Having already entered the netbook market with its HSPA-enabled N150 device, Samsung has taken a further step by upgrading the N150 with a demonstration LTE module.

The South Korean vendor claims that this updated N150 is the first netbook to show an LTE capability, although it will only become commercially available ‘according to service schedule and market demand’.

To enable the N150 with LTE, Samsung has taken the unusual route of using an in-house designed LTE modem chipset – labelled Kalmia – to ensure a small form factor for its netbook designs.

The LTE-enabled N150 is this week showing streamed live video over Samsung’s own LTE network equipment in Barcelona, which, according to the company, indicated the high-speed and low latency potential of LTE. 

The N150 netbook comes equipped with a 1.66GHz Atom processor, 1GB of RAM and a 25cm screen. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G are also included. Other Samsung netbooks – the N210, N220 and NB30 – are also expected to include the LTE Kalmia chipset in the future.

Accepting that Samsung wants to keep its LTE device delivery schedule under wraps, the company has been promoting its LTE capabilities since 2006 and has previously stated that it would start releasing LTE-enabled products in 2010.

However, it has been suggested that, while the HSPA-enabled N150 has a battery life of around 12 hours, the LTE version will reduce this to approximately 8.5 hours.