Linux on Samsung N210

Before I start talking about what does or doesn’t work on the N210, some background. I’ve been using the original EEEPCs for about two years, starting with the first 4G (7″ models), which was eventually replaced by an EEEPC 900HD. The 900HD especially was a perfect solution for couch surfing, working during a train trip and collecting photos on holidays. Linux (see these Debian and Ubuntu posts) has been running on the netbook from the start.

So, why switch to a Samsung N210? Only two pro’s:

1. Battery life of about 7 hours compared to 2.5 hours on the EEEPc 900HD
2. Integrated Bluetooth which I use for 3G phone and file transfers

And why not?

1. Samsung netbooks are relatively expensive
2. No performance improvements
3. The N210 is huge compared to the EEEPc
4. Linux support is limited because it’s still quite new

There you go. Long story short, I bought one.

First Impressions

I won’t go through unpacking and reviewing all the ports and connectors. The N210 is a fairly standard (though somewhat large) 10″ netbook with standard specifications. Its size allows for a large keyboard and a nice 10″ matte display. The build quality seems OK at first; the casing seems to be made of high quality plastics, and most of the buttons feel solid. However, IMHO there are some flaws in the design.

1. You can’t open the lid without forcing your fingertips between the lid and the base of the netbook. This works best if you do it on the left or right corner of the lid, but on the long term I think this may damage the hinge because of the horizontal torque.
2. On the lower right part of the base of the netbook (right above the power switch), you can press the casing and it will make a ‘crunchy’ sound. It shouldn’t be a real problem but it doesn’t add to the ‘solid feeling’ or ‘quality’ experience of the netbook.
3. The maximum lid angle (open) is just too small to work comfortably on your lap in a chair, or on a low table. On one hand this makes sure you’ll sit upright, but on the other hand I find it sometimes forces me into straining my neck to watch the screen.

These flaws aside, I think the overall quality and usability of the N210 is OK. Another important question is, can it replace my good old 900HD?

Battery Life

The number one reason to answer ‘yes’ is of course the battery life. The N210 runs for about 7 hours of active use (with wireless, normal brightness, etc.) on a fully charged battery, while the EEEPc lasts for about 2.5 hours with wireless off and reduced brightness. I can leave the netbook without connecting it to a charger for days (on standby), pick it up and still use it for 5 or 6 hours. The EEEPc would never leave without a charger.

Performance

One reason to not let the N210 replace the 900HD is that there is no significant performance increase. The 900′s Celeron actually feels faster when multitasking, while the Atom gives a smooth overall performance (i.e. a snappy desktop, Youtube works and you can read large PDFs without screen lag).

However, when considering performance, you should also take two other things into account; battery life and temperature. When doing so, the benefits of the N210 are evident; it provides sufficient performance for about 7 hours, while the 900HD provides (similar) performance for a much shorter period of time. Also, the N210 doesn’t get nearly as hot as the bottom side of the 900HD. The only ‘hot region’ of the N210 seems to be the lower left side, right under the ‘ASD’ keys of the keyboard.

One other thing related to performance is the graphics chipset. The Samsung uses  Intel’s 3150 integrated graphics, which is listed as ‘N10 Family’ in lspci. Its performance is OK for regular tasks, including some simple Blendering, F-Spotting and an average Compiz desktop. For those interested in glxgears ratings, it scores about 340 frames per second, which is similar to my EEEPC 900HD.

Dimensions

The only aspect that would make the 900HD a winner is size. The EEEPc 900HD is a ‘true’ netbook; it’s really small, thin and light weight. The N210 on the other hand is what I’d call a small notebook; it has a large screen, a huge casing and an almost regular sized keyboard. Especially when putting the two netbooks next to each other the differences are obvious (i.e. it’s not ‘just 1 inch’ from a 9″ to a 10″ netbook).

Linux on the N210

Ever since I first started using Linux in ’99 I’ve tried various distributions, ranging from Redhat, Mandrake and Suse to Slackware and Debian, and more recently Ubuntu. In a search for a balance between nerding and work, I currently use Ubuntu. This post therefore focuses on Ubuntu (current release, Lucid), but could also be useful for other distributions.

Out of the Box

First of all, here’s a list of things that work out of the box:

• Connectivity: wired, wireless and Bluetooth
• Chipset support (CPU throttling, most ACPI features)
• Graphics card
• Suspend to disk and suspend to RAM
• Sound card
• Webcam
• Special keys:
  • Wireless toggle
  • Sound toggle, volume up/down
  • Touchpad toggle
  • Suspend button
• Card reader (only checked SD cards)

I have to point out that this N210 (bought in the Netherlands) comes with a Atheros AR9285 wireless card, supported by the ath9k module. However, a lot of N210′s use a Realtek 8192E card, which (as far as I know) is not fully supported yet.

So, what’s left? Not that much actually…

• Multi-touch touchpad
• Brightness control buttons

The solution for these issues is presented in the next section.

Screen Brightness

So, most of the features are supported out of the box. To fix the remaining issues, I used this PPA to install Samsung tools. Don’t be disappointed after apt-getting this, there is some work to do after installing it. You’ll find a new directory called /usr/src/samsung_backlight-0.13.1/, in which you have to compile the samsung_backlight kernel module.

$ cd /usr/src/samsung_backlight-0.13.1
$ make
$ sudo make install

After modprobing the newly installed module, brightness control should work. You may want to restart GDM (or reboot the whole thing) to make the brightness buttons work. To verify the module’s status, use ‘dmesg |grep Samsung‘. It reports something like:

[   11.426416] Samsung-backlight: checking for SABI support.
[   11.426634] Samsung-backlight: SABI is supported (f5191)

Multi-touch Touchpad

To make the touchpad understand two-finger scrolling and three-finger-right-clicks, try this:

synclient VertTwoFingerScroll=1
synclient HorizTwoFingerScroll=1
synclient EmulateTwoFingerMinW=5
synclient EmulateTwoFingerMinZ=48

You could add this to a startup script, or add it to your desktop manager’s startup applications.

Useful Resources

Don’t let the netbook’s name fool you! This Samsung N150 wiki contains tons of useful hints that also work for the N210. Also, the Samsung N220 seems to be very similar, internally, so check out this howto as well. If you like communities, check out SammyNetbook.com, which is like the ‘EEEuser.com’ for Samsung netbook owners.

Conclusion

At this point I’ve been using the netbook for about a month. Now that the ‘whoohoo, a new gadget’ phase is over, what’s left? Well, comparing it to using the EEEPC 900, the main reason for keeping the new Samsung netbook is its battery life. With the 900HD it always felt like carrying around a leaking bucket of water; wherever you go, make sure there is a power plug and hook up the EEEPC as soon as possible. With the N210′s battery life this feeling is history. Together with the slight performance increase and overall usability, it’s definitely a step forward.