Samsung to launch Via Technologies’ Nano based NC20 Laptop

Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 5:43
Laptops
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samsung-nc20 All the rumors have finally come real for Samsung. The deal is done. According to the latest announcement by the company, Samsung Electronics’ NC20 laptop based on Via Technologies’ Nano processor is going to be released in the U.K., most probably around Feb. 9. BT, a UK operator has already started accepting preorders. The NC20 will be available at a price of £391. This value is equivalent to US$564. As far as the features of the laptop are concerned, it runs on a 1.3Ghz Nano processor. It boasts of a 12-inch screen, 1GB of RAM, and a 120GB hard disk. The computer will come with pre installed Windows XP Home edition. The computer will be available in a white case. The second version of the NC20 will be available from March 9 and it will have a black case. As far as the performance of this laptop is concerned, it lies midway between the Intel Atom-powered NC10 netbook and more powerful systems.

Rumors were ripe around December last year that Samsung was launching the NC20. As its reviews, it should be noted that Via technologies is the smallest of the three x86 processor vendors. It has constantly struggled to gain market share against competition from bigger rivals, mainly so from Intel. This release is a win-win situation for Via. Getting business from a company like Samsung provides the Nano greater credibility. A second advantage is that the association with Samsung will mean that the chip will be more easily and widely available, hinting at increased revenue for Via. The competition against Intel can be seen from the fact that for 2008, the revenue for Via technologies was US$235 million, roughly equivalent to 2.5 days of revenue for Intel that was $37.6 billion.

With the Nano processor, Via aims at tackling Intel in the market for more powerful systems. With this event, Via has shifted its focus from inexpensive, low-power processors to high powered performance processors.