Consumer Reviews

After quite a bit of looking around, ended up with the N310 for a variety of reasons. I have a three year old notebook but it’s a pain to lug around. Made sense when I first got it (big screen, plenty of power) because I was consulting (after retirement). Now smaller makes sense since the netbook will be used primarily as a communications device when we’re on vacations.

First, went to retail stores to see netbooks. In general, all available there (ASUS, Acer, HP) looked flimsy at best. Most of the demos had keys missing already. Keyboards (and I don’t have big hands) didn’t seem that good. Second, we have other Samsung products in the home – it’s a brand I’m likely to buy because our experience with it. Third – the N310 looked to be pretty solid (and it seems so now – much more of a solid feel than any I saw in retail) with a rubberized cover and a chiclet keyboard. Fourth, my wife – who is not too technology oriented – liked the look of this netbook (she suggested the mint blue). While she’s unlikely to use it, she’s into what technology looks like. I considered the Toshiba and the ASUS models, but in the end chose Samsung. I can’t say I was able to compare them side by side.

One question was whether it made sense to wait til Windows 7. It is likely that it might have. But then again these machines are matched to a pretty specific need – and it’s not necessarily high tech. For me it’s e-mail and occasional Office work. I put OpenOfficeo on and the VLC media player in addition to Firefox. Net there’s a lot you can do with XP and are likely to be able to do for quite a while. That and XP is familiar.

Had it running in no time (although 48 XP updates had to be applied). I did upgrade the memory – trivial. Don’t think I had to but it seemed to make sense given the life cycle. I ordered from Crucial rather than Amazon after using Crucial’s wizard – it’s recommendation didn’t match the Amazon Crucial part. So far (a week+) very happy. Really appreciate the solid feel. Doesn’t appear to have a lot of junk software that has to be removed. Battery looks to be impressive. No real problem with the keyboard. I guess it’s also fair to say that cost wasn’t a major factor – this is a bit more than alternatives but given the prices for netbooks, plus or minus 10% isn’t a issue factor for me. I know it is for others. I’d suggest durability may justify the extra cost and who knows what people will pay for “style”.

I chose the Samsung GO because I like the layout of the keyboard, and I liked the ease of slipping in the 2GB memory upgrade. Undo one screw, open the door at the bottom of the case, unlatch two clips and slip the memory board out of the netbook. The upgraded memory board slipped right in, close the latches, close the little door and replace the screw that holds the door closed. Easy, simple, quick. Upgraded memory works great!

One small note: the photos show a soft, pastel mint blue case. Not so. The actual color is a vibrant, eye-popping turquoise that you’ll either love or not. It’s distinctive, it’s unusual, and it is not everyone’s cup of tea. Those who like it (like my wife) really like it a lot. Others think it’s a bit on the wild side. But whether or not you may like the color, there’s just no denying that this is a great little netbook. Keyboard feels solid and sturdy, and is a bit bigger than the keyboard found on most netbooks (92% of full size as opposed to 89% as found on most). The difference is in the key spacing, and it is noticeable. Typing on the Samsung GO is easy and comfortable.

This is an easy netbook to like. A lot. It fires up in seconds, connected perfectly to every wireless system where I’ve tried to use it, gives a bright, clear display that’s far easier to read than you might expect, and packs in all the features I really need when surfing the internet. The Bluetooth connectivity is great, and I do use a Bluetooth enabled mouse when I’m working on projects using this netbook. Otherwise, I use the touchpad, which is sufficient for surfing the internet or just sending emails.

Feel of the netbook is amazing, sturdy and solid and very well built. Nothing flimsy about this machine. It comes packed with software, and you may want to remove some that you might not use often. I download files to a memory key that I can transport from computer to computer, so the 160 GB hard drive is more than sufficient for my purposes. And the battery life is awesome … I do get nearly nine hours when using it in battery-saver mode. Almost six in the faster normal mode. That’s plenty of time for most of my purposes.

Compare this to the others and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. There are many good netbooks out there, all are small and convenient. The Samsung GO is more expensive than most of the others, but it just feels more solid and better build than most. It is incredibly lightweight at less than 3 pounds, and comes in a variety of striking colors for those not afraid to be noticed. Burnt Orange, Midnite Blue, Black and the “Mint Blue” which is anything but a subtle pastel … all but the Black case will stand out in a crowd, and even the Black Samsung GO is distinctive. If you have a chance to touch one on display somewhere, check this netbook out. It is as different from the others as it would appear to be in the photos with this article.

I give this one five (5) stars. It’s a keeper!