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Samsung announces NC10 Netbook for U.S.

Samsung enters the U.S. market with a 10.2-inch, 2.8-pound Netbook.

Michelle Thatcher Former Senior Associate Editor, Laptops
Tech expert Michelle Thatcher grew up surrounded by gadgets and sustained by Tex-Mex cuisine. Life in two major cities--first Chicago, then San Francisco--broadened her culinary horizons beyond meat and cheese, and she's since enjoyed nearly a decade of wining, dining, and cooking up and down the California coast. Though her gadget lust remains, the practicalities of her small kitchen dictate that single-function geegaws never stay around for long.
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Michelle Thatcher

Samsung NC10
Michelle Thatcher

After months of rumors, Samsung has finally made it official: The company will be bringing its NC10 Netbook to the United States.

The 2.8-pound minilaptop's white case toes the design line established by the Asus Eee PC, Acer Aspire One, and others. So it's no surprise that the NC10's configuration is fairly typical as well, with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of 800MHz RAM (upgradeable to 2GB), and Windows XP, plus a large, 160GB hard drive. (With computers as with apartments, a lot of storage is always welcome.) The 10.2-inch screen features the expected 1,024x600-pixel resolution. Connection options include 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and integrated Bluetooth. Around the case there are a 1.3-megapixel Webcam, VGA-out, Ethernet, three USB 2.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks, and a 3-in-1 memory card reader.

Of particular interest is the NC10's six-cell battery, which we'd expect to last 5 hours or more (according to the company, it will provide up to 8 hours of battery life). We're also curious to spend more time with the Netbook's keyboard, which is 89 percent of full size. On most Netbooks, the keyboard feels cramped at first but eventually seems workable for pounding out a few e-mails at the coffee shop.

At $499, the Samsung NC10 is priced on the high end for a Netbook, though not quite as costly as the similarly configured Lenovo IdeaPad S10. The Samsung NC10 will be available by mid-November at such online retailers as NewEgg, Buy.com, CDW, and Amazon.