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Samsung NC10-11PBK 10.2-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home, 9 Hour 40 Min Battery) Special Edition

The NC10 Special Edition mini notebook by Samsung is ideal for users looking for a low-cost, highly mobile solution that is aimed at “consuming” data via the Internet versus “creating” data. Key System Benefits - Easy to take with you whether it’s around the house, the campus or wherever one might travel; provides significant performance capabilities to wander the Internet and take care of basic productivity applications; enables one to view the Internet in full screen without compromise in a clear and comfortable display; maximum storage capacity for everything you download from the web; provides maximum system performance for basic web browsing and limited system functionality; enhances system performance without adding unnecessary system overhead; provides a great balance of price and performance; full size, easy to use keyboard is coated with Silver “Nano” ions to help protect the user from harmful bacteria. Key System Features - Weighing in at just 2.8 pounds; the NC10 adopts the new Intel Atom CPU; 10.2-inch wide LCD display providing 1024 x 600 resolution with 250 nits of brightness and an anti-reflection gloss coating display; Super high capacity 6-cell 5900mAh Lithium Ion battery providing up to 9.4 hours of continuous run time; 160GB capacity hard disk drive (HDD); 1GB system memory (RAM); Windows XP Home Operating System; Silver-Nano Keyboard; and large touch pad. Available in Black color.

Technical Details

* 5900mAh 6 cell high capacity battery giving up to 9 hours and 40 minutes of continuous run-time, touch pad larger than other NC10 models
* 10.2-inch Wide, 1024 x 600 WSVGA , 220 nits
* Intel Atom processor N270, 1.6 GHz, 533 MHz Front Side Bus, 512 KB Level 2 Cache
* 160 GB, 2.5-inch HD, 1 GB DDR2 800 MHz
* Intel 945GSE shared, 802.11 b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, 10/100 BaseTX LAN
* Size (LWH): 10.27 inches, 7.3 inches, 1.19 inches
* Weight: 2.8 pounds

Customer Reviews:

First Thoughts, March 5, 2009
By Akshay Sthapit (Berkeley)
My current laptop is a Thinkpad T43 which has been a dear companion for the past 4 years and is still going strong and been great for Rails development with Ubuntu installed on it. But it’s weight at 5lbs is heavy enough that I don’t carry my laptop around as much as I want to and I needed something lighter and smaller.

At first my obvious choice was the Thinkpad X series, which I might still end up getting depending on my experience with the NC10 and how it handles Ubuntu. But at $469 it costs less than a third so that was the deciding factor for me. I also ordered a 2GB stick which at $25 is well worth the upgrade. A lot of NC10 users have been upgrading their hard drives as well but for me 160GB is more than adequate especially since I use jungle disk to save most of my files and I’m a big believer in being digitally detached. I got this machine because it’s light and inexpensive and I want to be able to throw it around, take it to the beach etc. without worrying about it getting scratched or getting sand on it - I’m usually stressed about scratches and dents the first few days I get an expensive gadget. Since I don’t care about scratches and dents on the NC10 I don’t plan on buying a bag or other accessories for it. The little cloth sleeve of an excuse for a bag that comes with it suits me just fine.

My first impression was that it is very well built - it has no squeaks at all. The keyboard is surprisingly very tactile and usable my only gripe being that to get to the “End” button you have to hit the function key first. The power charger is very diminutive which makes the whole package look and feel very portable. It feels heavy but a lot of the weight is from the battery.

After starting the computer you go through the usual hoops XP makes you jump through but it annoyingly forces you to restart and then you’re presented with an obtuse “Recovery Solution III” screen where it asks about partitions which is the last thing you want to think about when you have a new computer and want to start playing it. I just want a clean no nonsense XP install with a dual boot no nonsense Ubuntu install. The default options are “Recovery - 6GB, Drive C - 68GB, Drive D - 75GB” which didn’t make any sense so I changed it to something that suits my needs better - “Recovery - 6GB, Drive C - 33GB, Drive D - 81GB, Ubuntu - 29GB”

The system feels zippy enough with the included 1GB but I upped it to 2GB. I can’t tell the difference but I’m sure that extra 1GB will kick in once I actually install some programs. I was also pleasantly surprised by the lack of junk bloatware programs (Lenovo + Thinkvantage is an obvious example) - the only program I ended up removing was McAfee - I paid for and prefer Symantec Client Firewall. The rocker mouse button is pretty much just for show - Samsung could just as easily have included a two button mouse and it would have worked exactly the same. But it looks nice.

The screen is vivid and bright compared to my T43. I thought the screen would be glossy from what I had read but it’s not! Definitely a big plus for anyone who wants to use this device a lot and in different lighting conditions. I’m not a fan of glossy screens and I was apprehensive about it so to see a bright matte screen with zero dead pixels was a very pleasant surprise.

The trackpad works just fine. I haven’t got the multi touch to work (I thought I remembered reading that it exists for this device) - I tried the usual pinching motions on web pages to make it zoom like the macs but that didn’t do anything. The SD card reader on front is convenient since I take a lot of pictures but it would have been nice if it didn’t stick out when inserted.

The wifi connection is stable and works well - no complaints. It works and it works well.

So far I’m very happy with the NC10 special edition. It’s rare that I buy a product that feels like it hits all the right notes but the NC10 SE does it and I know I will be using it a lot. I posted some pics at socialect.com/slogs/260

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