Samsung N510 review

Samsung’s N510 looks like a slightly larger version of the company’s N120, which is our pick of the current crop of netbooks.

It has the same basic design, with a glossy lid and a sturdy casing with chrome detailing. The screen is larger, though – 11.6in to the N120’s 10.1in – with an increase in resolution from 1,024×600 to 1,366×768. This is a 70 per cent increase in desktop space, which removes the cramped feeling common when working on many netbooks.

It’s a high resolution considering the physical dimensions of the screen, so while you’ll see much finer detail in photos and movies, in Windows you may need to increase the size of text to make it comfortable to read. The LED-backlit display is bright and colours are accurate, although not quite as vivid as some other LED-backlit screens we’ve seen. The finish is a strange mixture of glossy and matt. It makes colours appear a little more saturated, but doesn’t entirely diffuse reflections on the screen. We found vertical viewing angles a bit limited as well.

This is Samsung’s first use of Nvidia’s Ion chipset, which means the N510 can smoothly play back 1080p HD video, something most netbooks can’t manage. However, it will have to downscale such content to show it on its 720p-capable screen. Alternatively, you can connect a Full-HD display via the HDMI port to get the best possible picture.

You’ll need to use headphones or external speakers, as the internal speakers on the N510 are pathetically underpowered. Despite its video-playback prowess, Ion isn’t powerful enough to play 3D games, scoring a paltry 5.1fps in our Call of Duty 4 benchmark.

The N510’s battery life is disappointing, being almost half that of the N120, but we can’t be sure whether the blame lies with the larger screen or the Ion chipset. For a full-sized laptop it would be considered more than respectable, but Samsung has set the bar for netbooks very high.

We generally like Samsung’s keyboards. Here, the keys are large enough, but the key action is light, and we felt there wasn’t as much feedback as there is on Samsung’s other netbooks.

With a disappointing battery life and a slightly mushy keyboard, the N510 doesn’t stand up well to the competition from its own stablemates, especially for those who want to work on the go. The larger display and HD video playback will appeal to some, but most will be happier with the cheaper N120.