I purchased the white NC10 from Ritz Camera (an Amazon seller) about a week ago and received it yesterday. Because I had heard that some of the screens on the NC10s may have blotch problems, the first thing I did was run a screen test. One of the other reviewers recommended PassMark, which is free for 30 days. Anyway, I was completely jazzed to turn on my NC10 and, right away, I fell in love with it -- it really is worth all the hype. After getting past the set-up phase, I downloaded the screen test. Sure enough, two shadows appeared in the lower left-hand corner of the monitor. My heart just sank because I knew there was a possibility that I could get one of these monitors. However, unless you're really looking for it, you would never know that it's there. But it does show up on a white solid background, as well as on one of the gray patterned backgrounds. I contacted Samsung and their customer service is excellent. They provided me with a transaction number so that when I take it to UPS, they will box it up and ship it to the repair center for free. I was told that it will take around 4 business days for it to be repaired. I considered returning the product, but decided against it for several reasons. First, since it's a manufacturing flaw, there's still the possibility of receiving another netbook with the exact same problem. Secondly, the repair and cost of shipping is free. Finally, I purchased this netbook for $379 (using a coupon code), and I haven't come close to finding that price anywhere else. I also have to mention that this netbook is just way too cool! I don't want to part with it, but I'm sure the minor repair will be worth it in the end.
On another note, I had a very difficult time removing the plastic insert in the SD card slot. It would not budge using the edge of my fingernail, so I finally had to get a butter knife to pop it out. However, in the process of doing this, it bent the chrome trim right above the slot. It was easy enough to push the trim back into place, but I wasn't expecting to struggle so much with removing that faux plastic SD card. Just a heads up in case anyone else has this problem.
I also want to mention that the white is absolutely beautiful. The online pictures do not do it justice at all. I had a difficult time trying to decide between the blue and white, but ultimately chose the white finish because I already have a dark laptop. The white reminds me of the pearl white color that Cadillac uses on their vehicles. I don't really care about the fingerprint issue, but I still would have chosen the white over the blue if I had to do it all over again.
Additionally, I don't really have a problem with the mouse pad or the speakers. I actually like the smaller tracking pad with the single seesaw-like clicker, and the tracker seems to be very responsive and easy to use. I also don't think that the speakers are that bad. I was expecting them to be really crummy from all of the reviews, but when Windows loaded and closed, they were actually fairly loud. But honestly, I didn't but this netbook for the speakers anyway.
I hope this review helps some of you out there who are still sitting on the fence. The screen issue is a bummer, but Samsung is easy to work with and very willing to fix the problem. Again, you really wouldn't notice it unless you were looking for it. And even if they didn't have such a great warranty policy, I would still keep it in spite of this minor defect. It truly is a rare gem among netbooks!Get more detail about
Samsung NC10-14GB 10.2-Inch Blue Netbook - 6 Cell Battery.
