Samsung 12.1-inch NC20 with VIA Nano power ready for Stateside purchase

A friendly tipster has pointed us over to NewEgg where Samsung's much loved NC20 is ready for purchase and presumably delivery. Mind you, this isn't just another Atom-based netbook. This 12.1-incher is one of the first to ship Stateside with a Via Nano processor of any type, the 1.3GHz U2250 in this case. You're also looking at Via Chrome9 integrated graphics, 160GB 5400rpm disk, 1GB of DDR2 memory, and 6-cell Li-ion battery. $550 is the pre-tax price for clicking all the way through to purchase where we suspect you'll be treated to a ship date. One thing's for certain; it'll be later than March 6th.

[Thanks, angelwolf71885]

[fanchax Posted Apr 3rd 2009 5:21AM]

why the steep netbook price???

[cb88 Posted Apr 3rd 2009 8:47AM]

Via stuff is always steep.. should be a bit faster than the Atom though... the graphics chip is probably worse than intel though

[Dubb Posted Apr 3rd 2009 11:11AM]

@cb88

That is incorrect, and I hate when people spread misinformation.

The VIA Nano has beaten out the Atom in benchmarks. The Chrome9 IGP also plays 720p video at 40-50% CPU usage, where as the GMA950 in the atom netbooks hovers around 75%.

Those are the only graphic benchmarks I've seen so far, but still better than Intel's IGP, I'm interested in the battery life.

[blueplate Posted Apr 3rd 2009 4:55PM]

12.1", 1280x800 screen, bigger keyboard. For me, that's worth paying ~$100-$130 more than I would for the Samsung NC10. And a lot of people really really like the Samsung NC10.

[hacp Posted Apr 3rd 2009 5:22AM]

No 3GB ram, no Ion, no CD drive, total fail. Via's platform isn't getting the killercomputer it deserves.

[grouver Posted Apr 3rd 2009 6:27AM]

Ion does not work with via only intel. DVD drive is kinda hard to fit in a small case like that and I'd rather take the less weight over a drive that I'll used 10 times total but more RAM is a nobrainer. Especially when the price tag is $550 ...

[Hydra Posted Apr 3rd 2009 5:39AM]

I wonder how chrome 9 compares to the current intel offerings, any difference?

[Dubb Posted Apr 3rd 2009 11:15AM]

Check out this review for more info:

http://www.slashgear.com/samsung-nc20-previewed-hd-capable-over-6hrs-runtime-2832314/

[gerrrg Posted Apr 3rd 2009 5:45AM]

And this is better, how?

[Cash9007 Posted Apr 3rd 2009 6:12AM]

Any chance it'll come in a color other then that? If I wanted white, I'd buy an older iBook.

[Dubb Posted Apr 3rd 2009 11:30AM]

All I've seen are black and white, I wish there was a blue one like the NC10.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2009 6:30AM]

If you look at benchmarks.... Chrome9 performs like 80% or something crazy like that SLOWER than the GMA950. This netbook will CRAWL. NOT worth 2/3s it's price.

[Dubb Posted Apr 3rd 2009 11:14AM]

This is getting ridiculous, if you can't take the time to research your "facts" before making blatant statements on the internet, then do us all a favor and don't post the comment.

http://www.slashgear.com/samsung-nc20-previewed-hd-capable-over-6hrs-runtime-2832314/

So it’s good to hear that the VIA CPU and graphics can keep up with high-definition content. 720p video pushed CPU load to between 30 and 50-percent, while during 1080p playback the CPU peaked at just 80-percent. That’s enough to make an Atom netbook owner jealous.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2009 7:08PM]

I wasn't referring to video playback at all, I'm well aware that the Chrome9 performs reasonably well at decoding video. I was referring to 3d benchmarks, as video playback doesn't matter to me, certainly not 720p on a screen that cannot display it anyways. If you look at 3d game benchmarks, even the least demanding of games, the Chrome9 performs horribly almost always, and in the cases where it does perform acceptable, the GMA950 still outpaces it. You should consider other possibilities before you jump to conclusions ;)

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 4th 2009 2:11AM]

That's true, if you prefer 3D performance then Chrome9 is not your best choice. But for others dont's care 3D but focused on video playback, Chrome9 is a good choice in addition to its lower power.

[stridermt2k Posted Apr 3rd 2009 11:17AM]

Seriously folks, read up on the platform before commenting.

Snarkery fails with inaccuracy ya knuckleheads.

[shanoboy Posted Apr 3rd 2009 12:02PM]

Personally, this is exactly what I was looking for. I was all set to buy a 10 inch netbook, went to Best Buy to test one out in person first and it was just too small for my clunky hands. Its a bit pricey (maybe), but Samsung always has sweet products.

[brothaa Posted Apr 3rd 2009 12:43PM]

just get a x200, its so much better in every way possible, and just barely even bigger.

900$ and you got a
2.4 dual core
3gigs of ram
GMA 4500
carbon fiber body

whats there to complain about? why would you ever want this slow piece of crap?

[fikhl Posted Apr 3rd 2009 3:59PM]

But waht you mentioned is not a netbook [lightweight and easy to carry around], simple as that!

[blueplate Posted Apr 3rd 2009 4:57PM]

There's $350 extra dollars to complain about, and where can you even find a Thinkpad x200 (which I assume is the x200 you're referring to) spec'd like you said for just $900, anyway?

[brothaa Posted Apr 3rd 2009 5:07PM]

ebay

microsoft cash back is now at 13%

i got mine when it was at 8% and my thinkpad ended up being 830

[brothaa Posted Apr 3rd 2009 5:09PM]

i must say this thinkpad is the most amazing laptop ever its just sooo damn fast and small
i love it

im running windows 7 on it now, and mannn it is just SOOOOO fast like
man, it puts a smile on my face when i use it.

and the whole carbon fiber body, anti spil keyboard, thinklight, super amazing hard drive protection

just make it all so worth it

have a 4cell batt for lightweight, and get a9 later for longer life

[omegahelix Posted Apr 3rd 2009 2:13PM]

$550 for possibly the only integrated graphics solution actually worse than Intel's. Um... I think I'm going to pass.

[CheesusCrust Posted Apr 3rd 2009 4:21PM]

SHUT THE **** UP. Please read up on this before commenting! You're such a dumbass spreading lies.

[angelwolf Posted Apr 3rd 2009 4:28PM]

happy to help :)

and yes im the real angelwolf71885....
miss spellings and all..

just so ppl knw..yes this netbook is capable of running vista/7 there is a WDDM driver for it so u git the nice glass interface ;)
ide rather git this netbook then the dell mini 12

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 3rd 2009 4:47PM]

My main draw for this was the resolution. While still being close to the "Netbook" tag, The main thing I would've gotten this for requires 1024x768; something that no other netbook has (except the HP mini 2130, which is overpriced in my opinion).

[angelwolf Posted Apr 3rd 2009 5:16PM]

the dell mini 12 is 12 inches and has a 1200x800 res...

but it uses the atom..

pluss the nano is a 64 bit cpu :D

[kingu Posted Apr 4th 2009 10:04PM]

If the deal didn't include Windows, (costing extra and imposing a 1GB threshold on the RAM amount) it would be an even better deal. Someone will come along and do it right.

[morissen3k8 Posted Apr 5th 2009 11:50AM]

this looks like a good product but i think i'll ponder carefully before getting another samsung product. samsung just doesn't listen to it's customer ie the s3 player, can't control the beep volume or volume restriction. even if someone were to suggest that samsung add more memory it'll probably take a lot of people until they add it. 2nd there hq site is in korean only.