Final thoughts and rating
We're left with mixed feelings after completing an evaluation of the Samsung N310 netbook. It shares many of the traits that made the NC10 such a well-received model late last year, including excellent keyboard, decent build quality, and better-than-average battery life. Adding to the NC10, the style is sharper and it's difficult to pick faults with the way Samsung has leveraged the underlying technology.Samsung's N310 is powered by the same Atom N270, 945GSE, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, and Windows XP Home SP3 combination as a glut of over netbooks, and most retail at between £250-£300, depending upon manufacturer. The N310, however, is currently etailing for £380, with the bulk of the extra outlay reserved for style over substance. This is the netbook's Achilles heel, insofar as it's very difficult to justify the extra expense when, really, all that's new is a sleeker case. More tellingly, the stiffest competition is, perhaps, from Samsung's own stable, as we'd save the £80 or so and opt for the NC10.
Bottom line: the Samsung N310 is a quality netbook that ticks all the right checkboxes apart from price. It competes against similar-specification models but £100 dearer, and however nice it looks, it's simply not worth that right now. It becomes a winner when the etail price drops to £325.
HEXUS Rating
We consider any product score above '50%' as a safe buy. The higher the score, the higher the recommendation from HEXUS to buy. Simple, straightforward buying advice.
The rating is given in relation to the category the component competes in, therefore the netbook is evaluated with respect to our 'mid-range' criteria.
Samsung N310 netbook
HEXUS Where2Buy
The Samsung
N310 netbook is available to buy for £379.80
from Ebuyer.co.uk. and £398.99
from Misco.co.uk
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
