Samsung NC10
The basics
The Samsung NC10 netbook weighs a mere 1.33kg, and measures 261x185x30mm but somehow manages to squeeze in a 10.2-inch SuperBright screen with 1024x600 resolution. It also has a 160GB hard drive, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Processor and supports Bluetooth and 802.11 wireless.
The good
In today’s down-sized world, 10-inches is the new 15-inches. Everyone with access to a Chinese OEM factory is releasing a compact plastic netbook with an Atom processor, Windows XP, a solitary gig of RAM and a silly name. Apart from the silly name, Samsung has got its game down. The NC10 is light and small, but still big enough to boast a 93 percent full-size keyboard, a multi-card reader, a clutch of useful ports and a substantial hard drive. The crisp 1024x600 LED backlit screen is great for watching DVDs or web surfing and the battery life is nothing short of superb: from five to seven hours depending on how bright you like your display. The 1.3MP webcam is also sharper that it should be at this price.
The bad
You get what you pay for, so don’t expect titanium shells, built-in 3G or punchy speakers (although the Sammy’s stereo output is surprisingly lively). Wi-Fi doesn’t reach draft-n speeds, but then the NC10 probably hasn’t got the processing grunt to handle that kind of throughput anyway. The touchpad is on the small side, too.
The bottom line
Eee might be the brand du jour but Samsung has been cranking out decent budget notebooks since netbooks were just a gleam in Intel Atom’s eye. For a solid, practical XP workhorse, look no further.
User comments (23)
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Ram24 July 2009
Has anyone installed a Linux distro on it? Any problems? Deatils apprecaited
Report as inappropriateRichard04 August 2009
I didnt think these netbooks had dvd drives, "The crisp 1024x600 LED backlit screen is great for watching DVDs"
Report as inappropriatetosh196008 August 2009
great little laptop.£280 at comet a good buy.
Report as inappropriateAlfi11 August 2009
Bought an NC10 3 months ago after some research & watching a review on Gadget Show...lovin' it
Report as inappropriateadnan17 August 2009
what is thw wi fi connection like on the nc10
Report as inappropriatesweetie31 August 2009
just got my samsung nc10 its great and for only £249 when you buy online at argos
Report as inappropriateIan Anthony02 September 2009
Looked long and hard at the NC10 eventually bought the Acer Aspire one 160Gb hard drive Atom processor all the usual stuff same nice display but heres the kick the Acer has a proper graphics card and dedicated graphics memory! have been gaming on mine yes i said gaming !! in short buy the Acer i paid £249 at comet.
Report as inappropriatebeedee1303 September 2009
i have this Netbook its very handy and good for gaming , watching movies i havent had any bother with it very stylish
Report as inappropriateTonyStrud08 September 2009
Great netbook but be careful where you buy as places like Argos and Comet are selling ones with 3 cell batteries so you will not get the 7 hours detailed in the review.
Report as inappropriateChas18 September 2009
fantastic little netbook keyboard takes hardly any getting used to because it is sooo nearly full sized, ram can be upgraded to 2gb if you need to, probably would reccomend, do make sure you buy the 6 cell battery version instead of the 3 cell as the battery life on the 6 cell is double that of the 3 cell, the touchpad as the review said is on the small side so i would recommend getting a wireless mouse, a bluetooth one if you can bare to pay an extra £20 on amazon or some site like that, the nc10 comes with a built in bluetooth receiver, if your a bit of a cheap scate like me buy a wireless usb mouse. i have installed windows 7 on it the release candidate and at the moment is running seamlessly with only 1gb of ram, unfortunately it won't run vista so don't bother trying, just thought i'd tell people how good the nc10 really is, definitely buy one chas
Report as inappropriateaaron28 September 2009
i have just recently won a nc 10 i think it is a very good littel laptop despite the lack of a cd drive if i didnt win it i would of bought it.
Report as inappropriatePitterz04 October 2009
Easy to set up. Wi-fi connection recognised instantly and 'quicker' than 2 other household lap tops. I-tunes downloaded and working fine Need to buy a separate DVD drive - DVD movies etc and software installation - all work adequately with LG DVD writer - £35. Battery manager will allow mix of performance v battery life Even comfortable to use on your lap! Recommended
Report as inappropriatepetertog08 October 2009
Runs Moblin (Intels Mobile Linux) really well. All hardware supported and boots in under 10 secs. Beware Moblin still in Beta though.
Report as inappropriateozzyboo28 October 2009
i have orderd mine and it should be in the mail tommoro :) i cant wait for this i did alot i mean alot of research on this netbook !! ive watched nearly all the reviews on youtube :) thanks gadget show for showing the nc10 on gadget show you guys made my mind up finaly :) !!
Report as inappropriatejohn rawlins04 December 2009
got samsung nc10, like it a lot buti cant play dvd on and i dont know wot driver i need or how much to pay for a good one.. i do have a dvd/cd rom so can put my cd"s on it other than that i think it was areally good buy.
Report as inappropriateboshy15 January 2010
To Richard...I think maybe when they say "great for watching DVD's on" they may be playing them off a USB memory stick and not literaly off a DVD.
Report as inappropriateJay09 April 2010
great review and comments re: DVD viewing helpful.
Report as inappropriatePhil Nic02 September 2010
C'mon John - time for some new netbook reviews :)
Report as inappropriateLiam Reilly20 December 2010
i have had the NC10 for two years now and i use it for all of my school work. it is very strong and does not break despite being put through two years of school life. also it is perfect because it does not weigh much and it is small enough. all in all i would give it an amazing five G's.
Report as inappropriateTom11810723 December 2010
i have a netbook and i love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report as inappropriateAshwani Kumar Dua06 February 2011
i want to change my laptop. i am happy to see this review and it is great.........great .........wow
Report as inappropriateLee16 September 2011
I've owned this for a couple of years now, this review has a few fails. Firstly, it can't play DVD's as they wont go anywhere, you can however buy a USB dvd drive thing off ebay, even the cheapest one works perfectly fine. Secondly, 5-7 hour battery life? Mines less than 1 and a half hours and I'm pretty sure it always has been!
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