Samsung NC10 Review

We know what you are thinking.. Not another ultraportable review!! We agree, there has been a virtual flood of these ultraportables in the market recently following the success of the original Asus EEE PC, and we are just as bored reviewing them, day after day - most of them having almost similar configurations. Just last week, we saw the launch of the Asus EEE PC S101 and this week we have two new entrants - the Samsung NC10 which I will be reviewing and the HP Mini 1000. These are clearly the most advanced of the lot, being the most recent. They offer the same base configuration as other 10″ notebooks in that range - Intel Atom, 1 GB RAM, 8-16 GB SSD / 80-120 GB HDDs and the lot. But the Samsung NC10 still betters the other notebooks already in the race like Asus EEE PC 1000H, MSI Wind U100, Lenovo Ideapad S10, for reasons we will discuss in this review. It is also priced very competitively at $499.

Samsung NC10 Specs:

• Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Display: 10.2″ TFT Display at 1024 x 600 pixels
• Processor: 1.6-GHz Intel Atom N270
• RAM: 1 GB DDR2 RAM
• Chipset: Intel 945 GSE Express
• Integrated Graphics: Intel GMA 950 64 MB VRAM
• Hard Drive: 120 GB HDD, 5400 RPM
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0, Ethernet, Headphone, Microphone, VGA, 3 in 1, SD Card Reader

Design and Build Quality:

The Samsung NC10 looks very similar to the original Asus EEE PC, only slightly bigger. The positioning is somewhat different, but the basic layout and body structure remains the same. It sports an all white design which is very clean and minimal. The body comes with smooth surfaces and rounded edges which gives it a very nice feel. The Samsung NC10 measures 10.3 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches in dimensions and weighs about 2.8 pounds which is quite in line with other notebooks in the same range. It offers a nice mix of portability, power, style and endurance. The port placement is well thought and nice and the overall positioning of the status indicators and the buttons is nice.

The build quality is very nice too. It can easily withstand minor jolts without complaints. The shock resistance is however less as it has a normal hard drive and not a solid state drive. The body mainly made of plastic feels sturdy and durable.

Display and Sound:

The Samsung NC10 sports a nice 10.2″ display which supports a native resolution on 1024 x 600 pixels. The display quality is nice and crisp. The brightness and contrast are almost perfect and the image reproduction nice. The display isn’t glossy which means better direct sunlight legibility, and the vertical and horizontal viewing angles are decent too, allowing an audience of about 3-4. The Samsung NC10 also comes with a 1.3 MP webcam which has nice quality. The built in microphone also works good as expected.

The speakers are located at the bottom of the laptop and produce clear, loud sound. The sound quality is decent and is good enough for serious music playback. We would recommend that you use earphones though, if you are a hard core audiophile.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

The keyboard on first look, seems very similar to the Asus EEE PC. It is in fact a bigger version of the EEE PC 701’s keypad but a lot better. It is very spacious and is about 94% the size of a regular laptop keyboard. The key positioning and spacing is almost perfect. The keys offer superb tactile feedback and the key travel is nice. It is the best among all ultraportable keyboards, a blessing for touch typists. The keyboard feels superb, we would give it full points.

The touchpad is located just below the keyboard, and it is a bit too short for comfort. The horizontal length is adequate though. The touchpad is very responsive and has good sensitivity too. The surface is smooth allowing for nice navigation capability. There is a single long touchpad button below the touchpad which can be clicked on the left or right to indicate the left or right click respectively. The buttons offer nice feedback. The touchpad is a Synaptics one, and hence supports some basic multitouch gestures which is expected to expand more in the near future. The touchpad also sports a vertical scroller on the right of the touchpad which is very useful when scrolling through long documents or web pages.

Performance:

The Samsung NC10 sports exactly the same configuration as any other netbook in that range - a Intel Atom N270 clocked at 1.6 GHz (with 512 KB L2 cache) , a 120 GB HDD at 5400 RPM, 1 GB DDR2 RAM, the graphics department is powered by the reliable old Intel GMA 950 offering 64 MB of VRAM. As said a gazillion times before, this specification is capable of handling all basic and casual / office tasks and can also handle multimedia playback. It can also manage light games at playable settings. The performance is more or less the same as other notebooks in its class. Performance shouldn’t be a deciding factor when you choose between different notebooks in the ultraportable category as they perform very similarly, what counts more are the other factors.

Other Features and Battery Life:

The Samsung NC10 sports a whole range of expansion ports including 3 USB ports, Ethernet, Headphone and Microphone in, VGA out and a 3 in 1 and SD Card Reader. It also comes with built in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with EDR. The Wi-Fi reception is nice.

The Samsung NC10 distances itself from the rest of the netbook crowd totally when it comes to battery life. It comes with a very powerful 6 cell battery by default, compared to the puny 3 cell batteries most netbooks come equipped with. The superb 6 cell battery can power the Samsung NC10 for about 7.5 hours on a single charge with moderate usage. Not once did the battery life go below a minimum of 4 hours even with heavy usage. The battery life is simply amazing and is the number one reason why one should opt for the Samsung NC10 instead of the other notebooks.

Pros:

• Excellent Battery Life
• Nice Keyboard
• Loud Speakers

Cons:

• Short Touchpad

Final Words:

The Samsung NC10 is a superb product which outperforms all the other competitors especially when it comes to battery life and keyboard. It is aptly priced at $499 and is a very good buy. It does have some minor shortcomings, but they almost disappear when compared to its positive aspects.

Our Rating: 4.5 / 5.