2009-11-27

Buying Samsung NC10-14GB 10.2-Inch Blue Netbook - 6 Cell Battery


I purchased this capable, small netbook about a month ago--for travel, and as an "extra" computer for times when my wife and I are both in need of a computer at the same time. Since then I've used it daily.

One of my main concerns was ergonomic: would the keyboard feel familiar to me (I'm a fast touch typist). I find the keyboard to be comfortable, and as fast as I need. I like having a little cluster (lower right side) of arrow keys, as well as page up/ page down.

The screen, though just 10", is very, very bright, with excellent resolution--I used it mostly outdoors on my trip--and it's easy to work with, even on a bright day. I can't judge the processor speed (I'm not technical) but we watched video of the inauguration on it (no English coverage where we were) and it pulled in the video-cast of CNN no problem.

The battery life is double that of any laptop I've ever used--or more. If you charge this machine at night (it takes under an hour to fully charge) you can work on it all day without plugging it in.

This machine has two weaknesses that may or may not be serious, depending on where and how you use it. It's WiFi reception is slightly weaker than my Dell full-sized laptop--not a problem for many people, probably, but the difference is enough to make the machine unable to connect to the internet in my kithcen (where I like to work) at the very fringe of my other laptop's range. And on my trip I stayed in a place where I'm used to picking an unsecured network from the neighboring house: this laptop couldn't quite pull it in. At other sites (Starbuck's, etc.) it's just fine.

The second weakness is that the touchpad is too small for all the functions that it has. The "pinch" function is very useful when you want to enlarge a piece of a ms. you're working on--but on such a small touch pad it can be difficult to control. Even the scroll function on the right side of the touchpad (or, it can be moved to the bottom) can kick in annoyingly when you don't want it, because the pad is small. I've dealt with this issue by simply disabling the "pinch function" and sometimes the scroll function, and simply using the touch pad without any other features--and then it's fine.

I think the HP netbook has a slightly bigger feeling keyboard and bigger touch pad--but this machine has far better battery capacity. It's also heavier by perhaps 6-8 ounces because of the six-cell battery, but I found it a delight to carry around, compared to a full-sized laptop.

Finally, it seems to be very well constructed; and it's attractive with its glossy dark-blue finish. The (imitation?) leather carrying case is all you need to wipe off finger prints and shine it up. Some have complained about fan noise, but the fan seems to be extremely quiet, almost inaudible. It hasn't crashed, but I suspect that the feature that enables you to use one half the drive to keep a mirror image of your operating system and files would be useful, if it did crash. With the few caveats above, I'd recommend this machine.Get more detail about Samsung NC10-14GB 10.2-Inch Blue Netbook - 6 Cell Battery.

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