Just a couple of weeks ago, i tipped Samsung to bring out a new netbook as i’ve been following the netbook market pretty closely over the last few months…
Dual Core Atoms ready and rumors of an NC11 with vista pre-installed. I’ll be holding off until the new year to see how this pans out.
NC10′s are already in short supply so i’d imagine they’ll be taking out a new line in the not so distant future to cash in on this netbook craze
Turns out i was bang on the money as the Samsung NC20 has been leaked today. I also suggested they’d bring out a new netbook to ‘cash in’ on the NC10′s runaway success. To me, that’s exactly what they’ve done with the NC20 and it’s a huge own goal for a number of reasons.
First of all the NC20 has a 12.1 inch display. That’s not a netbook! 12.1 inch display is classified as an untraportable, not a netbook.
Why would i buy the NC20 over an NC10? If i’m buying a netbook i want something smaller than an ultraportable, as light as possible and with great battery life. Well the NC20 is the same size as an ultraportable, heavier than most netbooks and i can only assume has a battery life that pales in comparason to the NC10 (given the fact the screen is 2 inches bigger).
Specs wise, apart from the CPU, it’s identical to the NC10. No improvements anywhere…
Now maybe this is just really poor categorization by Samsung, but if you’re gonna call this machine an NC20, you automatically assume it’s an upgrade from the NC10 which is an out and out netbook leader. That’s not the case at all in my eyes. Assuming the battery life is worse than the NC10′s, i’d call this a downgrade.
It’ll launch at $642 which is a joke. The NC10 is around $475 at the minute and i’d imagine will only drop further in the new year.
So to recap;
- 12.1 inch display
- 3.3 pounds (NC10 is 2.8 pounds)
- $642
I can’t see why this is being called a netbook as for roughly the same price, you could have something like this. Both 12.1 inches and the same price but specs wise, the samsung gets annihilated. Sure the samsung will be lighter (by 1 pound) and have a slightly better battery life, but given a straight choice between the NC20 and that Acer i’ve linked to, i can’t see many choosing the samsung.
So the only conclusion i draw is that the NC20 is a rushed job by samsung and they’ve opted to cash in quickly while the going’s good rather than develop a worthy upgrade to replace the NC10. It’s almost as if some top dog looking for profits in samsung has pushed this out on the basis that the NC10 can do no wrong, so why not change a few minor specs, up the price and rename it – people will buy it because it’s new.
Unless the battery life is something ridiculous or groundbreaking like 10 hours + there’s no way the NC20 will be a hit. Not at that price, not with those specs. If they reduce the price to match the NC10, it’ll sell but even then the NC10 would still be the wiser option.
