Last week, I got a new toy – a Samsung NC10 “netbook”, or as I like to call it, a mini-top – a mini laptop.

It’s small, about the size of the average hardcover book, and only weighs a few pounds.

Like many of the other small Netbooks these days, it’s based on the new Intel “Atom” processor, a very power-efficient CPU, allowing for battery life in the 5-6 hour range.

There are Netbook products from other vendors such as HP, Acer, and a few others – the feature set is nearly the same between the different vendors, but Samsung has had the best reviews and some features that outperform the other models.

Things I like about the Samsung NC10

• The screen is a relatively large 10.2” widescreen LCD, the same as most of the other models.
• The hard disk is bigger than most at 160GB, and is the larger 2.5” model instead of a 1.8” model. That means better performance from the hard disk, and more options if you want a SSD (solid state disk) or a hard disk upgrade down the road.
• It has 3 USB ports, a dedicated VGA video port, 10/100 Ethernet, separate headphone and microphone ports, 801.11b/g WiFi, and a SD card slot. More ports available than other models, and no “pigtail” adapter cables are necessary.
• The keyboard is nearly full size, and the Enter and Shift keys are large. Not bad for typing.

Things I don’t like about the Samsung NC10

• The resolution of the 10.2” widescreen screen is the standard 1024 pixels wide by 600 pixels high, which is a little small in the vertical dimension. Most programs require 1024 x 768, otherwise the interface may be a little cramped. Every Netbook model has this issue, though..
• The touchpad for mouse control is a little small in the vertical dimension. Takes a little getting used to.
• When you initially start the netbook up, the Samsung Recovery Manager program starts and by default, it partitions your 160 GB hard disk in half, allowing 75 GB for the laptop and 75GB for the “backup & recovery” partition. You can change this with the “Advanced” button, if you don’t need the backup and recovery features.

Otherwise, it’s a very nice ultra portable laptop, great for e-mail and general tasks.