Samsung NC10 vs Lenovo S10

I down to deciding between the Samsung NC10 and the Lenovo S10. A guy at work has the Lenovo S10 and I have played with it. I was impressed with it. But I haven't seen any stores that have the Samsung NC10 yet. It would be nice to play with the Samsung first but I don't think I will get that chance.

Has anyone played with both of them? Which do you like better?


I will be using it with Delorme Topo maps for my gps and geocaching. Also I will use it to view pictures from my compact flash from my camera in the field.

Steve

 

I have not handled them, but try to keep up with them. In my opinion, the only selling points, other than the style of the S10, is the one-touch recovery and card slot. Other than this, the NC10 is the better all around pick. If you are in the field, and especially geocaching (awesome!) you may appreciate the longer battery of the NC10. A 6 cell gets about 5-6 hours, 3 cells get about 2-3. Now Lenovo may be selling these soon, last time I checked the S10 is still a 3 cell. There are aftermarket batteries, but why not just get one with it? I also prefer the NC10's USB ports. Too many times on my EEE I have simply used up all 3. Between a printer, mouse, and USB drive, you are tapped out. I find myself using a hub because I simply have even more to connect. The S10 has a mere 2...which means that you are tied down to a mouse and gps. Overall, the NC10 has been well received due to its availability, pricing, and features. Its keyboard is supposedly one of the largest, up there with the EEE. You will find that you use your netbook more and more, and trust me when I say a couple percent on the keyboard makes a huge difference. Other than this, there are not many differences. Atom, traditional HDD, upgradeable RAM, etc. Good luck.

 

Also recognize the placement of the shift key on the Lenovo S10. This can be remedied by remapping your keyboard with certain software (which from what I understand isn't an incredibly difficult task). You are still left with a small sized shift key that could still potentially be problematic for some. I went to circuit city to test out different netbook keyboards/touchpads. I found that I wouldn't be able to live with the misplaced small right shift key.
As gengerald pointed out the battery life on the NC10 is pretty outstanding, and depending on what you are using the netbook for, this could be particularly advantageous.
Obviously the importance of the shift key and battery life are going to vary from person to person. The way I look at it, is if I buy a netbook I will likely be using it for a year or two. A better laid out keyboard and better battery life is worth the extra $50 - $100.

 

Get the NC10 for sure, its the better netbook.

 

Yeah, now someone find us a good price!

 

Wow I just posted my question and already I'm getting replies. This is the first time I browse thru these forums. s.

What voltage does the Samsung run off of? I know the Lenovo is 20 volts. I do carry 12 volt 8 amp batteries sometimes when I'm in the field for my amateur radios. But if the Samsung has long better life I may not need to worry about the battery.

How do you thing the Samsung will perform zooming in and out of the maps with Delorme mapping software? I probably would upgrade the memory right away.

Thanks for the quick replies! I'll set back and see what other comments come in.

Steve

 

I came very close to getting the Lenovo S10 but switched to the Samsung NC10. The key factor is its longer battery life, and so far the NC10 has not disappointed. It also has a slightly better keyboard IMO.

The styling of the S10 is a bit more conservative, boxy and solid like the Thinkpad line. At this moment, the NC10 is not available in black color in the US, but I think that will change soon. I went with blue.

 

Actually they just released the black version in the US... I know amazon and newegg got them in... but I don't know if they are still in stock. Look around though. I am leaning towards the white model just because I don't want to look at smudges and fingerprints all over the lid...

 

I was also torn between the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 and the Samsung NC10, until I did some more researching. I love the style/design of the S10 a lot, but the NC10 isn't that bad either. I'm probably going to purchase an NC10 because of the battery life, I'm a frequent traveler and a student, and the long battery life is definitely better than good looks.

The S10 has an express card slot and 2 USB ports, and the NC10 has 3 USB ports, in which one can be used for an express card slot too (with a cord), so that part doesn't really matter to me. Keyboard doesn't matter to me either.

I'm definitely leaning towards Samsung, but if Lenovo comes out with a 6 cell that has the same battery life, then I'd really be torn between those 2 netbooks. I'd probably start comparing the performance, upgradeability, and other features. For now I'm just waiting a couple of months to see what happens. :]

 

The style of the Lenovo S10 was the BIGGEST reason why I didn't consider it. In fact, out of every netbook out there, which I compared side by side in real life at the store, the (Black version) Lenovo S10 to me was the ugliest. It has a plastic 1970's laptop boxlike look to it compared to the rest. The best looking netbooks were the 1002HA, NC10, S101 and N10J. A close runner up was the MSI wind.

 

Lenovo has a 6-cell option now. I was in the exact same situation for the last 2 months. I simply love the S10. The only reason I didn't get one is because of the battery life, and I don't like batteries hanging out of my laptops like tumours (atleast the NC10's design is acceptable). If you're out on the field most of the time I doubt you'll need more than 2 USB ports. My NC10 will be here tomorrow. Maybe the better display of the NC10 may swing you in its favour since your application is outdoors. Both have matte screens though.

In short, if you're good with 2.5 hours of battery life, get the S10. If you're cool with 6-cell batteries that stick out, get the S10 with a 6-cell. If you're stubborn about battery life and an extra USB port (like me ) get the NC10.

Haha. To each his own I guess! I thought the Lenovo to be the best looking netbook in the market maybe because it was very well proportioned, seemed the most serious of the lot and the least toy-like, and didn't have stuff sticking out of its proportions. Maybe I'm just not a big fan of the glossy plasticky exteriors of these new designs.

 

The S10's 6 cell does look like a tumor.

Here are some pics of the Lenovo IdeaPad s10 - 6 cell battery, you kinda have to scroll to get to some, because there's a lot of pics.

Apparently its only available for people in Germany.

http://www.eeepcnews.de/2008/11/26/lenovo-ideapad-s10-in-deutschland-angekommen-fotos/

This author thinks its ugly too. :]

http://www.liliputing.com/2008/11/lenovo-ideapad-s10-ships-with-6-cell-battery-in-germany.html

I think I'll stick with Samsung.

 

That is awful. People gave Asus grief because their EEE's aren't boxy, but their designs are awesome for typing and get great cooling. Lenovo dropped the ball on this one.

 

the Asus S121 i think is the best looking netbook though and with a 512gb SSD it rules

 

The DC rating of the NC10 is 19V, 2.1A. Note, however, that the DC plug used by Samsung is not well supported by 3rd party PSUs.

The NC10 will work with the mapping software, but it won't be very snappy. More RAM may well help.

John

 

As far as I know the NC10 has the better screen, a slightly larger keyboard and better battery life.

The S10 has the card slot.

I don't know if the S10 has a Synaptics touchpad, but after some tweaking and getting used to it the Synaptics touchpad on the NC10 is better than many other notebooks I worked on.

 

Getting off topic here. I think it is in a different price range.

John

 

Here's the Notebookjournal.de Top 10 of Netbooks. They have an objective methodology of testing notebooks where the rate all attributes on objective scales. Asus 1000h beats the NC10 because the german NC10 didn't have bluetooth and the Asus had a slightly better screen.

Lenovo lost a lot of points because of the glossy display that lacks brightness.

 

I bought a black one first and I got tired of the smudges and fingerprints.
It spoiled it's beautiful looks for me.

I've since eBayed it (for a £30 profit) and I am currently typing from my lovely white one which looks great all the time.

I'm female and you can call me shallow, but it really did bother me.

 

I saw that one... its like putting a V8 in a Chevy Aveo - completely unbalanced. Not to mention at $1700 it is completely ridiculous.

 

That's a valid point: Fingerprints don't show as much on a white surface. However, I would be worried that white will look dirty in the longer term: It's not easy to give a notebook a good clean.

John

 

this should help but trustedreviews highest rated netbook is guess what?

The samsung NC10 it scored a perfect 10/10 hard to beat that

 

Another testimonial for the NC10: I recently had the choice between keeping a Sony G11, a 12" 1.12kg with 9 hours battery life or the Samsung NC10. To my own surprise I prefered to keep the Samsung and sell the Sony.

Main reasons were the design, the screen (better contrast) and the touchpad (even though it is small). I also like the quick boots and hibernates and the small form factor.

Normally I sell every laptop that I own quickly but this NC10 has managed to impress me.

 

the screen better? Then the vaio G?! Wow that sounds awesome

I saw the S10 screen and loved it as well it is also matte maybe they use the same supplier?

 

The Vaio G screen is very bright, but the contrast is average (218:1). NC10 has 365:1.

Asus 1000h does even better though (840:1).
http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/samsung-nc10-winchester-679/3

 

Ausstattung

what does that mean is it 3d performance?

Also that link is for the NC10 not the 1000h

Either way i just checked it on notebookjournal and i find it very hard to believe im gonna look for a second source that like better then 95% of the notebooks available. Doesnt the S101 use the same screen?

That is awesome though i wonder if the 1002h uses the same screen too.

 

The 1000h is mentioned on that page.

Second source: Notebookcheck.net

I think it's not only the display that determines the contrast. The technology driving it also plays a part.

 

It's possible that the higher brightness of the 1000h's display helps the contrast if the NC10's brightness isn't up to the limit where the display starts to wash out and loss contrast while the G11's contrast may be better if the brightness is reduced. This is certainly the case with the Dell E6400 which was measured at 291cd/m² for brightness but with a relatively poor 167:1 contrast. I know (since I am looking at the screen) that the contrast is much better when the brightness is reduced.

The brightness range can be changed at the BIOS level so the settings can be fine-tuned using a BIOS update.

John

 

Am I the only one that uses the nc10 at the lowest two brightness levels?

Seriously though, this notebook is too freaken bright for me. If it's not at the lowest brightness level I have it set to just one notch higher.


I don't use it outdoors though so maybe that's why you guys are so concerned with a really bright screen.

 

lol yeah the lenovo S10 is another ntoebook that is insanely bright i adjusted the brightness to highest i was like man this would damage your eyes at night haha.

 

Notebookjournal measures contrast at highest brightness and at 100 cd/m.
http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/inspection/dell-latitude-e6400-641

I think they had a Samsung panel.

 

Hmm very useful thread, was actually deciding between these two models, but was leaning towards the S10 due to availability.

Anyone know where I can buy the NC10 and have it ship internationally? I don't think anyone is selling the NC10 in Australia yet. Otherwise I'll just buy the S10, I can always use a power pack at uni anyway.