NetbookTech

There’s a glimmer of jealousy and envy in my eyes right now and it’s directed at the Ukrainian gadget site gagadget.com. They managed to get their lucky grubby hands on a new Samsung NC20 (grumble) netbook.. err.. ultra-portable notebook.. (or whatever you call this 12.1 inch system these days). The NC20 replaces the Intel Atom processor found in the popular Samsung NC10 netbook with the VIA Nano ULV U2250 processor which also happens to be clocked at 1.6GHz.

Other notable specs to the NC20 includes:

• 1GB of DDR2 667MHz RAM
• 160GB HDD
• Glossy 12.1 inch 1280 x 800 resolution LED backlit display
• VIA Chrome graphics
• Li-Ion rechargeable 5200mAh battery
• Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, and USB
• 3 USB ports, VGA port, audio, microphone
• 1.3 megapixel webcam

On the outside – the NC20 looks very much like a bigger NC10. On the inside, things are slightly different thanks to the VIA processor and integrated graphics. Here are interesting tidbits from the review (which is translated into English using Google Translate):

• Samsung plans on having other hard drive configurations including 80GB and 120GB models- as well as a 16GB SSD model
• The keyboard is larger than the 10 inch NC10 – we’re talking about a 97 percent keyboard vs the 93 percent found on the NC10
• The NC20 comes with the same (albeit larger) cloth case that the NC10 has
• For some reason, the Windows key has moved to the right side of the keyboard – not sure why
• The display’s viewing angle is about 150-160 degrees horizontally and a little more than 90 degrees verticaly

Wondering how the integrated graphics held up? Well they ran the 3DMarks benchmark and got a measly 138 3DMarks.. but what do you expect? We’re talking about integrated graphics.

Where things got really interesting was in the area of HD video playback. The reviewer found that the NC20 was capable of playing back 720p and 1080p content without maxing out the processor. Not bad at all! The NC20 could very well be the perfect multimedia netbook.. errr.. notebook.

So what do we make of all of this? The system certainly has the makings of a successful product. Staying close to the original NC10 design was probably smart of Samsung. Moving to the VIA Nano appears to have given the system an edge when it comes to multimedia performance. However, at the end of the day, the NC20 won’t necessarily be compared against regular 10 inch netbooks but rather against a range of systems such as the Dell Inspiron Mini 12, the ASUS Eee PC S121, and the upcoming HP Pavilion dv2 which features the Athlon Neo processor. The ultimate differentiator will again be price. If the NC20 is cheap enough (say… under $500 dollars), then it stands to be fairly successful.

[Check it out via LaptopMag]