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Despite the fact that tablets are gaining ground as alternatives to netbooks, Samsung is still releasing new models. The NS310 is a stunning example. It’s a clamshell design that’s incredibly thin, with beautifully rounded edges and a smart metallic paint job. Inside is the usual netbook specification: a dual-core Intel Atom N550 processor running at 1.5GHz, along with 1GB of RAM and a generous 320GB hard disk.
Although it’s a dual-core processor and also supports Hyper-Threading, the N550 still isn’t very fast, as an overall score of 13 demonstrates. It handles multiple applications better than earlier single-core Atoms, but with only 1GB of RAM you’ll soon run out of memory if you open too many browser tabs or documents. The integrated Intel GMA 3150 graphics chipset isn’t much better: it can play HD videos from YouTube, but struggled with HD shows on BBC’s iPlayer; 3D games are out of the question.
Of course, it’s almost a moot point as the 10.1in screen has a measly 1,024×600 resolution. This is barely enough room for a single application, and you may find some Windows dialogue boxes don’t fit into the available vertical space. The lack of vertical resolution is also frustrating for web browsing and document editing.
There’s another problem, too. Although the NS310 slightly lighter than the NC110 it has a runt of a battery that lasted just four and a half hours in our light-use test – almost half as long as the NC110’s. The NS310 is far more stylish, as long as you don’t find the large, capitalised Samsung logo too crass.
Despite the limited resolution, image quality is better than the NC110’s screen, partly due to the glossy finish which makes colours more vibrant. Its native contrast is better, as long as you tilt the screen carefully so that you’re looking at it square-on: vertical viewing angles are tight. The backlight is brighter and more even, and colours looked far more natural.
Samsung hasn’t taken advantage of the entire width of the case for the keyboard, so it felt a bit cramped. The keys have a light action but are smaller than we’d like, and there are some flaws in the layout, notably the left Shift key. It’s half the width it should be, so we kept hitting the adjacent backslash key. The touchpad is small but responsive, and the single see-saw button has a light action. It’s flush with the case however, so your thumb can’t always find it by touch.
Although it has a larger hard disk and a prettier design, the NS310 isn’t as good as the Samsung NC110, which is £70 cheaper. Plus, if you’re considering spending £350 on a netbook, you might be better off with a tablet, such as the Asus Eee pad Transformer. This is far lighter and has a higher screen resolution.
