The most distinguishing feature of the Samsung NF310 is indeed its curvy design which you may or may not like. It also has a dual core processor, an HD display and some of the best netbook speakers. That said, at $399 the Samsung NF310 is costlier than many netbooks. So is the machine worth the relatively high price tag?

Brad at Liliputing has published a detailed review of the laptop. You can read it here.

Samsung NF310 Quick specs

Processor: 1.5GHz Intel Atom N550 dual core processor
Display: 10.1 inch display with 1366 x 768 pixels
Memory: 1GB of RAM
Storage: 250GB hard drive
Connectivity: Bluetooth 3.0 and WiFi 802.11b/g/n

The Samsung NF310 is now available from Amazon for $399.

Design
The Samsung NF310 features a kind of wavy design on the sides which makes it a little larger than a typical 10 inch netbook. The curvy design may not impress all prospective buyers, but it does make the netbook look distinct. And that is a very good thing because netbooks tend to have pretty regular specs. In most cases the biggest selling point of a netbook is its design. Samsung has indeed succeeded in giving the NF310 a unique look although I am not sure that it will impress everybody. But of course, there are going to be some takers and the company is targeting them. While the NF310 is a little wider than a typical 10 inch netbook, it weighs less than 2.9 pounds.

The shiny, glossy lid does attract some fingerprints, but not too many.

Ports and Slots
The Samsung NF310 has 3 USB 2.0 ports, a VGA port, Ethernet jack, mic and headphone jacks. There is a single access panel on the bottom of the netbook for upgrading RAM and the battery. The battery doesn’t quite sit flush with the bottom of the laptop, but it doesn’t protrude that much either.

The Samsung NF310 has two 1.5 watt speakers. They are some of the best speakers you would find on a netbook and produce loud audio that also sounds good.

Like other netbooks from Samsung, the NF310 has a matte display which is almost viewable in direct sunlight. The viewing angles are also good. A glossy display might look great on the store shelf but it is not usable in direct sunlight.

The NF310 has an HD display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Some people might think that an HD display is not easy on the eye, but it does reduce the need for scrolling while watching webpages.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The NF310 has an island-style keyboard with flat surfaces. The keyboard is slightly smaller than a full sized keyboard, but it is comfortable to use. The touchpad is nice and wide. It supports multitouch gestures.

Performance
The Samsung NF310 has a dual core Atom N550 processor. As you would probably expect it is faster than a typical single core netbook and handles multitasking better. That said, the Atom N550 isn’t significantly faster than the single core Atom N450 or N470 processor. The NF310 can do everything a netbook is supposed to do. It can play 720p HD video from the hard drive. You can also watch HD flash videos from YouTube as long as you do it in a window. In the full screen mode it will begin to stutter. Not bad for a netbook that doesn’t have any support for HD video or 3D graphics acceleration. Modest gaming is possible but 3D video gaming is out of question.

Battery
The Samsung NF310 comes standard with a 6-cell, 48Whr battery. It gets around 6 hours of battery life while surfing the web over WiFi. That isn’t bad, but some single core netbooks on the market last for 9 hours or more on a single charge.

Verdict
The Samsung NF310 has a lot of things going for it. It has a unique design, a dual core processor, great speakers and an HD display that is also matte. It delivers better performance than a single core netbook. Battery life is perhaps the only area where it is behind its competition.

At $399 it may be pricier than a typical netbook, but it does have features that make it worth the premium.

Pros
Good display
Dual core processor
Great speakers
Unique design

Cons
Average battery life

Asus has introduced its 10 inch netbook called Eee PC 1005PX. What makes this mini-laptop different from other Eee PCs introduced this year is the fact that it has a matte display which is a whole lot more usable in direct sunlight than a matte display.

The display is probably the most important feature that sets this machine apart from the Eee PC 1005PE. Both netbooks have 10.1 inch displays, 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processors and Intel GMA 3150 graphics. They also feature the same case design.

There are, however, a few other differences. While the 1005PE has 3 USB ports, the 1005PX has only 2. It also features a lower capacity 48Whr battery as against the 63Whr battery that comes with the Eee PC 1005PE. On the bright side, the 1005PX is cheaper than the 1005PE.

The Eee PC 1005PX is available with a variety of configuration options including Windows 7 Starter or Windows XP Home, 160GB / 250GB / 320GB hard drive and Bluetooth 2.1.