Special edition Samsung NC10 with larger battery available for preorder

nc10-special-amazon

Amazon is taking preorders for a new special edition version of the Samsung NC10 netbook.

The $499 Samsung NC10-11PBK Special Edition has a few things going for it. First, it comes in black, which is a color that’s been kind of hard to get in the US. But it also has a larger touchpad than earlier models and a higher capacity 5900mAh 6-cell battery, which Samsung says is good for up to 9.4 hours.

Unlike the original NC10, which has a matte screen, the special edition has a glossy screen, which is going to be a bit of a mixed bag. Some people like glossy screens and think they look, I don’t know, shinier I guess. But they tend to be harder to read outdoors or other places where glare is an issue. And they’re fingerprint magnets. It would be nice if you could choose between the new features and select a netbook with a larger touchpad and battery and a matte screen. But that doesn’t seem to be an option right now.

If you’d rather save $50 and pick up a Samsung NC10 with the lower capacity battery (still good for 7 hours), smaller touchpad and matte screen, Amazon is selling the original NC10 for $445.

Update: Photos of the new touchpad are now available.

via Portable Monkey and MyHPMini


Posted on Sunday, February 8th, 2009, 9:43 am by Brad
Tags: ,
 Subscribe to our RSS feed


Related Posts
  • Jonathan
    "Some people like glossy screens and think they look, I don’t know, shinier I guess."

    Clarity. Ever heard of it?
  • selfnoise
    Glossy screens are junk. Thankfully the EEE series still seem to have matte screens (or at least my 1000HA does).

    Actually, I was thinking this model might be a response to the 1000HE. Asus comes out with a slightly different 1000 with a larger battery = Samsung comes out with a slightly different NC10 with a larger battery.

    Probably, though, it's just manufacturers killing time before Pine Trail and other actual hardware changes emerge as possibilities.
  • docflash
    what's pine trail (yes, i'm too lazy to google . . . %^)
  • DougC3
    No googling required. Just hit your back button and drop down three posts below this one. (Brad posted about it yesterday, Sat 7 Jan). It's Intel's next netbook platform change, due in Q 4 of 2009 :)

    Edit: Actually, he didn't post about it per se, it's just included in the "roadmap" at the top of the post.
  • docflash
    since the battery is available separately (i believe) why not just put the bigger battery in the old unit? is the old touchpad that bad?
  • selfnoise
    Well, the real question is "how much better is the new touchpad?" If the amazon pic is the only one available, we can't tell.

    If you didn't already have the NC10, I would guess that buying the special edition will be cheaper than buying the older version and an extended battery separately. That's certainly true of other netbooks.

    Pine Trail is the platform for Intel's Pineview refresh of the Atom CPU, which will be here later this year in single-core format for netbooks. I believe the main difference will be that Pineview will have integrated graphics on the CPU itself and thus will be closer to System-on-a-Chip. I think there are also some power savings with the new platform, and maybe higher CPU clocks? Although that isn't really a priority for Intel I don't think.
  • Si
    theres a clearer picture here of the new touchpad

    http://www.blogeee.net/2009/02/08/un-nouveau-sa...
  • DougC3
    People have complained about the NC10 touchpad being too small (I've never used one), and there seems to be a general notion that the ASUS 1000 series touchpads are bigger and better. This is important to me because the widescreen (= short screen) format requires constant vertical scrolling to read webpages, scan email, etc. I think reliable two-finger scrolling might offset this problem, but I don't trust dedicated scroll areas, because the one on my current laptop is too jerky to be useful.

    I think this new NC10 would be a very good competitor to the Asus 1000HE if it had the new N280 processor, and I would guess it will later. (I realize that the N280 may not be much of a change without the new chipset, but it's a nice little bit of lagniappe :)
  • bolomkxxviii
    The touchpad isn't that bad with a little help (see the NC10 thread). I would take a larger touchscreen if I could graft it onto my current NC10. While more time is always better, I haven't ever thought I needed more time on my NC10 battery. The glossy screen is a deal breaker. Glad I have the older model.
  • thequinox
    WHY? Why improve it and then give it a glossy screen? No one wants a glossy screen. That is one of the reasons that the NC10 was so popular is that it was a matt netbook.

    I would be ALL over this thing if they made a standard screen option.
  • enchantedsky
    NOT to be the devil's advocate or anything, but Samsung is claiming the glossy screen will have an anti-reflective coating. I suggest that no one judge this updated NC10 until they actually see one in person -------- it may not be as glossy you might think
  • Jonathan
    You're right, no one wants a glossy screen. Except most people who buy computers.

    I'd direct you to the Ars Technica article that laid to waste once and for all the myth that matte screens are anything but a mess of snowiness, spakliness, and warped perspective, but I can't be arsed. Your low visual acuity is the source of your preference.
  • thequinox
    Perhaps you should link me to the article. http://arstechnica.com/staff/fatbits/2006/05/40... was all I came up with, and it sides with me. I think the amount of glare you get outweighs the advantages of a sharper image and richer colors.
  • Tropi
    Many thanks for that link, thequinox.
    A very well written and presented article. The pictures speak a thousand words - raddled with reflections. Methinks it's clear who has the visual acuity problems if they cannot see what is hitting them between the eyes!

    Since computers became toys for the masses, "Most people who buy computers" haven't a clue. If it's shiny and bright, they are dazzled into brain fade. Or possibly suffering from impaired vision. Undoubtedly some of them ARE idiots, as per the article.
  • I certainly wouldn't complain about a bigger touchpad but I don't think it would make a huge difference to me! The extended battery life seems more interesting - especially if it really can deliver the extra couple of hours without increasing the size/weight.
blog comments powered by Disqus