Hardware Samsung NC10

[Tim S]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...samsung-nc10/1

Samsung has made its entry into the rapidly expanding netbook market with the NC10. Can Samsung add something to an already crowded market, or is the NC10 left out on the wings in a field of mediocrity? Read on to find out.

[bowman]

I was this far away from buying one of these (/me holds up pinched fingers), from the UK as an international order no less, but then I read that the wireless chip doesn't work with Linux.

http://nc10ubuntu.wordpress.com/

Complete turnoff, never using Windows on a laptop again so if it won't work properly..

[plagio]

Like every other laptop with an Atheros wireless card, there are workarounds either with ndiswrapper of with madwifi to have it working.
But yes, I agree with you, they should stop using this Atheros cards.

Anyway, I just love this netbook/laptop

[Tim S]

Originally Posted by bowman

I was this far away from buying one of these (/me holds up pinched fingers), from the UK as an international order no less, but then I read that the wireless chip doesn't work with Linux.

http://nc10ubuntu.wordpress.com/

Complete turnoff, never using Windows on a laptop again so if it won't work properly..

Good link, shame about the wireless card not working natively under Linux.

[bowman]

Originally Posted by plagio

Like every other laptop with an Atheros wireless card, there are workarounds either with ndiswrapper of with madwifi to have it working.
But yes, I agree with you, they should stop using this Atheros cards.

Anyway, I just love this netbook/laptop

The 'workaround' doesn't exactly tempt, not just because it'd be the mother of all binary blobs but also because it apparently cocks up the general functionality of the machine.

I have Intel wireless on my current (clunky, old) laptop and it works out of the 'box' (well, installation) on any distribution. The way it ought to be. Still looking for a good-looking netbook that works properly with Linux.. Seems like they either look like fisher-price toys or are incompatible.

[ntrovert]

Originally Posted by bowman

The 'workaround' doesn't exactly tempt, not just because it'd be the mother of all binary blobs but also because it apparently cocks up the general functionality of the machine.

I have Intel wireless on my current (clunky, old) laptop and it works out of the 'box' (well, installation) on any distribution. The way it ought to be. Still looking for a good-looking netbook that works properly with Linux.. Seems like they either look like fisher-price toys or are incompatible.

I'm running Ubuntu 8.10 on a shiny new NC10 and it works fine, albeit with a few prerequisite tweaks.

1: WiFi. Binary blobs like ndiswrapper are not required (I have no idea why that blog is pushing it). All you have to do plug into ethernet and run

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-intrepid

which installs the cutting edge drivers from the official repositories, replacing the origional 8.10 ones. Reboot and wireless works flawlessly, with no suspend/reboot issues. The newer drivers should be included by default in 9.04.

2. Audio. It works by default, but it's a bit flaky (volume level doesn't persist across reboots, and the internal speaker doesn't mute when you plug headphones in). To fix this, just run this script which automatically compiles and installs the latest ALSA. Again, this will be a non-issue in 9.04. Here's the procedure if you can't figure it out:

[ Download AlsaUpgrade-1.0.x-rev-1.12.tar from link above ]

tar xf AlsaUpgrade-1.0.x-rev-1.12.tar
sudo ./AlsaUpgrade-1.0.x-rev-1.12.tar -f

[ This will take a while ]

Everything else works fine if you're willing to sacrifice multi-touch for now. Trust me, it's well worth it.

[fargo]

who in their right mind would pay 470.00 for this when I can go to tiger direct and buy a full sized acer laptop for 400.00 right now!!!! so what if it isn't acer's best model these netbook manufacturers are ripping off the consumer with some of these prices!! I like a kiss when i
get banged

[Tim S]

You mean the 15.4-inch refurb that weighs 2.8kg?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...IN#detailspecs

[Krikkit]

That looks like a bloody good netbook to me... The market just got a bit more interesting!

[airchie]

Might get the mrs one of these for her chrimbo...

[fargo]

You mean the 15.4-inch refurb that weighs 2.8kg? :|

didn't notice it was refurbished might question that still from what I've read acer aspire 1 is the best of the lot and at my local walmart you
can get it for $348.00 including 1gb ram and 120gb harddrive and several color choices why pay 470.00

[Smilodon]

Originally Posted by fargo

who in their right mind would pay 470.00 for this when I can go to tiger direct and buy a full sized acer laptop for 400.00 right now!!!! so what if it isn't acer's best model these netbook manufacturers are ripping off the consumer with some of these prices!! I like a kiss when i
get banged

You know, there is a reason why some stuff cost more than others. Both Fiat 500 and Bugatti Veyron are cars, but there are some "small differences" that makes one of them cost more than the other.

4-500$ is still pretty cheap compared to a "proper" laptop at the same size. (There is a huge difference between 15.4" and 10-12" laptops when it come to prices)

[Tim S]

Originally Posted by fargo

You mean the 15.4-inch refurb that weighs 2.8kg? :|

didn't notice it was refurbished might question that still from what I've read acer aspire 1 is the best of the lot and at my local walmart you
can get it for $348.00 including 1gb ram and 120gb harddrive and several color choices why pay 470.00

The Aspire One is a bloody good netbook, don't get me wrong... but it has some issues. One of the main ones is battery life. The others include the finish isn't matte like the NC10, which means that it's susceptible to fingerprints and the trackpad with the weirdly-positioned buttons (they're on either side and not below the trackpad).

The NC10 doesn't have these same issues... the trackpad is a little small, as are the buttons, but they're not so awkward to use that it requires two handed operation (the trackpad, that is, not the machine) to use effectively. We recommended the Aspire One because it's a good machine at a great price and we believe the NC10 is even better because there's really nothing wrong with it... and it's not ludicrously expensive like the Eee PC S101.

I believe the NC10 is the closest we've come to the perfect netbook so far and I thought the netbook market was a load of tosh before I saw this - the features weren't there at the prices they needed to be at (look at the S101... LOVELY device with decent features and build quality, but far too expensive) and everything that was adequately priced had drawbacks. The NC10 doesn't have the feature omissions and the build quality is very high, so now I'm seriously thinking of investing into it. In fact, I might try my hand with Ubuntu on it if ntrovert's advice works.

[ntrovert]

I've revised my post with some more detail. Have fun :P

[bowman]

Originally Posted by ntrovert

I'm running Ubuntu 8.10 on a shiny new NC10 and it works fine, albeit with a few prerequisite tweaks.

1: WiFi. Binary blobs like ndiswrapper are not required (I have no idea why that blog is pushing it). All you have to do plug into ethernet and run

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-intrepid

which installs the cutting edge drivers from the official repositories, replacing the origional 8.10 ones. Reboot and wireless works flawlessly, with no suspend/reboot issues. The newer drivers should be included by default in 9.04.

2. Audio. It works by default, but it's a bit flaky (volume level doesn't persist across reboots, and the internal speaker doesn't mute when you plug headphones in). To fix this, just run this script which automatically compiles and installs the latest ALSA. Again, this will be a non-issue in 9.04. Here's the procedure if you can't figure it out:

[ Download AlsaUpgrade-1.0.x-rev-1.12.tar from link above ]

tar xf AlsaUpgrade-1.0.x-rev-1.12.tar
sudo ./AlsaUpgrade-1.0.x-rev-1.12.tar -f

[ This will take a while ]

Everything else works fine if you're willing to sacrifice multi-touch for now. Trust me, it's well worth it.

Wait, so, there are actual Linux drivers for this thing? That changes things.. Multi-touch, didn't even know it had it, and it's not something I'm used to on my current old brick anyway.

edit: well this is awesome. Sigh. I'm just not meant to own a netbook.. Also, your bit-tech shopping guide says 'Ships International' for these 'Oyyyyy' fellas, and it's not true. Maybe revise that bit.. edit2, the 'Misco' guys also will only deliver to UK addresses. edit3, actually all of them won't ship here. I guess I'll be saving £400 then..

[samkiller42]

I'm glad you gave it the same score as Trusted Reviews, looks to be awesome product, and may give Asus a run for their money.

Sam

[Tim S]

We gave it a lower overall score than TR, but that's because there were a few annoyances (on our part). Little things like the trackpad/button (and a few other things) were reason enough not to give it the 'perfect' score it couldn't have got much closer to 10/10, which is why the Excellence award was dusted off especially for it.

[paul_s57]

Hey,

Thanks for a great review on this, I have been thinking about getting a NetBook for some while now, and I have finally decided I am defiantly going to get one. After looking around I was thinking of this one, but was just wondering what the score was with how you enable / disable the wifi and Bluetooth, I know it’s a small consideration but recall that on EEEPC you have to toggle through all the options using the same function key, is that the case here? Or have they assigned two different keys?

Also would I be right in guessing this comes with the options as well for max battery, faster cpu speed, etc etc.

[Tim S]

Hey Paul, no problem!

I can't seem to find a way to turn Bluetooth off without just disabling the device in device manager (I'll have a look in the manual later), but WiFi is disabled by pressing Fn + F9. There are three 'speed' modes - Normal and Silent are available on Battery and there's a third mode available when you're plugged in for maximum performance. They're cycled through using Fn + F8.

Silent mode is generally fine for use on the move, unless you plan to do some particularly CPU-intensive things while on battery.

[paul_s57]

Hey, thanks for that, with the WiFi and Bluetooth personally i don't think its a massive problem if you either have to use device manager to turn it off, or cycle several of options, it's just another 'nice to have' function. Though they probabily have done it more logical seeing as WiFI will probabily be turned on and off more frequently.