Samsung NS310 review

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.