The Samsung NC20 is a subnotebook /

Netbook Netbook was a commonly used term that identified a product class of small and inexpensive laptops which were sold from 2007 to around 2013. These machines were designed primarily as cost-effective tools for consumers to access the Inte ...

computer designed by

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

. At the time of its introduction, (February 2009, while in the U.S.A. was on March 2009), it was the first mainstream netbook to use the VIA Nano processor and the first to support the

x86-64 x86-64 (also known as x64, x86_64, AMD64, and Intel 64) is a 64-bit version of the x86 instruction set, first released in 1999. It introduced two new modes of operation, 64-bit mode and compatibility mode, along with a new 4-level paging mod ...

instruction set In computer science, an instruction set architecture (ISA), also called computer architecture, is an abstract model of a computer. A device that executes instructions described by that ISA, such as a central processing unit (CPU), is called an ' ...

. The 12.1" screen size is larger than typical for this class of ultra portable PC. Its most direct competitors are the

Lenovo IdeaPad S12 The IdeaPad S12 is a line of consumer-oriented netbook computers designed by Lenovo. It is a model in the IdeaPad series and their first netbook to have a 12" screen. The computers were put on the market in 2009 and currently come in black and whi ...

and the MSI Wind U210.

Technical overview

Processor and memory

The Samsung NC20 uses a VIA Nano ULV Processor U2250 (running from 800 MHz - 1,6 GHz) and comes with 1 GB RAM. Internally, the NC20 has one slot for RAM accepting memory modules up to 2 GB. The hardware is powerful enough to run Windows 7 in everyday situations (web-browsing, email, office applications). However, CPU-demanding tasks (e.g. Flash videos) tend to put the system at its limit.

Display

The screen is a

glossy display A glossy display is an electronic display with a glossy surface. In certain light environments, glossy displays provide better color intensity and contrast ratios than matte displays. The primary disadvantage of these displays is their tenden ...

and measures 12.1

inch Measuring tape with inches The inch (symbol: in or ″) is a unit of length in the British imperial and the United States customary systems of measurement. It is equal to yard or of a foot. Derived from the Roman uncia ("twelfth") ...

es (307 mm) diagonally. It has a native resolution of 1280 × 800

pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...

s. The screen is LED-backlit. An external display can be used through the standard

VGA Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a video display controller and accompanying de facto graphics standard, first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, which became ubiquitous in the PC industry within three years. The term can now ...

connector.

Keyboard and touchpad

The 84-key keyboard is a full-size keyboard, with standard 18.5mm key pitch between keys. The keyboard has also been coated with anti-bacterial

Silver Nano Silver Nano (''Silver Nano Health System'') is a trademark name of an antibacterial technology which uses silver nanoparticles in washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners, air purifiers and vacuum cleaners introduced by Samsung in April 2 ...

ions. The touchpad supports multi-touch gestures.

Storage

The standard internal hard drive is a SATA 160 GB. It also includes a SD card slot, supporting MMC, SD and SDHC cards for additional storage.

Connectivity

The NC20 has built-in LAN (10/100 MBit) via a standard-sized RJ45-jack, 802.11b/g Wifi as well as Bluetooth. It also comes with 3 USB 2.0 ports.

Audio and video

A webcam (Namuga 1.3 megapixel) is built into the display frame, as well as a microphone. Together with the built-in stereo speakers, the NC20 can be used for audio/video conferences (e.g. using

Skype Skype () is a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for VoIP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also has instant messaging, file transfer, deb ...

), albeit only with moderate call-quality. The webcam picture becomes relatively noisy under low-light conditions and the microphone produces audible noise and picks up vibrations from the harddisk or when typing. The NC20 also has standard 3,5mm jacks for audio output (headphones / line-out) and input (external microphone / line-in), allowing for far better audio quality than the built-in speakers and microphone.

Criticism

Not all of the features of this notebook are supported under Linux. Playing video and microphone are partially supported. External monitor support under Linux is not possible. WLAN under Ubuntu is reported to have frequent freezeups.

References

External links

Samsung Specifications

Samsung NC20 Community Site

Samsung NC20 Blog

Samsung Netbook Tips (applies to NC10)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samsung Nc20 Netbooks NC20 Computer-related introductions in 2009