Samsung NC20 - Available at NewEgg.com
April 2, 2009
The first VIA Nano-powered netbook/ultraportable available for customers in the US (and possibly Canada) has popped up at NewEgg.com. Back in March, it was officially delayed until April.
April is here, and the 12.1-inch Samsung NC20 is being listed for $549.99 and it looks to be shipping.
Specifications:
- Model: Samsung NC20-21GBK
- 1.3GHz VIA Nano U2250
- 12.1″ Display (1280×800)
- 1GB of DDR2 RAM
- 160GB 2.5″ SATA HDD
- VIA Chrome9 HC3 Graphics
- 6-Cell Battery
- Windows XP Home
- Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
- 1.3MP Webcam
View: Samsung NC20 at NewEgg.com
NVIDIA to Take Stake in VIA?
March 28, 2009
There are several news stories floating around that NVIDIA could could be taking a take in VIA Technologies. The numbers mentioned are up to 300 million new shares, with a price of $0.27 - $0.35 USD per share, which is a substantial investment.
VIA confirmed that they have a shareholder meeting scheduled for June 19, 2009, at which time the potential buyers would be announced, while NVIDIA held off.
Back in January, NVIDIA’s CEO commented that NVIDIA would be supporting VIA’s Nano CPUs in a future revision of it’s Ion platform.
Read:
- DigiTimes
- TradingMarkets.com
Samsung NC20 in US - Delayed Until April
March 19, 2009
Earlier this month, we mentioned that the 12-inch Samsung NC20 would be available this week from NewEgg (March 16 to be precise).
This is an exclusive distribution deal for the USA.
Unfortunately that’s been delayed until the first week of April, according to LAPTOP Magazine, but there is some good news. The US-bound NC20 has 5900 mAH high-capacity battery - models available outside of North America have a 5200 mAH battery. That should be matched by a 13% or so increase in battery life.
The only model available will be black, and will retail for $549 (it’s around $480 overseas). If you’re interested in another color/model, keep in mind that with the NC10, Samsung originally wasn’t going to carry some models/colors, but later on, a black option for the NC10 was offered.
This will be the first VIA Nano-based netbook/ultraportable laptop available in the US.
Read: LAPTOP Magazine
VIA VX855 Chipset Announced
March 16, 2009
VIA has announced their new VIA VX855 MEdia System Processor (MSP)/chipset. It’s oriented towards small form factor PCs as well as mobile/ultraportable/UMPC systems. It has a Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 2.3 watts, and offers a smaller size than some current systems. VIA claims it offers smooth playback of up to 1080p High Defintion (HD) video for mini-notebooks/netbooks/ultraportables. It will support Microsoft Windows 7, as well as supporting Microsoft Windows Vista (and XP).
The graphics portion is referred to as VIA Chrome9 HCM 3D, with the video engine being referred to as VIA Chromotion.
It supports VIA’s CPUs, including the VIA Nano, C7, and Eden CPUs/processors.
Features/Specifications:
- 400 - 800MHZ Front Side Bus (FSB)
- Up to 4GB of DDR2 800MHz (in two DIMM slots)
- Full DirectX 9 Support
- Supports full hardware acceleration of H.264, MPEG 2/4, DivX, WMV 9
- UDMA IDE (Kind of weird, should support SATA)
- Supports HD audio
Read: VIA Press Release
Samsung NC20 in the US This Month, Hands-On (LAPTOP Mag)
March 3, 2009
For those in the US who have been wondering about the 12.1-inch Samsung NC20, it’s coming to the US later this month (March 16) and will be available exclusively through NewEgg, according to LAPTOP Magazine.
It will have a high-capacity battery (5900 mAh) and only be available in black. No pricing information has been released.
LAPTOP Magazine has also published a hands-on look at the NC20, and came away impressed with the performance of the VIA Nano-based device. They were able to play 720p High Definition (HD) video with the Windows Media Player 11, while browsing the web using Internet Explorer. The NC20 has a 1280×800 display which allows for 720p content.
It’s obvious that it pushes the envelope when it comes to what is popularly defined as a netbook with its larger display, and LAPTOP Magazine has published a few photos showing the size compared to the 10-inch Samsung NC10. The keyboard and touchpad are both larger than the NC10.
Read: LAPTOP Magazine
Ars Technica: The State of the Netbook, Part II
February 25, 2009
Earlier this month Ars Technica published the first part of their “State of the Netbook” series. The first part covered around 15-20 years prior to 2008/2009.
Yesterday they published part two, aptly named “The State of the Netbook, Part II: The Inevitable Eeeruption” which covers Asustek kick-starting things with their Asus Eee PC line as well the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and Classmate projects, which spurred Asustek into action, along with the Nanobook concepts and Intel’s platforms. The HP 2133 was mentioned for its role in getting VIA into the game.
Ars Technica believes the netbook is here to stay, and their view mirrors that of the great Wired article that gets into how netbooks are something that people want, not something they are necessarily being told they need, and the technology is finally delivering:
Is it possible that, after all this sound and fury, the netbook trend may yet turn out to be a tale told by an idiot?
It seems unlikely. This attempt has escalated into a Greek epic of coordinated technological and economic effort by a huge variety of players. From dedicated processors and chipsets from multiple vendors, to cheap LCD screens and memory to tiny hard disks (and SSDs) capacious and fast enough to store and deliver the media users demand, the technology has arrived, and it is being delivered in a dedicated form, engineered for this wave of devices. This is finally it.
Part III will cover the Intel Atom and how it’s both helped and hurt the PC market in general.
Read: Ars Technica
VIA Launches How To Be Mobile Website
February 24, 2009
VIA Technologies has launched a site, How To Be Mobile, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. The tagline is “Your guide to geting the most from your mini-notes, notebooks, and ultra mobile devices” and it looks to be aimed at how-to types of articles. Of course, since it’s sponsored and administrated by VIA, it’ll probably lean towards VIA-specific technologies. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it heavy with Samsung NC20 related content, although from the sounds of things, VIA’s new Nano CPU should see wider use than the C7-M series.
If you’ll recall, last year Intel paid quite a bit of money to buy up Netbook.com, which is more of a showcase of Intel’s Atom CPU.
VIA is being smarter about it - from the looks of the site and content, it’s not as dry as Netbook.com, and is more focused on interaction with mobile users.
The website: HowToBeMobile.com
Yes, they even have a Twitter feed.
via jkOnTheRun
Samsung NC20 - In-Stock/Shipping Soon in UK
February 23, 2009
If you are in the United Kingdom and are interested in the new 12.1-inch VIA-powered Samsung NC20, you are in luck. The resolution listed is 1280×800 as well.
Amazon.co.uk has the NP-NC20-KA01UK listed as being in stock and shipping on February 28, 2009, and other retailers in the UK should be following suit.
Specifications:
- VIA Nano U2250 CPU (1.3GHz)
- Display: 12.1″ 1280 x 800
- Graphics: VIA Chrome9 HC3 (128 MB)
- 1GB DDR2 RAM (800MHz)
- 160GB HDD
- Bluetooth 2.0
- 1.3MP
Right now it looks like the only color listed is Sapphire White.
The recommended retail price (RRP) is £458.85 (Around $668 USD), however Amazon is listing this at £379.54 (Around $553 USD).
Read: Amazon.co.uk
