Screen Size:
12.1 inches
Memory:
1 GB
Hard Drive Size:
160 GB
Touchpad
9
Show what experts say (5 reviews)
"The 3.1-inch (diagonal measurement) touch pad is much larger than what most netbooks offer, making for comfortable, accurate pointer control. A single rocker button allows you to press on the left or the right; it's comfortable to use, but we prefer distinct left and right buttons."
"The touchpad also has an easy to use interface which is comfortable to use even when the laptop is in mobile use, as long as one hits the right key. The sliding function of the surface of the touchpad is good. However, sometimes there seems to be a dead region in the center of the touchpad."
"The NC20 offers a Synaptics touchpad that is nicely sized for a netbook.... The surface texture is a fine matte finish that is smooth to slide your finger across even if your hands are moist. Sensitivity is excellent once adjusted…"
"The mouse pad was adequate, and the rocker button worked appropriately for right and left mouse clicks. It has a scroll area along the right-side, which is controlled through software. It worked as expected. Using external USB mice gave no problems, and both worked simultaneously without delay or notable issue."
"Also renovated is the touchpad, which now measures 2.8 x 1.7 inches, a marked improvement over the trackpad on the NC10 (2.3 x 1.1 inches). The mouse button, while longer, remains a single rocker bar and lacks a divot to separate the left and right sides. The scrolling bar was useful for moving through long Web pages."
Keyboard
10
Show what experts say (7 reviews)
"The typing experience is arguably the NC20's most desirable feature, as the NC20 is the only 12-inch netbook that possesses a full-size keyboard."
"Accommodating the large screen gave Samsung room to include a full-size keyboard that's extremely comfortable for touch typing. The layout is very good overall, with a couple of minor oddities..."
"The Samsung NC20 has an almost-full-size keyboard that is comfortable to type on and very easy to transition to from larger notebooks. Compared to other netbooks the keyboard is very good, but notebooks still have an edge on it."
"As we expected, Samsung has capitalised on the extra space afforded by the larger chassis.... The extra width makes all the difference while typing, and though there's a little less travel to every key than we'd like there's still a nice positive action and a pleasant overall feel."
"The expanded chassis allows the NC20 to house a full-size keyboard.... The raised keys provide nice tactile feedback and were comfortable for long typing stints, and there are no spacing issues like those of many netbooks on the market..."
"The keyboard...is comfortable to use, and is well suited for typing longer texts. The F-keys and the cursor keys are, like in the older NC10, rather small, which means that the user has to aim properly to hit the desired key. [Overall], the typing feel is exceptional..."
"The netbook itself contains the “full-sized keyboard”, with physical dimensions of 292.4mm x 217mm x 30.7mm."
Build Quality
8
Show what experts say (4 reviews)
"The worksmanship and the sturdiness of the compact subnotebook are very good, like those of it's 10 inch predecessor, the NC10. The robust magnesium chassis does not allow any major deformations of the screen or the case. This is especially important when the laptop is in intensive mobile use."
"The chrome-effect hinges on the chassis have been supplanted by thick white plastic, which means build quality is significantly sturdier than you might expect at this price."
"Flex is minimal on the lower half of the notebook, usually an added perk of having such a thin frame packed with components. Flex under the keyboard structure is non-existent which adds a level of quality that you notice while typing. The screen lid has some minor flex that when squeezed shows some distortion on the panel."
"[It's] a thicker, heavier system with a plastic chassis that looks and feels like a grown-up version of the Samsung NC10."
Travel Capabilities show formula
We add a netbook's Build Quality score with its Battery Life score to determine how good it is for travel.
Bad
OK
Awesome
Speed show formula
To determine a netbook's effectiveness at multitasking, we combine the processor speed, with the memory size, and add in a bonus if a netbook has an SSD hard drive.
(processor speed x 2) + memory size + ssd support
Slowest
Average
Quickest
