David Flynn13 May 2009, 11:22 PM
Enthusiasts may no longer need to privately import Samsung netbooks once the Korean colossus begins local sales of its 10.1 inch and 12.1 inch models.
Look at almost any netbook comparison from the UK or USA and you’ll find Samsung’s NC10 in the top three. Oftentimes it wins out over the best that Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and MSI have to offer.
But Australian buyers seeking this highly awarded netbook have had to purchase it from UK stores such as
Clove and
Handtec and arrange for international delivery.
Now Samsung is gearing up for local sales of its netbooks, with a series of media briefings set down for next week and all three new netbooks making an appearance on Samsung Australia’s Web page.
First up are two slightly different 10.1 inch models, the
N110 and and
N120. Both run the same Intel Atom N270 processor with 1GB of RAM, a 160GB 5400 rpm hard drive, six-cell battery, 802.11g wireless and Bluetooth.
With its larger 5900 mAh battery the N110 puts more focus on maximising your mobile Internet
Samsung is positioning the $849 N110 as being a device for “mobile Internet and content consumption usage” while the $899 N120 is a “sleek, simple, and fun multimedia mini-notebook for entertainment”.
The N120, meanwhile, has a subwoofer to underscore its role as more of a multimedia machine
Underpinning the N120’s entertainment bent is an SRS 2.1 channel sound system incorporating a subwoofer, which along with the claimed 97% full-size keyboard makes the N120 a tad wider and thicker than the N110.
However, the N110 runs longer on a single charge thanks to its 5900 mAh battery over the NC120’s 5200 mAh cell. Samsung reckons the notebooks’ respective battery lives are up to nine hours and up to six hours.
(Samsung appears a tad confused over which OS is preloaded onto the N110 – the local Web page lists both Windows XP Home and Windows Vista Home Premium.)
The
NC20 sees Samsung joins the ranks of the maxi-netbook set. Its 12.1 inch widescreen panel clocks at 1,280 x 800 pixels while the keyboard boasts the same standard 18.5mm pitch as a conventional notebook.
With the 12.1 inch NC20, Samsung blurs the lines between netbook and notebook
This is also one of the first netbooks running Via’s
Nano processor, specifically the 1.3GHz U2250. This is allied to Via’s Chrome9 integrated graphics chipset, the expected 1GB of RAM and the same 160GB 5400 rph drive as the N110 and N120. In fact the rest of the spec set is pretty near identical, down to the six-cell 5900 mAh battery. The NC20 weights in at 1.5kg.
Samsung’s listing the NC20 at $999, which could mean that fans may continue shopping overseas – Clove.co.uk currently lists the NC20 for £405 or AU$810 including delivery to Australia.