I did a LOT of research before purchasing a netbook, and I bought this one over the Acer Aspire One, with the intention of trying it out then selling it and changing if it wasn't quite right. Having used it now for a month, there's no way I'm letting it go.
The main things I needed from a netbook were a) portability; so it had to be extremely compact and lightweight to be easily carried around and b) a decent keyboard for intensive word processing. I work in IT and I'm a writer so I'm a very fast touch typer. I didn't want a small keyboard inhibiting my typing speed.
Portability:
This version has the 6 cell battery so will last around 10 hours without charge. This is probably the best you'll be able to get from a netbook. I can use it on the train all week and just charge it at the weekend. Perfect.
It's extremely lightweight. It doesn't weigh anymore than a paper notebook, so I just bought a silicone sleeve to protect it from spills and scratches and it goes in my bag without adding too much to the weight.
Keyboard:
This was the part I was most worried about. I used someone else's netbook for about 20 minutes a while ago, and almost threw it out the window because I just couldn't type on it. Having a 92% sized keyboard I was worried I'd have to really concentrate on typing or I'd make lots of mistakes. Not so. It's hard to even tell that it's not a full-size keyboard. Samsung have done a very good job on the keyboard. The keyboard may be smaller, but you'd be hard-pushed to notice. I think it's because of good spacing between the keys, so it's almost impossible to hit the wrong ones so my typing speed hasn't suffered at all. It really is just like using a normal laptop.
Operating System:
For those used to Windows it'd probably be perfect. It also comes with the option of using the free version of Microsoft Office which is ad-supported. So if you're a Windows user with simple needs, this will do everything right out of the box. It comes with a recovery disc so if you really needed to you could format and start again (there's no optical disc drive though, so probably best do your own backup on a usb stick).
Being a tinkerer who's only satisfied when I've got my computer just-so, Windows 7 starter was not really enough for me. I set it up to dual boot into it's original Win 7 Starter and Xubunu. No issues with drivers at all. It worked perfectly first time. In fact, after installing touchegg, the trackpad works better than it did by default, it now has mac-style scrolling.
This costs a bit more than the very cheapest netbooks, but then what's the point of a netbook if it's not super-portable with the benefits of being able to work anywhere like you would on a laptop? This, in my opinion is the best there is on the market and it is also in the lower end of the price range so I'm very pleased with my Samsung NC110 and wouldn't swap it for any other netbook.
| Brand | Samsung |
|---|---|
| Package Dimensions | 32.4 x 30.2 x 6.8 cm; 1.92 Kilograms |
| Batteries | 1 Product Specific batteries required. (included) |
| Item model number | NP-NC110-A04UK |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Colour | White |
| Form Factor | Netbook |
| Standing screen display size | 10.1 Inches |
| Processor Brand | Intel |
| Processor Type | Atom |
| Processor Speed | 1.66 GHz |
| RAM Size | 1 GB |
| Computer Memory Type | DDR3 SDRAM |
| Hard Disk Description | HDD |
| Graphics Card Description | Integrated |
| Graphics RAM Type | DDR3 SDRAM |
| Wattage | 40 watts |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Starter |
| Are Batteries Included | Yes |
| Lithium Battery Energy Content | 6600 Milliamp Hours (mAh) |
| Item Weight | 1.92 kg |
| Guaranteed software updates until | unknown |
