Samsung NC10 review
Samsung NC10
Coming relatively late to the netbook party seems to have done Samsung the world of good with its polished but imperfect NC10.
Samsung is usually associated more with flat-screen TVs and mobile phones than laptops but if the NC10 is anything to go by this should change in the near future.
At first glance this entry to the netbook category seems pretty bog standard. It runs on Windows XP operating system, has a 160GB hard drive, 10” matte screen and Intel Atom processor. In other words, much the same as other netbooks available at the moment.
It weighs in at a reasonable 1.3kg – making it light but not the lightest – and comes with Bluetooth, WiFi and an SD card reader as standard.
Connectivity is also run of the mill – there are three USB ports, an external monitor connection, headphone and microphone jacks and an Ethernet connection present. The laptop also features a built-in webcam and microphone for quick web-chats or VOIP calls.
There are two other features of the laptop where Samsung have gone the extra mile, putting all of these average specifications to better use than others. First is its uncompromising keyboard, which is about 92% the size of a regular laptop’s.
Most importantly for touch-typers the company has not messed much with button configuration to get it all to fit so well, instead it has made some slight adjustments to the rest of the laptop’s body to allow the keyboard space. For example the power button is on the side of the machine, rather than above the keyboard, adding a valuable few millimetres for the keys.
The second, and perhaps biggest, selling point for the NC10 is its huge battery. Most netbooks promise three hours on a full charge but deliver somewhat less than that – the NC10 offers twice that amount and is pretty reliable in giving it too, even with the machine in constant use.
For a netbook, it is hard to over-emphasise how important keyboard size and battery life is. For a machine designed for on-the-go and spontaneous working users want something that is usable and reliable. There is no point having a powerful laptop that has a flat battery or is too fiddly to type on comfortably.
Another major plus for the machine is its build quality, which makes it feel like an actual laptop as opposed to a flimsy toy. Some other machines like the HP MiniNote 2133 have already shown that netbooks can be well-built but most companies are still too willing to compromise on this side of things in order to keep costs down low; thankfully Samsung are not. Watch out for the glossy laptop lid, however, as it is an absolute smudge magnet.
If there is any aspect of the NC10 that is compromised it must be the trackpad. The actual pad itself is tiny, clearly to accommodate the keyboard, and is not recessed into the body. Thankfully Samsung decided to keep the left and right click buttons below the trackpad rather than on either side of it – although they are housed within one button which can be awkward.
The track-pad takes a bit of getting used to but it is worth it –the only real reason not to buy the NC10 is because of the line additions Samsung are rumoured to be prepping in the coming weeks and months.
One expected arrival is an NC10 with built-in 3G broadband, the other is the NC20 which is billed as the NC10 but with a 12” screen formation. The machines are unlikely to be too different other than that, however.
Whatever the exact configuration is the NC10 is by far one of the better netbooks out there at the moment – if Samsung can improve their trackpads even slightly it will be untouchable.
An edited version of this review appeared in Business & Finance magazine on the 12th February 2009.
