Before this netbook you never had the option to choose an AMD processor - thanks to Intel's Atom. That's where the
Samsung N20 comes in; it is the first netbook to sport AMD's Via Nano processor. The N20 has a 12.1-inch WXGA display with a 1,280 x 800 resolution (quite large for a netbook), the 1.3GHz Via Nano CPU, weighs 3.3 pounds, has a 6-cell battery that lasts around 4 hours, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, Bluetooth, an integrated 1.3MP webcam, and will run on Windows XP Home. It also comes with 802.11 b/g wireless connectivity, 3 USB 2.0 ports, a 3-in-1 card reader (SD, SDHC, MMC), a microphone / headphone jack, and a VGA port. The Via Nano processor from AMD is said to be on par or slightly faster than Intel's Atom processor, but you could be sacrificing some battery life for that extra bit of speed. The Samsung N20 is now available on
Newegg for $550 USD.
Update: I've made a big mistake in this post. The VIA Nano is not made by AMD; it's made by VIA Technologies. It is their answer to the Intel Atom and the AMD Geode (which we have yet to see hit a netbook, I believe). Now I know not to rush my blog posts. Thanks, Anonymous!
[
Gizmodo,
NewEgg]
