LG X120 unboxing and hands-on
By Donald Melanson 
posted May 7th 2009 12:31PM
posted May 7th 2009 12:31PM
We got an early look at LG's X120 netbook at CES back in January, but we've now finally gotten our hands on the final retail version, and will be properly putting it through its paces in the coming days. Right off the bat, however, it's clear that the netbook has quite a bit going for it inside and out, including a nice matte white finish all around the exterior (though it's as glossy as ever once you pop the lid), a generally solid build quality, a usable keyboard (although the trackpad is on the small side) and, of course, LG's Splashtop-powered Smart On interface, which once again manages to impress with its speediness, even if you'll still often find yourself reaching for XP. Hit up the gallery below for some unboxing and hands-on pics, and keep an eye out for some more in-depth impressions.
whoa, glossy much? i feel like every time you typed on this it would make the sound of skin rubbing on a gym floor
I think it might just be the lighting; it does look quite plasticy though.
It's a netbook. I don't think you're allowed to make them without, at least some, glossy plastic.
At least this one has a matte finish on the lid.
For a moment I thought those trees were painted over the laptop. It looked cool, until reality hit me with its glossy fist in my bleeding eye.
Yeah I thought the same thing about the trees.. It actually would have looked pretty cool with a design like that.
Glossy on the inside, matte on the outside ...? I think they got mixed up here ...
I'm just glad at least another manufacturer isn't butchering the right Shift key in favor of some cursor keys.
These are all the same netbooks we've seen for the last year now. Just remixed. How about a 2GHz chip or even better a dual core. I know the dual core Atom's are out there but is anyone using them in a netbook?
Current dual-core atom chips run too hot and use a little too power, to be usable in a netbook. The good news is intel is coming with new atom chips sometime around September. The new CPUs should faster, smaller, and use less power than the current gen.
Anyone else freak out when they see those Windows and Intel stickers? - so hideous. Maybe its just that im a mac, and no longer a pc, pheww.
you know you can peel those right off right?
id say 75% of the time, you cant without leaving a sticky surface. They use very strong glue on those stickers and aren't made to be removed - its part of their (ugh) charm.
Full disclosure: I'm a Mac fan. But, even if I wasn't, why do they always insist on layering every Windows-based desktop or notebook/netbook with tech specs, advertising and stickers?! It really reminds me of that parody video on what would happen if Microsoft designed the iPod: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeXAcwriid0
Personally, I'm used to the stickers on my PCs now, I have a custom built desktop and have to put some stickers on it, like a Core i7 sticker, Geforce sticker, etc. : D
that video is so funny. have you seen this one (completely unrelated) http://techblips.dailyradar.com/video/vcr_hack/
@cosmo: at least its your choice when you put them on yourself. i wonder if LG thinks about the stickers when it designs elegant laptops. Are iron clad contracts from ms and intel responsible for those mandatory stickers? and do laptop designers regret signing those contracts? for the love of god, cant they be redesigned or placed elsewhere? i feel like the stickers are a remnant of the prehistoric pc age.
@jay
> for the love of god, cant they be redesigned or placed elsewhere?
That new dell, "Adamo?" has the stickers in a purpose built flip out storage thing, becuase yes, there are contacts that force them to put the stickers somewhere, at least, if they want to pre-install anything newer than W2K.
Sucks I know. They look shity.
If nothing else, they got the aesthetics right.
I second that. Definitely looks good, even if it's the same netbook we've all seen a hundred times now.
Now that there are so many netbooks, someone should do a buyer's guide or roundup to make things easy for us.
yawn, these exact same spec craps breed like winds, doesn't it?
They copied the hinge design from the 17" Powerbooks!
WOW.. matte screens are becoming more rare by the day!
Sadly yes. : (
I refuse to buy a laptop if it has a high glossy screen....which is my my current Lappy is old and sin and crap. I made myself sad. :(
I'd take the old LG X100 instead any day of the week. :) It atleast had good hardware.
This a retail for which country ?
Because, on the key, there is the French translation in French but on a QWERTY keyboard ...
But in France, we have an AZERTY keyboard ...
Strange ...
Jeff
This is probably a Canadian model - the French spoken here is Quebecois French and since most of the county is anglophone the French-speakers are forced to make do with a QWERTY keyboard layout :-)
Hello there, I have question about LG X120. I bounght this netbook few days ago. Till now everthing is fine except when I try to watch online videos, the netbook becomes sooo slow. I can't see the video only the black screen. For youtube, sometime its ok, most of the time video get stuck, I checked the cpu usage while i'm watching the online videos, its usage is the fullest. That time I can't even open any other programs. My question is whether this situation is normal or my netbook has some problem. I really appriciate your comment and advise. Thanks from Habiba.