Samsung NC20

Samsung NP-NC20

Samsung's upscale netbook is almost as bulky as a standard laptop, without the full features. Netbooks are all the rage these days, and some companies, like Dell, are practically giving them away. So of course, someone's bound to bulk up a netbook. The 10-inch screens that max out at 1024-by-600 resolution seem just too restrictive. And how about throwing in better battery life, too? That's the thinking behind Samsung's $549 NP-NC20. The 12.1-inch screen offers a full 1280 by 800 pixels--enough for true 720p high-definition playback. The good news is that playback of DVDs and 720p high-def movies does look pretty good, and the frame rate is fairly smooth. The display, while adequate, won't win awards for color fidelity or contrast. Black levels and viewing angles are the limiting factors, given that this panel seems to be a 6-bits-per-pixel TN type. Unfortunately, the NP-NC20's display, like those of many current laptops, has one of those glossy-finish screens that make reading and viewing media difficult when there's any glare whatsoever. By comparison, two other netbooks currently host 12-inch displays: Lenovo's IdeaPad S12 and the HP Pavilion dv2 (HP's machine is technically a tweener-class netbook/notebook).