If all goes according to
plan, Samsung's more-than-a-netbook NC20 is just a day away from its official American release, and, on this momentous eve,
Laptop has graced us all with a full review of the thing -- or the Korean version, at least. We've been following the NC20's buildup closely, as it looks to slot in between flimsy netbook and a proper ultraportables in terms of size but at a sub-$500 price that's decidedly more Eee than
X300. The review seems to echo that sentiment, with its VIA Nano processor found to be at least on par with Intel's Atom, if not slightly faster, and the 12-inch, 1280 x 800 display quite pleasing to the eye -- despite its glossy sheen. That (relatively) large size gives room for a comfortable keyboard, but overall this is a bit bulkier than its competition; heavier too, clocking in at 3.4 pounds with a 6-cell battery compared to about 3 pounds for a similarly powered
Mini 12. Overall it sounds like a great device for those looking for a netbook with a little more to love.
posted March 5th 2009 8:59PM
One word..Ugly
how's it ugly?
Hey Sean...what?
I've seen much more ugly netbooks, but this one looks very good. 3.4 pounds is too heavy for netbook though...
http://technewsjapan.com
Don't think of it as a netbook then. It's all semantics anyway. Honestly, I've never seen (presumably) grown men whine about a name so much.
Oh no! 3.4 lbs. I understand how people can be annoyed at carrying 6 lb 15" laptops since I've done it and it seriously strains the shoulder if you have it in a messenger bag along with other heavy textbooks, but 3.4 lbs is seriously very lightweight stuff. There's a point of diminish returns where being even lighter isn't much of an benefit. The Samsung NC20 is at that point IMO. It's better looking and it's not hampered by a crappy 4200RPM hard drive like the Dell Mini 12, so I say it's going to be a winner.
That looks like my fridge
You, my friend, have one lucky fridge.
How do you keep food in there?!
very usable!
Where does one draw the line between netbook and laptop? I mean what we called laptops a few years ago now have the same specs, but are now called netbooks...
Personally what I consider a netbook is any laptop with a monitor 10 inches or under with considerably lowers specs than normal tier laptops. They are primarily designed for use in developing nations or by older users for simple tasks like web browsing and word processing. Ideally would would almost be able to put the netbook in your pocket like the Vaio P, or tuck it away lightly in a bag.
That said, I don't consider this a netbook, this to me is just an underpowered laptop.
only difference between netbooks and laptops now are the disc drives and graphics capabilities that real ati/nvidia cards offer
Am I the only one that noticed this thing is running on XP? Did I miss that in the article? I only scanned it...lol
Well, nobody pointed it out because nobody's surprised. All netbooks run Windows XP, with the exception of the Vaio...oh, wait. Nevermind. Most manufacturers prefer to use XP because it tends to use less resources.
O didn't know netbooks typically ran on XP
"Most manufacturers prefer to use XP because it tends to use less resources"
And judging by the system tray they'll need all the resources they can get with all the crapware this thing has running.
so do these 12 inch versions have disk drives? i dont think you would need one for something this small, but it would be nice!
Sorry...you just can't call a 3.4-pound device a 'netbook'. I've owned really decent full-fledged laptops that weigh less than that.
Right...but were your full-fledged rigs sub $500? Remember, netbooks are meant to be budget machines.
OK, so do you consider that 15" Celeron laptop for $299 at Staples a netbook? Probably not, because it's too big/heavy. That's my main argument, here...there are size/weight limits on what should be called a netbook.
I used to work at staples :)
I think it looks nice! Sleek!
I know. When this whole fiasco started I thought I had a good grip on it: You have your eee, your wind, mini-note and aspire one. But at this point, I am just lost in this sea of options, with each one less distinguishable from the other. Is it really not worth it to know the differences or am I just losing my touch? I don't even know who I am anymore.
Hey Via! Way to get your Nano processor into a notebook. Congratulations!
That, and your about 8 months late to the party.
fashionably late.
it wont be soon before this is a three horse race, hurry the fk up AMD
If anyone doesn't know this netbook will handle HD content way better then Atom and the Intel IGP, at least that is what all of the reviews have said.
And 1280 x 800 is enough for 720p, battery is said to last 6 hours in real world testing as well.
Great design, good resolution for its screen size, good battery, big enough to be pretty comfortable for every day tasks but small enough to be carried easily around. To me it seems like a perfect travel laptop and good even for occasional business tasks. I hate carrying a 6-7 lbs laptop with me when I travel (if you also have a charger, laptop bag, maybe an extra mouse etc the weight might go up to more than 10-12 lbs)
I want this thing in white, in the USA, now!
But seriously, I can't seem to have it in white here. does anyone know anything about the white overseas/black in the usa situation? personally, I think white has a great look, and the keys are easier to see in dim lighting. sadly, samsung seems to have decided to sell this in black in the usa. anyone know of plans to change that? or of the possibility of ordering it from overseas to the usa?
thanks.