 "A little workhorse" | 2010-03-04 |
| - Reviewed By B. Thompson from Atlanta, GA USA |
After much research and comparison, I finally settled on the Samsung NC10 netbook. I've had it for several months and I don't regret my purchase at all. Here are the reasons I chose this model.
The Pros:
1: It has a matte screen. I don't know about you but I like to be able to read the screen everywhere I might happen to be using the netbook. I often need it in offices, which means lots of lights to create glare. This is an ultraportable. Glossy screens don't work well where there is a lot of light, especially outdoors.
2: The keyboard size and layout: OK, I admit it. I am a keyboard snob. My home desktop has none other than an original IBM model-M "clicky" keyboard. The spacing and layout are the benchmark for which all other keyboards were created and are judged. I know I'm not going to find the same feel and size in a portable, but the NC10 does have a very nice keyboard for a netbook. I especially like how the arrow keys are "kicked down" so you get a full right Shift key.
3: Color and appearance: I like the blue color and I also like the fact that the keyboard bezel is not glossy plastic. Ever seen a computer with a glossy bezel after five minutes of use? Every smudge and fingerprint are clearly visible. I can live with the glossy cover, it's pretty sharp looking but it does require frequent cleaning to keep the fingerprints away.
4: Port placement and features: Everything is easy to get to and you get three USB ports, Bluetooth and an SD card reader. Very handy as just about all cameras now use SD cards. This makes it a great little machine to take along on digital photo runs. 2.5 pounds travels nicely and the hard drive is big enough to store a lot of photos, even at high resolution and file size.
I've also discovered that this netbook has very good quality audio available at the headphone jack which make it very nice for listening to MP3 music on the go. The screen quality is sharp and bright with good color definition. Resolution is 1024x600. Small, but at least it isn't 1024x576. With a screen this size, the little bit of extra desktop space helps. Battery life has been coming in at around 6 hours in regular use. I am currently running Windows XP, I did test Windows 7 RC1 and it ran very well. You do have to download drivers for Windows 7. I created an image of the original XP install so I could go back if so needed.
Now, the only one con:
The touchpad. It's rather cramped and it's flush with the bezel, which means you can't really feel when your finger has left the touchpad surface. Takes a little getting used to. I can work with it, but a larger touchpad would have been nice. The button bar is also recessed back from the front edge of the netbook, so this also takes some getting used to. The workaround? For extended use, I have a bluetooth mouse.
All in all though, I have to say I am very happy with my Samsung NC10. It performs well and does exactly what I bought it for; a light, easily portable secondary machine that works everywhere. My regular laptop runs Windows 7, so it's nice having an XP machine around for when it's needed. I have even performed data recovery on a couple of occasions using a USB to SATA adapter and the NC10 performed brilliantly. It's proven to be quite versatile and a workhorse at that. |
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| "14 months of heavy use..." | 2010-02-24 |
| - Reviewed By old english d |
| I purchased the NC10-14GBK in January 2009, and this little Sammy is one of the best tech purchases I have ever made. During that period, I brought this netbook along with me about everywhere (as it fits in a small bag) and used it very heavily. The battery life is excellent and it is overall a very capable machine that is still running strong. |
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 "NC-10 great unit" | 2010-02-12 |
| - Reviewed By Russell Barber from York, NY, US |
| Very high quality construction. Windows XP works but after a while the machine will get bogged down and needs to be wiped. Looking forward to upgrading to Windows 7 soon. |
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| "Great Product Great Price But needs to be Tweeked" | 2010-01-19 |
| - Reviewed By Paul S. Fratianni |
Basically the worst things about this product is the speakers which is underneath the computer itself. Without headphones it at best can give you an impression of what going on but nothing more than barely getting by. I don't mind using headphones but have found a few applications I'd rather not like when multiple people are needing to listen.
Also this product all of a sudden will open a new browser or window or increase/decrease the size of the screen. Often this happens when typing fairly fast but I'm sure I'm not hitting a key in error, it's just a strange glitch.
Other than these faults the computer is great. The web cam and mic are surprising good. The memory is more than enough for most peoples uses. The laptop is super lite and easy to travel with. 6 to 8 hour battery life comes in handy all the time. I like the hot keys helping me from everything from increasing the volume to darkening the screen at a punch of a button.
If I'd have one advice buy the newer version of this computer. It has the speakers on the screen facing the user and has a bigger keyboard. I think it is the NC120. A friend of mine bought it and is super pleased.
Hopefully they have also fixed the other kinks. For the money its about the best option out there as others brands in this price range tend to run a little chintzy. |
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 "Disappointed after 1 year...." | 2010-01-16 |
| - Reviewed By J. Manish from Chicago, IL |
| I purchased a Samsung NC10 one year ago and two weeks so that we would have at least one PC in our house and also for mobile use at work. I know this date since it was ten days after my warranty was up that my netbook stopped charging. I thought it might be a loose contact, and after speaking with CS, I was told it was either this or the motherboard. After purchasing a replacement charger (not cheap by the way), I have no power. It is disappointing and suprising to see this in a Samsung product. I have 5 Samsung TV's in my house, as well as cell phones and prior computers. It certainly isn't the company in my opinion since I love my other products and have never had a problem with their service. I was informed the cost to ship and repair the motherboard will cost nearly as much as the netbook. Not worth it. I now need to purchase another netbook, and just can't bring myself to purchase a Samsung after this. Disappointing really since the Netbook was terrific in all aspects prior to this last week (hence the second star). |
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| "Worth the price" | 2010-01-08 |
| - Reviewed By T. Kastorff from 619, CA |
Did the research, narrowed down to Samsung, Asus, Acer. Consumer Reports, among others, listed the NC-10 as a best buy.
[...]
Love the computer.
Light weight, very portable, great screen, great keyboard (i have basketball hands), ramps up very quickly (especially with Win 7), lots of hard drive and RAM space. Battery life is solid, probably a realistic 6 hours unless you are just reading something basic and not loading pages often or running programs.
Highly recommended. |
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