

Pros

The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 stands out with an LCD screen that is better than most netbooks. Adding to its advantages are the larger screen and full-sized keyboard. It appears tough enough to take on the daily grind of mobile computing. Its long battery life is a plus too.

Cons

The finish picks up fingerprints easily. The single core Atom processor has limited capabilities when it comes to multi-tasking. The fan can be a tad noisy for some users.

Conclusion

At this price, you would have expected a smaller, more regular sized netbook. That’s where the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 will surprise you – for the price of a regular netbook you get a larger screen, a full-sized keyboard and standard processing abilities to handle regular computing duties. To us, it is no surprise why it is the number one netbook for 2009.

Best Places to Buy Lenovo IdeaPad S12 – Review

	Store Rating	Store Name	Price	Visit Store
	1189 Store Reviews	eBay	$ 449.99
	2176 Store Reviews	eCOST.com	$ 451.99
	2176 Store Reviews	eCOST.com	$ 584.99

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1. Lenovo Ideapad S10 – Review

When the Asus EeePC netbook came into the market about 2 years ago, it captured the hearts of many buyers who were attracted to its combination of low price, light weight, Linux OS and a solid-state drive. The Asus EeePC’s very strong sales performance drove the competitors to come up with their own versions of budget-priced netbooks. All of a sudden, the market was flooded with netbooks – small, light and inexpensive — with the ability to do general computing, web surfing and running rich Internet applications.

The IdeaPad S10 is Lenovo’s unabashed attempt to cash in on the netbook boom. A quick look at the S10’s features and you would immediately conclude that it used EeePC as its benchmark. A YouTube review of the S10 even called it an “EeePC killer.” The IdeaPad S10 comes in a range of hues – black, red, blue, white and pink and features a 10.2-inch display. Processing power is supplied by Intel Atom 1.6GHz and RAM capacity is between 512MB up to 1GB DDR2. This netbook comes with two USB ports and ExpressCard expansion slot and VGA output. A multi-card media reader (4-in-1) is also thrown in as an added feature. OS is Windows XP Home Edition.

PROS

Unlike the toy-like EeePC, the IdeaPad S10 looks attractive and seems solidly built. The outer case is tastefully done in matte-finished plastic. Wired.com calls it an “amazing combination of price and performance” and it concluded that the IdeaPad S10 is “the best netbook we have seen all year.”

Cons

Users complained that it runs a bit warmer than other netbooks. Others lamented its limited battery life and the noticeable clicking sound made by the mousepad buttons.

Conclusion

There are numerous netbook models in the market and new ones are launched every so often. That the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 is hailed as the top sub-notebook in the market today is very impressive. However, its position is precarious and many models are elbowing each other to get that distinction. Nonetheless, the IdeaPad’s combination of features neatly packed in a slim chassis and its great price is hard to beat, for now.

This model featured in the article: What does your laptop say about you?

Best Places to Buy Lenovo Ideapad S10 – Review

	Store Rating	Store Name	Price	Visit Store
	1189 Store Reviews	eBay	$ 259.95
	1189 Store Reviews	eBay	$ 327.02

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1. Lenovo IdeaPad S12 – Review