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Thanks to marshmn and gfplux for reporting this. Any updates regarding battery runtime are welcome 🙂
Samsung has responded with “The computers are as you say very much the same but still there are parts in the two that require different amounts of power”. While this probably is true (considering e.g. the new wireless card), could these differences really amount to a difference of 4 hours? I would really like to see more practical battery comparisons between the NC10, N130 and N140 (still waiting for notebookcheck.net’s review :P).
Hi all,
Came across this forum whilst doing my own research into battery performance for the N140. I’m in the UK and looking to buy one as soon as I can, but am having the same problem in finding information.
Samsung’s own website seems woefully sparse, and while most reviews I’ve read are very favourable about battery life (and the machine in general), they rarely quote the mAh rating of the batteries they are testing. There are also claims ranging from 5 to 11 hours of battery life, even within Amazon’s uk website which I’m finding very confusing.
After finding one shopping comparison site (twenga), I realised that different specs do carry different model numbers. I was hoping that variations in the numbers might hold a clue to what kind of battery was installed, but now I’m not so sure. The model numbers seem to be configured like this;
NP-N140-KA01UK
In this instance, the K refers to a 160gig HDD and the 01 means it’s white. All the models I’ve found so far with a K in them seem to be shipped with XP Home OS.
Whereas
NP-N140-JA02UK
refers to a 250gig HDD. All these models seem to be shipped with Windows 7 Starter Edition. In this case it’s black (02).
I looked on the samsunglaptop.co.uk website to confirm this.
Obviously, the UK at the end refers to the country, but has the A got anything to do with battery size? Perhaps members from other countries could have a look at their machines and compare theirs to these model numbers.
There does seem to be a little light at the end of my particular tunnel, though. I am a member of Which?, a consumer advice organisation, where I first found mention of the N140. They update their reviews quite regularly, and have recently added the fact that the netbooks they’ve tested (both K and J models) have 5,900 mAh batteries. In their reviews they state that the K model with 160gig HDD and XP Home lasted for over 8 hours, and the J model, 250gig HDD and Windows 7 lasted for almost 7 and a half hours. They don’t go into much detail about how they test the batteries, just that they are fully charged to begin with, and the netbook is then connected to a wireless network. I’m not a techie, so I wouldn’t know, but I’m wondering if the difference in HDD capacity or OS has a bearing on battery life.
I’m sorry I don’t know how to provide links to the sites I’ve referenced– like I say, I’m not a techie! I’m afraid you won’t be able to access the info on Which?’s site unless you’re a member, but I’ll be happy to pass on info if it comes up and might help. The rest of what I found out was just by googling and running shopbots.
I’m afraid this won’t help you much mtah 🙁 but it might help shed some light for uk buyers perhaps?
Continuing to investigate, will let you know if I spot anything else.
All the best, delighted to have found the forum!
Clarissa
Hi Clarissa9, thanks for your input. It’s quite interesting indeed, we need a few people to confirm this. There was some speculation to the meaning of “A” and “B” in this thread, but AFAIK no answer. It actually would help a bit, since I see retailers selling both “A” and “B” units here. I’m guessing it could be something revision-related though.
Clarissa9 – There is a section in the Wiki about model numbers for the NC10’s. Perhaps there ought to be a similar entry in the N140 section as well?
Any volunteers? 🙂There is no set specific way of checking battery life. Each tester uses what they use as a standard so they can compare different brands relative to each other. One tester will use full volume, full brightness and full screen video whilst to get their comparative results whilst another will test using ‘normal’ usage of 3 bars brightness and some office work, and another will test a different way. All of these methods are valid but are not comparable one to another, so there is no definitive answer. Even different OSs will produce different results.
[quote1260572869=tonytb]All of these methods are valid but are not comparable one to another, so there is no definitive answer.
[/quote1260572869]Yes, but one would assume Samsung’s own battery measures are comparable. Otherwise it’s just false marketing.
And? I don’t believe ‘up to 60 miles per gallon’, ‘up to 30% brighter’ or ‘new and improved’ (how can it be both?). I gave up believing advertising claims many years ago 🙂
You seem to be looking for problems rather than a solution.
If you seriously want up to 11 hours use then I would strongly suggest that you consider factoring in the cost of a 9 cell battery when or if you buy a netbook. The NC10 is great, btw.
[quote1260623856=tonytb]
And? I don’t believe ‘up to 60 miles per gallon’, ‘up to 30% brighter’ or ‘new and improved’ (how can it be both?).
[/quote1260623856]We both know that advertisement stretches its figures to the extreme, but they do have to check out – even if under extreme circumstances. That car has to go 60 miles on one gallon of gas while constantly at minimum fuel consumption, even though this is practically impossible under normal circumstances. Advertisers can’t just make empty claims – there are laws which regulate that.
But this is not what I’m questioning. I’m questioning the consistency of Samsung’s own battery figures, stretched or not. They are claiming that N140 has 4 more hours of juice on the same battery as the NC10. This is misleading a lot of people into thinking that the N140 has superior battery life, when tests so far show it hasn’t. I wouldn’t be surprised if the N140 actually lasted 11 hours with everything turned off, but I would be surprised if the NC10 was 4 hours short of that under the same conditions. I’d love to see some powertop readings showing that the N140 does in fact consume a lot less power than the NC10, just to prove me wrong. Until then, colour me sceptical. 🙂
Just to add a bit more to the (confusing) picture: my N140 bought in Thailand has the 5200 mAh battery (and the 250 GB HDD).
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