The second generation netbooks are finally here. Samsung, Asus, Acer, HP, and Dell announced their new models last year and have started shipping them worldwide in mid-Feb 2009. And they have raised the bar again by going upscale with features like:
- Minimum 10.1-inch LCD display
- Optional 3G or WiMax broadband connection
- 6-cell high capacity Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) battery
- Improved graphics power
- Larger solid state drives (SSD)
Consumers in a down market are looking for affordable Internet devices to maintain their lifestyles. They are purchasing these portable Internet devices to complement their laptops rather than replacing them. And they are buying the concept of small form factor, ease of Internet access, and affordable pricing. ABI Research is predicting a market explosion for netbooks over the next few years with worldwide shipments of nearly 35 million this year, rising to an estimated 139 million in 2013.
The New Samsung NC20
Samsung decided to pass on the Intel Atom processor and went with the Via Nano and Chrome9 HC3 integrated graphics for better performance. Most manufacturers still use the Atom processor along with the somewhat dated graphics chipset. The Nano loads HTML, XML and JavaScript pages faster than the Atom.
It also ups the netbook ante by going with a glossy 12.1-inch 1280 x 800-pixel WXGA display instead of the standard thus making it more in the class of an ultra-portable notebook.
Externally, the NC20 looks very much like a bigger NC10. The keyboard is now a whopping 97 percent versus the 93 percent found in the previous model. This is still the largest size available for all netbook models and accommodates almost all hand sizes.
Interestingly, the NC20 has a display viewing angle of about 150 to 160 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees vertically. This comes in real handy when playing back 720p and 1080p video content. The device handled these multimedia formats easily without overtaxing the processor – the Via Nano and Chrome9 processor did an excellent job.
This could be the perfect multimedia portable Internet device and destined to the best mini-notebook of 2009. That’s two years in a row…
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Samsung NC20 FAQ:
Question: Is a Samsung NC20 Laptop okay to buy for my sister?
I want to buy a good, fast laptop for my sister to do her school work on. The only downside side is that it doesn’t have a CD drive I don’t think? Does anyone know how to get around this?
Answer: Simple, plug in an external CD drive into one of the USB ports whenever she needs to do something that involves a CD.
Question: What do you think of Samsung mini laptop especially new Samsung NC20?
I am interested in the Samsung Mini laptop. However, all the Dell, Acer, MSI and Sony are so popular in the US, I rarely heard about the Samsung mini laptop.
Answer: The Samsung NC20 is a new 12.1″ screen “netbook” that follows the very successful Samsung NC10 (10″ screen) netbook. One significant difference is the processor. The NC20 uses the Via Nano as opposed to the Intel Atom. The NC20 is slightly larger than the NC10 due to its 12″ screen and it weighs a little more – about 3.3 pounds with the 6-cell battery. Battery life appears to be about 3 to 5 hours depending on specific usage. As with all other netbooks, the NC20 does not have a built-in CD or DVD drive. As such, you will need to install/load software using an external (USB) drive or via a shared network drive.
Question: Watching DVD’s on a Samsung NC20 Netbook?
Does the Samsung NC20 offer enough performance to watch a DVD comfortably. I plan to upgrade the unit to 2GB of Ram and just needed to find out if it was worth buying an external DVD drive or not.
Answer: You can definitely watch a DVD on the NC20. If you plan on having it on a desk, rather than your lap, the external drive would be a great addition. Otherwise, you’re going to have a usb drive that has to tag along everywhere you go.
Battery life will also take a hit with the external drive as well.
Question: Samsung NC20 Netbook?
I am considering getting a Samsung NC20, but I am undecided on what colour. What do you recommend? And also, do you think it is a suitable size for typing up essays etc.?
Answer: Black I reckon, white looks slightly cheap and plasticky.
It is perfect for typing up essays, although the battery is not the best. It does have one of the best all round performances of a netbook however, but its quite expensive for a netbook.
Cheaper, longest battery life, just as nice keyboard, get an Asus 1000HE, but the graphics and processing performance is not as good.
Question: Which mini-laptop/netbook is better, Packard Bell DOT MA 020 or Samsung NC20?
Answer: Samsung! Packard Bell, who is actually HP, have had nothing but horrible products and was the reason why they agreed to sell out to HP who saved their futures and dissolved the company.
Question: Does Gimp run on a netbook like a Samsung NC20?
I’m looking for a netbook that makes it easy to work while on the go. I also want to edit my photographs with GIMP.
Answer: I have Acer Aspire One with XP Home. I installed “GIMP” some time ago and, well… not so great. It runs alright on basic functions like image fix (cut, crop, resize, change, color/saturation, red eye, etc…) but on image animation function it is very slow.
I switched to “Paint.NET” it has all the functions of “GIMP” and it runs perfectly, and it’s also free.
Question: What’s a good amount of RAM to have for a college laptop?
I was wondering if 1 GB of RAM would be passable for my needs, which include typing up composition papers, taking an online psychology class, and perhaps some mild gaming to fill in the off hours. Right now I’m looking at the Samsung NC20.
Answer: If you can upgrade your memory, then I would do so. I think you would be looking at under $25 to go to 2Gig. Getting additional memory is your biggest bang for the buck when it comes to speed. As long as you are not going to do hardcore gaming or stuff like that on it, everything else should be fine.
Question: Laptop or netbook for schoolwork?
I need a portable computer for word processing and web browsing for research. This will be used strictly for my schoolwork – I don’t need a second powerful computer. Would a netbook suit my needs, or should I go for a full-fledged laptop? I have considered getting one of the 12-inch netbooks (Lenovo S12 and Samsung NC20).
Answer: A netbook would suit your needs.
A couple other important things for you to consider are how important battery life is to you, how big of a screen do you want, and what type of operating system you plan to use.
If you really want long battery life, I would recommend getting a smaller sized netbook. I’m not sure how big of a screen you are looking for, but the Acer Aspire One has great battery life and also a 10.1″ display. It has enough power to do all of the things that you had listed. It has the necessities of built in Wi-Fi, built in webcam, Windows XP instead of Vista and so on. It also has a pretty affordable price that is in the range you listed.