Samsung NC20 Laptop based on Via Nano processor to be launched soon

Samsung Electronics' NC20 laptop based on Via Technologies' Nano processor will be available in the UK from February 9th. UK operator BT has revealed this piece of info and is accepting preorders.

The £391 (US$564) NC20, which includes a 1.3Ghz Nano processor, 12-inch screen, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard disk, and Windows XP Home, will first be available in a white case. A second version of the NC20 with a black case will be available from March 9th.

The NC20 fits into Samsung's laptop product line between its Intel Atom-powered NC10 netbook and more powerful systems, which is exactly where Via wants the Nano to be positioned.

News related to NC20's impending release have swirled online since December. The new laptop is a significant design win for Via, the smallest of the three x86 processor vendors, which has struggled to gain market share in the face of competition from its bigger rivals, particularly Intel.

Winning business from a top-tier vendor like Samsung gives the Nano greater credibility with users and other prospective customers. It also means the chip will be more widely available, which should translate into higher sales for Via.

Via could use the boost. The company is an unlikely rival for Intel. To get a clearer picture of just how mismatched they are, compare their revenue from 2008. Taipei-based Via earned revenue of NT$7.9 billion, (US$235 million). That's roughly equivalent to 2.5 days of revenue for Intel, which earned $37.6 billion the same year.

Despite its smaller size, Via has led Intel in key areas. Via executives anticipated the shift towards inexpensive, low-power processors at a time when Intel executives were still promising to hit clock speeds of 10GHz or more with the power-hungry Pentium 4.

With the Nano processor, Via hopes to compete against Intel in the market for more powerful systems than the low-end laptops powered by its older C7-M chip or Intel's Atom.

Intel isn't sitting by idly. The company officials have confirmed an updated version of its Atom processor is now shipping for netbooks. The Atom N280 is only marginally faster than the N270, running at 1.66GHz instead of 1.6GHz. But Intel has added a chipset that supports a faster 667MHz front-side bus and includes a hardware decoder for 720p high-definition video, a feature that was not originally counted among the basic computing tasks Intel envisioned for netbooks.

These new features give the Atom some added benefits, filling in gaps against Via's Nano, which uses an 800MHz front-side bus and is paired with Via's VX800 chipset. Like Intel's GN40 chipset used with the Atom N280, the VX800 also includes hardware video decoders for high-definition video playback.

Samsung to launch new Netbooks and new Smart Phones

Samsung Electronics plans to follow-up its NC10 netbook in the coming few months with a new model and expand its range of smart phones with models based on a number of different operating systems.

Samsung already offers phones based on the Windows Mobile, Symbian and Linux operating systems but perhaps most anticipated is an announcement from the company concerning a phone based on the Android OS developed by Google.

Samsung is a member of the Open Handset Alliance group formed around Android but has yet to show a phone running on the platform.

No other details were disclosed but a follow-up to the NC10 has been rumored for a while. It is also being reported that NC20 will be launched somewhere in February which will be based on Via Technologies' low-power Nano processor.

If true that would be a departure from most competing machines, which almost all run the same Intel Atom processor. It would also be somewhat of a coup for Via, which has struggled to gain share from Intel in the mainstream market for years.

The NC10 was launched in the latter half of 2008 and, like most netbooks. It is based on Intel's Atom processor and Windows XP. It has a 10.2-inch screen.

Netbooks have become popular with consumers, who are attracted by their compact size and low price. The market was created in 2007 when Asustek Computer launched its Eee PC and grew quickly to initially attract fellow Taiwanese competitors and then major laptop brands jumped into the market.

Earlier this month Sony launched its Vaio P-series machines which are netbook-size laptops but based on the higher-specification Intel Atom Z520 chip.