Samsung NC10 Review

Recently I purchased the Samsung NC10 Netbook. My primary motivation was having a thin and light notebook that I could take with me when I travel which could fulfill all my basic needs such as e-mail, browsing the web, and some entertainment such as watching movies.

I’ve been using the NC10 for a little over two weeks and I’m very impressed with it.

Samsung NC10 Netbook

Design / Size:

I think the 10″ netbook is perfect. I really couldn’t imagine using any of the smaller netbooks. On the other hand, I’ve been thinking in the back of my mind that one of the 12″ netbook models may be better for me (Like the future Samsung NC20 or the Dell Mini 12) until I was on one of my recent flights.

Somehow it never fails, the person in front of me decides to recline their seat back as far as it will go. I think I’m one of the few people that doesn’t recline their seat out of consideration if there is someone behind me. When this happens while I’m using my 14″ Dell notebook it’s game over.

While using the NC10 on my most recent flight it wasn’t phased even the slightest by the seat in front of me being fully reclined, the only thing that suffered was my comfort. However, the seat was very close to the top edge of my notebook and I think anything bigger such as a 12″ notebook would have required me to make some adjustments.

Front:

The front of the notebook has Status Indicators on the left and a Multi Card Slot to the right.

The status indicators are as follows (left to right): Num Lock, Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, HDD, Wireless, Charge Status, Power.

The slot can read and write data to a SD card, SDHC card, and MMC card.

Samsung NC10 Indicator Lights

Samsung NC10 Multi Card Slot

Left:

The left side of the NC10 has the DC Jack, a Wired LAN Port, Fan Vents, and 2 USB Ports.

Left view of Samsung NC10

Right:

The right side of the notebook has a Headphone Jack, Microphone Jack, 1 USB Port, Monitor Port (15 pin D-SUB), Security Lock Port (Kensington Lock), and the Power button which illuminates when powered on.

Right view on Samsung NC10

Battery Life:

I wanted to do some comparison tests but didn’t get around to it. I will report that the battery indeed lasts very long. When I’ve been on flights I disable the Wi-Fi and bluetooth and dim the brightness down.

I also have my NC10 automatically hibernate when I close the lid. This can really extend the battery throughout the day.

Power Brick:

The power brick on this notebook is very small which is nice. It can easily fit into one of the side pockets in the Samsonite backpack that I usually use for travel. Another advantage of the power brick is the cord which is pretty long. This will allow you to plug it into outlets at the airport and be a comfortable distance away. The only lacking feature is a light on the brick itself telling you there is power once it’s plugged in. This is a feature I usually like. However, it doesn’t matter too much because there is an amber light that lights up on the notebook when the power cord is plugged in.

Samsung NC10 Power Brick

Screen:

At first I was really disappointed with the screen. Manufactures tend to apply anti-glare coatings to their screens which gives it a sparkly effect. These coatings actually hurt my eyes and give me headaches.

I did some searching on the web and found some techniques people use to remove their anti-glare coating and decided to be bold and give it a shot. Mostly it was successful. I’ll be adding a post to my site on my experience with that soon.

After removing the anti-glare coating the screen is very clear.

Heat & Noise:

I’m shocked how little heat and noise there is on the NC10.

I don’t have any tools to measure the exact heat, but usually I’m overly sensitive about palmrests being warm. I’ve returned prior notebooks because of this alone. I barely notice any heat at all, both the top of the notebook is pretty cool.

The hard drive and fan is also very quiet. This netbook could easily be used in meetings or in the classroom without bothering others around you.

Cost:

I find the most disappointing factor about the cost of the notebook is that you can buy a much better notebook for about the same price in terms of performance and features. However, what you’re paying for on the netbook is the portability and long battery life.

With that said, the price of netbooks is advantageous because it’s far less risky than lugging around a notebook that costs close to two thousand dollars or more. I could deal much easier with the loss or damage to my netbook than I could my Dell laptop.

Wireless:

Wi-Fi

From what I’ve seen my NC10 doesn’t pick up the wireless signal as good as my Dell Latituide notebook. From one test my Dell was reporting “Very Good” while my NC10 was reporting “Low” while side by side. That being said, there can be a wide disparity of factors such as interference and Wi-Fi card brands so it’s hard to pinpoint if the signal is that much worse. Nonetheless, I’ve used the Wi-Fi and it seems to work well without any disconnect problems.

Although I don’t have a N router, I wish the NC10 included the option for it. Lately I’ve been considering upgrading my router. One of the NC10’s rival, the MSI Wind includes N.

3G

There is no option for embedded 3G. There is potential for 3G if you’re good at electronics and soldering and willing to risk the hack. However out of the box you’ll have to depend on a USB 3G device as there is no other option such as an Express or PCMCIA card slot. I tested my NC10 using my Verizon USB727 USB modem and it works great.

Photo shows the lack of embedded 3G connection on NC10 Motherboard

Sleeve
The NC10 comes with a cloth sleeve. I wish the lip of the sleeve had some Velcro of some kind, so instead I’ve been tucking it in.

Sleeve included with the Samsung NC10

Speakers: - Nothing unexpected here, typical netbook quality. To do any serious listening you need to use some headphones or use some external speakers. I used my Bose headphones on my flights with it for watching movies which worked great. The speakers are located on the bottom of the notebook towards the front.

Touchpad: While expected, I wish Samsung would have incorporated a larger touchpad on this netbook somehow. Sometimes it’s very hard to use but over the course of 2 weeks I have adjusted to it more and more and have been able to use it effectively.

The touchpad button appears to be one large button but when you press down on it it works just like a left or right click. Before buying the NC10 I was wondering if this would bother me, but I have no problems with it at all.

Webcam: Out of everything, I’d say I’m the most disappointed with the webcam on the NC10. It responds extremely poor to low light conditions and the quality of the picture isn’t that clear. I wish a better quality webcam was put on this netbook. It came with a 1.3 MP cam and I wish it came with a 2.0 MP cam.

Conclusion:

Overall I’m very happy with the NC10, most notably with the long battery life and the low heat. The only major cons I find with it is the lousy webcam and the small trackpad. It’s been a great notebook for traveling and having an extra screen open for e-mail or Twitter while working at my desk.

For anyone looking for a netbook I highly recommend the Samsung NC10.