The new Samsung N150 is one of the first netbooks to hit the Australian market carrying the Intel Atom N450 processor chip, extending the unit’s battery life significantly.

The new chip, which was designed specifically for netbooks and entry-level desktop PCs, comes with its graphics processor built directly into the Central Processing Unit (CPU), eliminating the need for a second chip and thus extending the battery life. This results in a power reductions of around 40% over previous Intel Atom processors. Basically, this means that the Samsung N150’s battery can last up to 12 hours when the netbook is used in low-power modes. Unfortunately the new chip doesn’t really offer any other significant performance advantages.

Aside from this innovation, nothing else about the Samsung N150 is terribly groundbreaking. It has a relatively common-looking chassis, fashioned from black plastic, with a slightly cramped keyboard - this may prove to be a dealbreaker for anyone with larger hands and fingers.

It features a 10-inch matte display, which excels at eliminating glare and reflection, with 1024×600 resolution. Connectivity options include three USB ports, as well as Ethernet, VGA video output plus the standard microphone and headphone jacks.

Samsung has also equipped the N150 with 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, but unfortunately no 3G connectivity.

The Samsung N150 is available in Australia now with a recommended retail price of $599.

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By Caroline Warnes