September 3, 2009 3:06 AM PDT

Samsung: N140 Netbook will have 11-hour battery

N140 Netbook

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

BERLIN--Like its predecessor, the latest Netbook from Samsung doesn't appear to be anything special except for the battery.

The N140 mini notebook was introduced Thursday morning at the IFA show here. It will come in a variety of colors, has a 10.1-inch screen, and weighs 2.8 pounds. Samsung also claims that it will have an 11-hour battery, which is very impressive if it really is true.

The model it replaces, the NC10, was launched just a year ago and had a battery that lasted 5 hours.

While Netbooks are a growing category of computing in general, they're performing particularly well for Samsung. Netbooks are the fastest-growing business unit within the company, said Boo-Keun Yoon, president of Samsung's Display business.

Other new Samsung products:

• A lineup of Blu-ray players will have access to YouTube videos.

• The HMX U10 HD pocket-size camcorder does full HD recording and can upload videos to YouTube, similar to the Flip Ultra HD and Kodak ZX1.

• The ST1000 digital camera has geotagging, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Photos can be uploaded instantly to sites like Flickr and Facebook.

• The ST550 digital camera has not one, but two LCD screens. The one on the back is a touch screen display, but there's also an additional display on the front, so if you're doing a self-portrait you can see exactly what the photo looks like as you're taking it. (Note: It's the same product, but different model number, as the TL220 introduced in the U.S. a few weeks ago.)

• Three new multimedia players, the R0, R1, and M1. Samsung says that since file formats "are a big frustration for people," these new models will try to make that less of a headache--there will be no need to convert file formats before adding audio or video to the player. Samsung's software will allow users to drag and drop files and convert them automatically.

Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica.