Customer Reviews

Samsung NC10-13GB 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook - Up to 6 Hours of Battery Life

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I have only owned this netbook for about 2 months but so far it is fantastic. i bought mine refurbished from tech for less. it runs great. webcam is sub par, the only reason i gave this 4 stars. I would totally make this purchase again. i go to a community college with a reputation for things getting stolen from vehicles. this netbook allows me to have a computer at school that i don't have to worry about getting stolen as much as say a laptop notebook which is about double the price.

Most things you can do via usb these days and i have taken full advantage of the 3 or 4 ports available. i haven't tried the vga output yet. my battery life is good, usually about 4 or 5 hours, watching video and everything, varies depending on what you do and how bright the screen is. Hot keys on this computer are GREAT. so easy to use. For example if i hold down the Fn button and press say the up arrow on the keyboard, it turns up my volume, everything is well labeled and well placed. I have also had problems playing video in HD from youtube. It cannot play fairly memory intensive .mkv files which are high quality video files, i wouldn't suggest it but its sort of doable. internet has been great, i have used IE, chrome and firefox. i use iTunes and zune, no problems there. i also installed microsoft office 2007 without a hitch as well as [...]. both work great. i use a program called dameon tools to trick the computer into thinking there is a cd drive and mounting an .iso file to play certain games, i played starcraft and it worked great as well as the old command and conquer and red alery 1 and 2. i used an 1TB external hard drive with it, no problems. so far everything has been dandy.

also suggestions i have is to download a program called dropbox which allows you to store 2GB worth of stuff free and allows for easy transfer of files to netbook, its been awesome for me so far.

Dec. 28 2009 update

Things are still working great. I hooked it up to the back of a 22 inch LCD monitor at my house and it works fantastic, didn't lose any clarity and since I will be moving out soon this will be my only computer for awhile. So anyone who is worried about hooking it up to a larger monitor, fear not. The samsung software that comes with the netbook runs updates every once in awhile. I'm not sure if the resolution size came with the netbook or if it was part of an update. I also tried skype on the netbook and it worked great, the webcam on the netbook is far from perfect but sound from the netbook's mic was clear and video not as grainy as I thought it would be. So, good for those who use skype as well.

Feb. 20 2010 update
I have had a few instances using this netbook when the screen has gone white momentarily. I did not know about this problem until it happened to me and found that there are others who have had the problem and that it gets worse and worse until eventually they have had to send it to samsung to get fixed under warranty. All the things I read said that the process of sending it to samsung was quick and easy, sometimes taking less than 48 hrs, but i think that this problem should be made known to those in the market for a netbook. I'm sure they have fixed the error with the newer models, its a problem with the cord connecting from the screen to the motherboard i believe. mine is one of the older ones, but the white scree thing hasn't happened for about a month and only happened on 3 occasions in the 5 months i've had it. i use this netbook frequently so thats not bad. not sure what caused it but i decided not to send it in. I am also currently hooked up to a 23 inch asus lcd monitor and it is working great. the netbook is good for when i travel and when i get home i can use this on a 1920x1080 resolution screen which is just fantastic. completely fills almost all my computer needs for a fraction of the price and i get the portability of a netbook. one complaint i do have is that it has a hard time playing youtube videos in the HD setting, same for facebook. HOWEVER i have read up on this and it is a problem with ALL netbooks, the 1.6ghz processor just can't handle streaming video at that quality. however if you download the youtube video and then play it through windows media player for example, it runs flawlessly. Hope that helps anyone who is currently in the market for a netbook, i would still say this is one of the best purchases i have made.

I'm not one to continually update a review but here's to my most likely last update unless something goes horribly wrong with it. March 4, 2010.
I thought this may be important to a few who would want to use this as a device to read ebooks etc. Well I have some good news. I have been reading a book (Hunger Games) in adobe reader .pdf format and it has been fantastic. the words are large, i can actually just sit and scroll with the down arrow, i have already read 87 pages today and aside from being a good book the screen has actually been very easy on my eyes, and my eyes tire fairly easily. I have however had it plugged in the whole time so i can't give you a good estimate on battery life when reading. but if you are into reading books on your computer and want to take something with you that is small and weighs about as much as a book, i think this may be your thing. I really am loving it, i should also mention it has been probably over a year since i've read a novel all the way through, its just so easy having it on my netbook that when i'm out and about or just in my room, after i'm done checking facebook, email, amazon, etc i can just relax and read.

word to the wise however, if you decide to sit in bed or have this on your lap with nothing solid and flat under it it will probably get pretty hot. i tried this a few times and found my self holding the bottom up to let some air flow underneath and prevent overheating. i found an easy fix was just to set a binder flat on my lap and then set the netbook on that, then i didn't have to worry about it getting hot AND the angle of the binder made it easy to type and made for a better viewing angle too.

Last update may 13, 2010

About 2 months ago I started having the screen on my netbook turning all white for no reason. I bought this unit refurbished from techforless which is also sells things on amazon, and so I asked them what I could do to fix it. It is out of their 30 day warranty obviously so they asked that I talk to the manufacturer. So I went to the samsung website, I then input all the required information aka serial number, address, etc. They gave me the address to send it in for repair and it showed that it was still under warranty on Samsung's site. Fair enough. So i spend 12 bucks to ship it to Texas to be fixed. UPS messed up the address but thats another story, the tech people at the repair place simply repair units but do not work directly for Samsung, they were very polite and at least tried to be helpful. They said that they saw from the serial number that the unit is refurbished. Fine, I already knew that. They then stated that because of this it will not be covered under warranty and would cost between 150-300$ to repair...YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! So I have them ship it back which costs me another 15$. Well there goes that money, the thing that really peeved me was that Samsung had this information but negleted to inform me BEFORE I sent it in that it was not under warranty. Which I still don't understand. I know its refurbished but its less than a year old! If it breaks that fast then fix it Samsung, holy moly its ridiculous. This last update is just a word of caution to those who are thinking about buying this model refurbished. DON'T. The white screen problem will gradually get worse from what I read on the forms and I MAY be able to fix it myself from a solution I found on the forum but it will be very risky.

Last update until i try the white screen fix myself, if i ever get around to it.
September 27, 2010
The white screen problem has become fairly constant. I need to turn the brightness down to 5/8 where as i used to be able to get away with 8/8 or 7/8. I'm sure that people who bought it new don't have this problem, I will let you know how it goes to see if this thing is easier or harder to fix than is worth it.

Feb 2012
Odds are no one will read this but I feel the need to let people know. I found a supposed fix online and actual disassembled the monitor and reseated the cable, it fixed it!...for about 3 months. The white screen problem has returned. I cannot recommend this netbook to anyone. My brother and sister both have netbooks and neither one of them has had problems this severe, all I can say is buyer beware, I wouldn't trust a used one of these, or refurbished.

I love this computer when it's working -- unfortunately, IT HAS FAILED TWICE IN 8 MONTHS! It had a screen defect -- entire screen turning completely white -- after the first 3 months. The folks at Samsung were nice enough but the service took two weeks so in the interim I HAD TO BORROW A BACK-UP COMPUTER. After getting it back, IT BROKE AGAIN WITH THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM 3-4 months later. Again, I need a backup while waiting for this to be repaired. I suspected this could be a chronic problem so I asked if they would be willing to exchange it. After that I do not have good things to say about Samsung customer service. The first person I talked to said he would call me back regarding the possibility of an exchange. He never did. The second person said it would be possible if I let them hold a deposit on my credit card, which I said was fine. When I was transferred to the service department, the guy said that they won't do an exchange because it's still under warranty! In other words, even though they are not able to fix the problem, I have to keep sending it in for the same service every time it fails again, and when it's no longer under warranty, they'll send me a new computer??? Somehow I doubt I will have any leverage once the warranty period is out. Given that I have lost faith in their ability to repair a computer, in their ability to give me consistent information, AND THAT I HAVE TO GO OUT AND BUY ANOTHER COMPUTER PURELY TO SERVE AS A BACK-UP while this one is being repaired, I might as well just buy a more reliable computer. Very sad because I searched a long time before deciding to buy this, and I love all the features, but great features can never surpass poor durability and inflexible policies.

No complaints whatsoever. I was concerned the keyboard would be too small, but I adjusted quickly and now have no trouble typing. I can do everything on this little machine that I did on my 15-inch Compaq. In fact, I even do some C++ programming (for work) and have found that the small screen size is not a serious liability. Definitely buy a wireless mouse ... it makes it far easier to navigate. Also, my computer came with Internet Explorer 6 .... I upgraded to version 8, because this version has a zoom/magnification feature that allows you to zero-in on a particular area of text and enlarge it. If you learn this trick, the small screen will begin to feel much larger.

I have used my blue Samsung NC-10 for a few months now, and I like it very much. However, as warned by other reviewers, opening the plastic cover on the bottom to upgrade the RAM from one Gig to two was hair-raising. Very difficult and scary.

I had to apply a lot of pressure to begin to get the cover off, and then it stuck, half-way off. I could not get it back on, and I had to pry really hard to finish removal. I felt sure that I had broken my new computer! However, the cover did come off, I did upgrade the RAM, and so far the RAM cover seems un-damaged.

By the way, the reviewer who warned that Amazon was recommending the wrong RAM upgrade seems to have been correct. I went to the Crucial web site and ordered what Crucial recommended for the Samsung NC-10, and that has worked fine. This is NOT the RAM recommended by Amazon.

I also noticed a thread with an ongoing debate as to which RAM is correct. So, good luck!

If you want an external optical drive, I CANNOT recommend the Lite On DVD/CD rewritable drive, model eSAU208. I plan to review it elsewhere, but I note here that the software which Lite On provides will NOT install on the Samsung NC-10. I had to use software from another drive I bought for a different computer. The Lite On drive sometimes is not recognized by the computer, and it vibrates and rattles as it works. Not horrible, but not good either.

The NC-10 itself is a pleasure to use. Rarely crashes, boots quickly, and the keyboard is fine. I have large hands, and I like to type on this computer. The screen is beautiful. The case does show fingerprints.

Overall, except for the awful RAM cover, I love this computer.

i've had my little samsung nc10 for a year now and i still love it. that being said, there is a world of difference between a netbook and a notebook and if your trying to decide between the two be sure and do your research.
i use mine mostly for writing papers, internet research,surfing the web and watching online streaming, with the occasional ddl.
it has trouble playing HD and 264,but is fine for regular avi, mkv, and other media types. i've never played games on it so i don't know how those run.
it boots up fast, runs smooth, and isn't noisy.it fits easily in a bag or backpack and the battery life and wi-fi are pretty good.
my boyfriend has a toshiba satallite and its broken down three times since i bought my netbook, but the samsung hasn't even hiccupped once.my only complaint is the touchy touch pad and that can be overcome.
great buy for students and travelers looking for a basic set up with good internet access.

This is a great little computer! It's tiny, super light, but highly functional. The keyboard is a little smaller than normal-sized keyboard (93%), but it does not affect my typing at all. The keyboard also has a proper sized right shift key, which a lot of netbooks do not. The wireless works very well. There is minimal bloatware installed on it (only McAfee), which is a plus. The screen is bright and crisp. The performance is surprisingly peppy for typical web surfing, office applications, etc. The 6-cell battery runs a long time (6 hours or longer). I have ripped a bunch of DVDs, which I watch when I fly -- it's awesome on this little computer. Samsung installed its own C: disk image utility on a D: partition (ala Ghost), which is a nice feature. The screen is matte, and so there are no annoying reflections like you get with glossy screens. All in all, an excellent system.

Three complaints. First, the bluetooth mouse sometimes loses connection. I compensate by turning the mouse off-and-on or resetting it, which usually solves the problem. Second, I get a conflict between my wireless and wired connections, which I solved by only running wireless. There is no loss in performance. Third, my computer has a glossy exterior and so it attracts a lot of fingerprints. I think they changed the body from glossy to matte, which solves this problem.

Recommendations. First, get a bluetooth mouse. No wires, and no dongles like USB mice. Another recommendation is upgrade the RAM from 1GB to 2GB. The RAM stick costs about $25 at today's prices and it makes a big difference. Installation is simple (5 minutes) -- several people have posted video segments online about how to do it. I also recommend getting a cute little padded carrying case.

Overall, it is my favorite computer purchase (I have 6 in my house at the moment). A well deserved 5 stars. They simply got it right with this system.

I got mine a few weeks ago. A blue NP-NC10 and its running like a champ so far. Starts quickly, and with the 6 cell battery it runs for hourssss....at least 4.5 under full power. I got a pink one for my girlfriend also and she loves it. Really light, easy to move around with, and the screen isn't glossy which is a huge plus for me. Zero glare and relfection even outside. I love the blue color, definitely a guy's kind of comp, its a lil different from all these white and silver macs....and your regular black laptops.

I got a retractable 5 button mouse, a samsung external optical drive (works great), a caselogic neoprene sleeve, and a swissgear synergy backpack to carry it all around school with my books. I do plan on getting one of those 9 cell battery packs which are supposed to give a solid 11 hrs of life. Who needs more than that??

This is my first review on amazon. I should mention that it was the reviews that helped me a lot so here's my contribution for a great little netbook.

Purchased the NC10 after research on Amazon and reading reviews. Glad I did.

Long battery life - doesn't need a charge during my workday. I put it down anywhere in the house, work for awhile, and then take it with me to another spot in the house and then work again.

More features than I could hope for. Camera, sound card, multiple USB drives, keyboard is large enough for my fat fingers.

This device just made my trusty Compaq and IBM laptops obsolete. There is no longer a reason to own a luggable when you have a Samsung NC10.

Oh yeah! Did I mention that I absolutely love the NC10? Now I am preparing to purchase another NC10 for my son.

I should have reviewed this a year ago. This is a sleek and portable machine that can do a lot. However, there is a "white screen" problem with it where the screen will turn completely white if you have the screen brightness set too high. Many other owners have posted about this problem on the web. This is a bigtime quality control issue by Samsung and renders the machine useless when the screen keeps going white. Too bad.

I am having the same problem as other reviewers, regarding having a blank monitor. The problem initially started with the screen going completely white, while plugged into the power adapter (would return to normal when on battery power only. Now the screen is just blank. I have had this netbook for 16 months, and liked it very much until the screen quit working about a week ago.