UPDATE: Samsung floats into the netbook party with the NC10
Anyone had enough netbooks yet? No, me either. Samsung have joined the party with the NC10 – it is a netbook, but only just. It looks like it’s targeted more at people who are a bit nervous of the full-on netbook experience, or want a bit more from their netbook.
Why do I say that? Well, first of all it’s got a 10.2″ screen, as shown above by the Dell pencil, which makes it rather monstrous in terms of netbooks. No squinting at a tiny screen, though. It’s got an option of a 6-cell battery, which should let you squeeze a bit more juice out of it, too. Samsung reckon eight hours, but I’d be surprised if it hit six in the real world.
There’s no solid state drive – instead you get 80-160GB mechanical drives, depending on how much you fancy paying. There isn’t a Linux option, either. Just Windows XP which makes me sad. On the other hand, it does have the fabled Atom processor, which is pretty much the best you can get on a netbook right now.
The machine does look rather nice, though. That blue, particularly. It’s also available in the more standard white and black. It’s got b/g WiFi, Bluetooth and ethernet ports, as well as all the regular headphone jacks. The webcam is 1.3 megapixel, which is above average, but it weighs 1.33kg, which is also above average.
All in all, it’s a small laptop with a few netbooky features. It’s got the form factor and the processor of a netbook, but not the storage or OS. If you’re a little worried about Linux, and you want something to view multimedia on, then I’d call it a great choice. Just be sure to get the 6-cell battery.
UPDATE: The NC10 is to sell at £299. Samsung Product Manager for Notebooks, Dinesh Chand, said:
“We have taken the decision to release the Samsung netbook NC10 at an aggressive suggested price point of £299 when it goes on sale at the end of October 2008.”
So expect a fight when you hand over your money.
Related posts: Toshiba launches its first netbook – the NB100 | Dell launches Inspiron Mini 9 netbook in the UK
