Samsung NC10

none · 10-10-2009 08:55PM

I think it's all about finding its niche. Netbooks' one is for people on the go and they sacrifice some usability for extra portability. I don't expect doing a lot of work on it on a daily basis and enjoying it. Doing a little work and enjoying it - yes, but not abusing it, of course. In the office and at home I have full-sized computers and that's where you do most of work and typing. Netbooks come into play when and where you need mobility and I think they do it nicely. NC20 is actually a bit bigger so it's not as portable and, IMO, not a real netbook. As successors to NC10 I meant NC110-140.

The_Conductor · 10-10-2009 09:11PM

We went the other direction altogether with an Acer 5810T- the 9 hour battery life was what did it for us.......

I've been with netbooks since the beginning (with the original Asus with the 7" screen)- onwards with the larger Asus, and then the Samsung NC10. The Samsung build quality was superior to anything else on the market- but I did actually end up with a fullsize keyboard in my bag- just in case I needed to type something (I've got big fingers

)

The point I was making is that most people do not diffrentiate between netbooks and laptops- its not appreciated that its viewed as a 'niche' market- and in practice, it has largely supplanted the laptop market- with a direct correlation between increases in sales of netbooks, and a corresponding collapse in market share of mainstream laptops (which are still vastly outselling conventional desktops- according the most recent Gartner research).

I think that many people who purchase a netbook (be it a Samsung or another product) will subsequently go on to scale up to a full sized laptop category- possibly focusing on that one or two specifications that drew them to the netbook in the first instance- be it battery life, weight, portability- or the manner in which the processor can run whatever it is you need it to run.

A big turn-off for me was incredibly poor multitasking performance from the Atom range- somewhat addressed in the most recent ULV processors- but still not exactly where we need it to be........

At the end of the day- what do you want/need your laptop or netbook to do- and how can you trade-off performance against other wishes?

none · 10-10-2009 09:44PM

For me it was actually downsizing rather than upsizing;) I normally have a big DTR laptop at home (currently Vaio VGN-AW11Z) and I needed a netbook specifically for this - accessing the (Inter)net outside of home. That's why built-in HSDPA was a must for me because, honestly, without being able to access the Internet away from the mains and cables is the only thing that differentiate netbooks from other computer types. You may say that "net" in the name implies that it's only suitable for using network applications rather than running heavy apps locally. For me, however, that "net" means being able to connect to the Internet anywhere which is hardly possible without a built-in 3G modem. In any case, I do plan using it for more than just browsing and email but that's only in my plans for now. I'm fully aware of the market trends and I do agree with them, largely. I don't use desktops at home since 2000 and my experience with NC10 may develop into something more serious and so there may be some additions to my netbook family at some stage. And yes, these trends apparently what's behind those 12 and 13 inch netbooks - the manufacturers know that netbooks are hot so they call it this way but they also realise that small size is an obstacle to comfortable usage so they "grow" it beyond typical limits.

Rsaeire · 10-10-2009 10:05PM

The term "netbook" has become a misnomer at this stage and will only become more so the bigger and more powerful these "netbooks" become.

I for one bought the NC10 as it was smaller and more portable than my laptop and could be used in its stead when I was away from home. I use most of the same applications on it as I do on my laptop, e.g. Photoshop, Dreamweaver, however, the screen resolution is a limiting factor when trying to do anything significant or for long periods of time. While Internet browsing on the NC10 is sufficient, I would never replace my laptop with it, as the screen size, being only 10.2", is much too small for extended use.

For me, I can't see any netbook, in their current form and feature-set, replacing my laptop, but it will be interesting to see how the portable computer market changes over the next year or so and whether people embrace laptops again or go on to the next big thing; whatever that may be.

Dyr · 12-10-2009 10:03AM

Portability is the key here, I can lug me NC10 around without a bother. If it had HDSPA then I'd have it in constant use i reckon

Run_to_da_hills · 12-10-2009 11:22AM

Supercell wrote: »

Just a note on these, I bought one a few months ago from deal extreme.
Yes the battery life is about 8 hours, but the battery died after a couple of months useage and am back to the standard battery now.

I wouldn't trust any of those spurious extra long life batteries. the one I purchased for my EEE 901 lasted about two months. :mad:

JPA · 12-10-2009 09:05PM

Sooo, has anyone successfully replaced a keyboard on an NC10?
I know how to do it just wondering is there any potential slip ups to look out for?
And is there anywhere to buy a replacement keyboard apart from ebay?

Thanks.

The_Conductor · 12-10-2009 09:24PM

I've a spare- I'll pop you a PM.

SMcCarrick

Dyr · 13-10-2009 08:36AM

Has anyone tried dual booting the original XP install with 7?

The_Conductor · 13-10-2009 10:42AM

Bambi wrote: »

Has anyone tried dual booting the original XP install with 7?

On an NC10?
The chipset, graphics and the Atom processor aren't the best tbh- but will suffice. You can dual boot- but you'll need to use a boot loader (Grub for example) as Win7 will overwrite your MBR.

SK1979 · 14-10-2009 10:42PM

Hey guys

I'm looking for a netbook for my daughter for christmas and have just seen the Samsung N130 on the Powercity website for €269.

Is this a good deal? Is it a decent laptop?

Cheers.

Abelloid · 14-10-2009 10:59PM

Bambi wrote: »

Has anyone tried dual booting the original XP install with 7?

Yeah, I am. Works great.

yosser hughes · 17-10-2009 02:03PM

Can anyone tell me is it worth getting the N140 over the N130. the only difference I see is the bluetooth. All I need it for is browsing internet, word processor and maybe watch the odd film.I am on the point of buying from elara.
cheers.

The_Conductor · 17-10-2009 02:24PM

yosser hughes wrote: »

Can anyone tell me is it worth getting the N140 over the N130. the only difference I see is the bluetooth. All I need it for is browsing internet, word processor and maybe watch the odd film.I am on the point of buying from elara.
cheers.

N140- has a rubberised case- the N130 doesn't.
N140 has a 6 cell battery as standard- the N130 has a choice of 3 or 6 cell.
N140 has bluetooth as standard- N130- its an option
N140 has an Atom N280 processor (which is actually slightly slower than the N270 the N130 has- but has a front side bus of 667Mhz, versus the 533Mhz of the N270).
N140 has speakers with 3W output and SRS stereo- while the N130 has only mono 1 watt speakers

Its about £50 more for the N140- but you get an extended battery, stereo audio, better speakers and a rubberised chasis- seems like a better deal imho?

yosser hughes · 17-10-2009 05:35PM

Thanks for that

ytareh · 18-10-2009 08:20AM

Did we pass the EEE thread yet ....?Did IT reach 100 pages?

Alun · 18-10-2009 03:24PM

smccarrick wrote: »

N140- has a rubberised case- the N130 doesn't.

Mine doesn't

just a hard plastic case, admittedly matte instead of the NC10's shiny plastic, but definitely not rubberized.

N140 has an Atom N280 processor (which is actually slightly slower than the N270 the N130 has- but has a front side bus of 667Mhz, versus the 533Mhz of the N270).

Mine doesn't have that either .. definitely an N270 according to CPUID. Also see http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/pc-peripherals/notebook-computers/n-series/NP-N140-KA01UK/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&tab=spec

The_Conductor · 18-10-2009 04:21PM

Alun wrote: »

Mine doesn't just a hard plastic case, admittedly matte instead of the NC10's shiny plastic, but definitely not rubberized.

Mine doesn't have that either .. definitely an N270 according to CPUID. Also see http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/pc-peripherals/notebook-computers/n-series/NP-N140-KA01UK/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&tab=spec

I was going from the Samsung brochure......

On a related note- has anyone had a chance to play with the N510- with the nVidia ION chipset? I'd seriously recommend avoiding everything else altogether and hanging on for the nVidia chipset- its a whole other baby......

yosser hughes · 19-10-2009 04:10PM

I was going to buy this from Elara, but I just checked Power City and they are cheaper! I'll be buying from them so,unless anyone know of a reason i shouldn't?

The_Conductor · 19-10-2009 04:17PM

yosser hughes wrote: »

I was going to buy this from Elara, but I just checked Power City and they are cheaper! I'll be buying from them so,unless anyone know of a reason i shouldn't?

Because the Samsung N510 with the nVidia ION chipset has finally hit the shelves?

Powercity are a right shower if anything goes wrong (ditto DID)- have a look at all the threads about them in the consumers issues forum here on boards...... Personally I'd be more than willing to spend a couple of quid more- for the peace of mind of dealing with Elara......?

yosser hughes · 19-10-2009 08:25PM

I didn't realise that. Thanks for the warning smccarrick. I will go with Elara so. I did have a funny feeling about Power City, that's why I asked and Elara do seem to be more engaged or something. They emailed me back with any questions I had etc. and I have seen their posts on this site too which suggests they value customer satisfaction a bit more.
Again, thanks for the heads up.

mal_1 · 26-10-2009 11:15AM

Hi

Have a query on the NC10 which may have been addressed elsewhere haven't found it.

My screen 'at times' goes white and can only be relit when the brightness is lowered significantly or by pressing on or squeezing the monitor. This happens both when power supply is on and also when working on battery.

Is it a fault or is there a solution to this.

Thanks

Ronanc1 · 26-10-2009 11:34AM

From what i've read online mal its something to do with a wire(could be wrong though) and the only way is to send it back for repair

Dman001 · 06-11-2009 07:36PM

Have the Nc10 for about 2 months now and it is starting to really annoy me. I dont know if it is the laptop or Windows XP but programs are constantly crashing.

I try to connect my iPod and the "Apple Mobile Device Service" crashed and so iTunes wont recognise it. I've done everyhting under the sun to try to get it to reconise but no luck. I then decided to update the Firmware on the laptop and that worked, but then iTunes wouldn't stay open and constantly crashed. Now I'm back to square one, with iTunes staying open but not recognising my iPod.

When I first boot up the computer, one of the first things it tells me is that some program has crashed. ANy thoughts. I realise that it probably is Windows XP, but I've never had all these problems on other XP laptops/computers.

Dopey · 06-11-2009 08:09PM

I have mine for almost a year with none of the problems you mentioned. Do you have a virus and spyware/malware checker running on it?

Dman001 · 06-11-2009 09:34PM

Yep. Also, when I play videos on iTunes they coonstantly flicker but when I watch them on the VLC player they play perfectly. But Im guessing thats because iTunes takes alot of power?

omb0wyn5ehpij9 · 08-11-2009 08:03PM

Hey all, i'm looking at getting a netbook. I used a Samsung NC10 about a month ago for an hour or so and really liked it.
Will only be using it for browsing the net and watching youtube video's etc. The 6 cell battery with it's 6 hour battery life is also a very big plus.

Is the nc10 my best option? I only have about €300 to spend! And where is the best place for me to get one?

Cheers

Kotek Besar · 08-11-2009 11:37PM

Bryn wrote: »

I only have about €300 to spend! And where is the best place for me to get one?

£248.75, delivered.

omb0wyn5ehpij9 · 22-11-2009 01:33PM

Kotek Besar wrote: »

£248.75, delivered.

Finally getting around to ordering one, and that is out of stock :mad:

Anybody know the best place to get one at the moment? I want one with a 6cell battery, and preferably a deal that comes with a 2gig RAM!

booyah1024 · 22-11-2009 03:50PM

just buy the RAM separate ffs, anyone with half a brain can fit ram.

also that website kinda sucks, what type of site doesn't give you details of a product if it's out of stock. shooting themselves in the foot tbh.

Samsung NC10

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