The 9
Well, as I have mentioned in my previous post, I am scouting for a portable computer that I can take with me everyday. I am hoping for something within the range of $250 to $330 with nothing bigger than a 10.1″ screen, with a decent and usable keyboard, and not weigh more than 3 lbs. I saw an ad at Ben’s Bargains for a Dell Mini 9 for $199 and I got excited and clicked on the link that takes me to the Dell order page. The $199 will get you a new Dell Mini 9, an Atom processor-equipped netbook with an 8.9″ screen at a 1024 x 600 pixel, and 4-cell battery that has a starting weight of 2.2 lbs. The Mini 9 also comes with 1 GB of RAM and a 4 GB of SDD loaded with Linux. Introduced in 2008, the Mini 9 has been discontinued by Dell but has been showing up from time to time, since it is a popular and cult choice among geeks because of its portability and classic design and the ability to hackintosh it.
Anyway, after ordering and scouring through a lot of Mini 9 enthusiasts forum, I realized that the amount of upgrades that I need to put into the Mini 9 to make it useful for what my intended uses; mostly use it for updating my blog, and social networks, word processing, surfing, email, and looking at updates on my courses at the SJSU Angel site; will drive the cost of the 9 up. I need to upgrade the SDD to 32 GB, replace the RAM to 2GB, and the OS to XP. These upgrades will jack the investment on this portable from a relatively still cheap, $266 (taxes, shipping, webcam upgraded to 1.3 and bluetooth added) to an expensive $350 to $400 range.
N120
I was uneasy about spending that much, so I started trawling website for netbooks and user opinions. I happened by netbooks manufactured by Samsung and remembered how impressed I was at the Samsung netbook that one of the library managers recently bought and showed to me. I learned that Samsung had been aggressively developing its netbook line from the original N10. I looked at a few models online and watch unboxings, hands-on and video reviews and got the overall impression that reviewers, owners, and enthusiasts holds the Samsung brand in high regard. A few of the commentators even stated that Samsung netbooks carry a high premium because it is made of materials of high quality, and that they use their own brands for the parts of their netbooks like the screen and RAM. In the end I was convinced that I should look at Samsung more closely and I basically narrowed my choice to two models, the N120 and the Samsung Go N310.
N310 colors
The N120 carries the updated look from the previous generation, with an almost full-size keyboard, a 2.1 speaker, meaning a subwoofer on a 10.1″ screen, a very slick design, and a 6-cell battery that promises 6 hours of use. The Go N310 is even more impressive with a pebble-like rubberized feel chassis design by Naota Fukasawa that comes in four colors with edge to edge glass on the 10.1 screen, and a chiclet-style keyboard. You just have to see it to realize how gorgeous it looks like. Add to that the Samsung Go N310 comes with a 6-cell battery that is rated to last for 8 hours! Both Samsungs are a bit pricey, with the N120 going for around $385 and the Samsung Go N310 going for $420 at Amazon. I am still trying to think which one to choose, but I am leaning towards the Samsung Go N310. I am planning on canceling my Dell order in the morning, it is still in the “production” stage, and decide if I will order the Samsung and which model.
Honestly, however illogical it might sound, I want both and the Dell. Ha ha ha.
Fat chance that will happen.