Samsung GO N310-13GBK 10.1-Inch Jet Black Netbook – 9 Hour Battery Life

Sunday, February 7th, 2010 at 8:33 am

Samsung GO N310-13GBK 10.1-Inch Jet Black Netbook - 9 Hour Battery Life

Manufacturer: Samsung
Customer Rating:
List Price: $479.00
Sale Price: $469.49
Availibility: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

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Description
Additional Details
Customer Reviews

Weighing just 2.9 pounds, the Samsung GO N310 netbook is one of the lightest netbooks in its class and it's loaded with the latest technology for maximum performance. Distinctively styled, it's designed by award-winning Japanese artist Naoto Fukasawa and features smoothly rounded edges that resemble a pebble that's been worn down by wind and waterfall and its cover has a rubberized surface that more durable and easy-to-grip. In addition to this model in jet black (N310-13GBK), it also comes in three other colors: midnight blue, sunset orange and mint blue.

An affordable mobile PC that's ideal for all your online needs, the GO N310 is designed to go almost anywhere--from kitchen and living room at home to Wi-Fi hotspots at coffee shops, airports and more. You'll be able to stay connected all day long thanks to the included 6-cell battery, which provides up to 9 hours of continuous use. It sports a 10.1-inch LED-backlit screen with a scratch resistant, edge-to-edge glass display, and the pebble-textured keyboard design makes typing comfortable with larger than average spacing. This netbook is powered by the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, which is designed especially for mobile devices and features an innovative hafnium-infused circuitry that reduces electrical current leakage in transistors to conserve energy.

The 10.1-inch LED-backlit edge-to-edge glass display is scratch resistant and delivers vivid images.

The exterior of the GO N310 has been rubberized for an easy grip and features a tactile Samsung logo.

The smooth rectangular-shaped isolation keypad with optimized key spacing helps you stay productive on the go.

The integrated 54g Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g) will keep you connected to email and all your social networks, while the Bluetooth 2.1+EDR technology enables you to use handsfree communication headsets while video chatting via the integrated 1.3-megapixel webcam. Other features include a 160 GB hard drive, 1 GB of RAM, built-in speakers and microphone, SD/SDHC/MMC memory card reader, three USB ports, and a VGA output to an external monitor. It comes preinstalled with the Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system, which offers more experienced users an enhanced and innovative experience that incorporates Windows Live features like Windows Live Messenger for instant messaging and Windows Live Mail for consolidated email accounts on your desktop.

Key Features

10.1-inch LED-backlit display (1024 x 600) offers up to 30 percent more viewing area than traditional screens with 300 nits of brightness. Using LED technology means the screen is thinner, brighter, more durable and power efficient. You can also enjoy photo-like image quality, greater viewing angles and better text legibility, reducing eye strain and boosting productivity.
1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 processor extends battery life and power efficiency to deliver excellent mobile performance and Internet connections on the go (includes 533 MHz front side bus and 512 KB L2 cache)
160 GB hard drive (5400 RPM)
1 GB of RAM (maximum capacity)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with up to 128 MB of shared video memory
1.3-megapixel webcam integrated into the bezel
54g Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g)
Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity enables you to communicate and synchronize with Bluetooth-enabled peripherals such as PDAs and cell phones.
Seamlessly move data from your digital camera, camcorder, MP3 player or PDA straight to the netbook via the 3-in-1 memory card reader, three USB ports or wirelessly with Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
Smooth rectangular-shaped isolation keypad design with an ergonomic design and optimized key spacing that make working and communicating a much more pleasurable and productive experience, with fewer errors and faster typing speeds.
Stereo speakers (1.5 W x 2) with SRS 3D Sound Effect and HD Audio capabilities
Windows XP Home operating system
Standard 6 cell (8850 mAh) high-capacity battery enables you to surf the web for up to 9 hours on a single battery charge
Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches (WxDxH)
Weight: 2.8 pounds
Warranty: 1 year parts and labor

Networking, Connectivity & Expansion
This netbook has an integrated 54g wireless LAN that's compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g networks, and it also provides Fast (10/100) Ethernet networking.

3 USB 2.0 ports for connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
Analog video output: 1 VGA
3-in-1 memory card reader compatible with Secure Digital (SD), Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC), and MultiMedia Card (MMC)
1 headphone jack, 1 microphone jack
10/100 Fast Ethernet

The GO N310 in profile (right side on the top, left side on the bottom).

What's in the box
This package contains the Samsung GO N310 (model N310-13GBK), 6-cell rechargeable battery, AC adapter, power cord, printed user manual.

It also comes with the following software: Magic Keyboard, Easy Display Manager, Easy Network Manager, Easy SpeedUp Manager, Samsung Magic Doctor, Samsung Update Plus, Recovery Solutions III, Easy Battery Manager, Easy Resolution Manager, Battery Life Extender, Adobe Acrobat Reader 8, Cyberlink YouCam, McAfee Internet Security 9.0 (60-day trial)

1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor
1GB DD2R RAM
160GB Hard Drive
Windows XP Home, Up to 9 Hours of Battery Life (6 Cell 8850mAh)
10.1" wide LED-backlit LCD display

Nearly Perfect

Review Date: August 16, 2009

Reviewer: Douglas Dowers, Londonderry, NH USA

Fantastic machine. It feels a bit weighty for a netbook but not near as heavy as the laptop I replaced it with. The case feels slightly rubbery and very comfortable to carry and hold. The entire machine feels incredibly well built. There is no latch for the display but it stays closed and opens with excellent resistance. The screen opens up to about 135 degrees from closed and stays exactly where it's placed all along the path. The screen is very very bright when turned all the way up. With a touch of the FN-UP or FN-DN button the brightness can be changed to 8 different levels. I stay between level 4-6 depending on light conditions. Even level 1 and 2 can be seen clearly even outside. The colors are incredibly vibrant and gorgeous. I thought the shiny screen surface was going to produce too much glare but rarely do I notice it. The glare is most noticeable outside in bright light. I was also concerned about the single bar track pad button. But it works just fine. I generally just tap the pad for my buttons anyway. I only ever use the bar for dragging files and such. The track pad is a little on the short side so I increased the speed of the pointer to a more comfortable level. Also I was about to turn off the scrolling feature of the right and bottom edge of the track pad to give me more room but I'm starting to like it so I left it on.
Now to the good stuff. The keyboard is perfect. Each key is on an island with good spacing. All the keys are normally proportioned and well placed. The arrow keys are in the perfect position. I have very large hands and do a lot of typing on this machine. I'll say again. I don't just surf and check email. I do a lot of typing and the keyboard feels incredibly comfortable. Not just comfortable for its size. But just plain comfortable. I would have to go out of my way to hit the wrong key. The keyboard is fantastic. It was also the main reason I bought this particular netbook. The built in network has great range and has worked flawlessly with my WEP protected G network. It found my network on boot. I put in my key and it connected immediately. I have never had to mess with it again. The FN-F9 Key toggles the Wireless on and off and I use it all the time. As soon as I enable it again I've got a connection within just a few seconds and am surfing again. The range of the card is better than my laptop using its external Belkin PCMCIA card. And while that card seemed to prefer certain angles to my router this built in wireless doesn't seem to care. No mater what orientation I'm at even at significant distances it just keeps chugging.
I was ready to uninstall all the default software as soon as I got it but Samsung did a great job of just installing what is needed. I did however uninstall the McAfee Security Suite. It ran fine and worked pretty fast with a lot of features. But I like Avast for my antivirus and Sunbelt for my firewall. They both installed perfectly and run great. I pretty much just left everything else installed as received.
The little guy boots fast. The fan is so quiet I've never even heard it run. I can at times feel some heat coming out the left side so I know its churning in there but I can't hear it. The bottom of the machine doesn't get hot like my laptop did. Just on the extreme left side toward the back can I feel some warmth but only if I'm really pushing it. When I say pushing it, I'll have Chrome running with GMAIL, Facebook and Google in each tab, Winamp Lite v5 playing some music, Yahoo Messenger running with the built in webcam and YWriter5 open just typing away. The computer doesn't even stutter. Sometimes I'll stop Winamp but leave it running and watch an episode of friends over the network on Media Player Classic decoding with ffdshow. It runs as smooth as can be. Unbelievable. The screen is half height and full width but honestly I don't notice too much. Haven't really messed with the resolution though beyond the default. I have at times hit FN-ESC to put the thing in standby. Then I press the power button after a while and in a few seconds I'm back and running again. I've also used hibernate with no problems though it takes longer to come back than standby. But honestly the battery life is so long that I really don't need to do either. I generally just close the lid and walk away. The thing runs forever on a charge. I mean forever.
For sound I use headphones. The jack is on the left in front. The volume is on the well placed arrow keys using the FN key. In fact the most used functions are screen brightness and volume. All four are on the arrow keys front right. Thank you Samsung. The mute key though is FN-F6? I may remap that to another key. I expected nothing from the speakers but I told Windows XP they are speakers in a keyboard and turned on the included SRS utility. They sound quite decent but almost no bass at all. Still though, not near as bad as I was expecting. They don't distort or rattle. They just don't give any low end.
I bought a 2GB memory module to upgrade the memory. But now seeing how fast it runs with the installed 1GB I'm wondering if it's even necessary. I'll edit this later if I notice any difference. I may also upgrade the hard drive though I still have a lot of room left. The default install asks for the drive to be partitioned to hold a backup of the default install. I went ahead and let it do this but if I find myself running out of drive space I may just delete that partition. I prefer to use Drive Snapshot for my backups anyway.
Also the fist thing you should do after getting yours set up is go into system bios and change control of Screen Brightness from Auto to User Selected. That way it will remember what your brightness setting is instead of it going back to default on every boot.
I think I covered most of it. A little more expensive than most other netbooks but absolutely worth every penny. Great job Samsung.

***EDIT***
I did upgrade the memory from 1GB to 2GB using Crucial Technology CT25664AC800 2GB 200-pin SODIMM DDR2 PC2-6400 Memory Module. Actually the CT25664AC667 would have worked too for about $3 less. After running it through it's paces I've concluded that I don't see much of a performance increase. If I used more memory intensive apps that require a lot more swap memory on the hard drive then maybe I'd see a more dramatic improvement. On the other hand the 2GB module is only about $20 so still glad I did.
I also disabled the scrolling feature on the track pad. I wanted the extra space and I kept hitting the scroll area by accident. Instead I added two tap zones on the left side of the track pad. One for Right Click and one for Mute.

***EDIT***
I did upgrade the hard drive to a Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 2.5 Inch, 8 MB Cache, 5400 RPM SATA II WD5000BEVT. The Hitachi I pullled out used about 700ma where this new WD uses about 450ma. The WD is supposed to be absolutely silent though I never really heard the Hitachi run either. And although I don't ever hear the drives heads, I can hear the drive spinning if I press my ear up close to the computer. Sounds like fan noise. The Hitachi may also have sounded like this. I don't remember but it's still very quiet and doesn't bother me. If you'd like to compare the acoustical or thermal specs before purchasing a new drive the one that came with my Samsung was Hitachi Travelstar 5K320 2.5" Mobile 160GB SATA Hard Drive, 5400, 8MB. I used Drive Snapshot to backup the Recovery partition and the C and D partitions onto an external USB drive. Then I changed out the hard drive and booted ERD Commander on my old Targus external USB CD/DVD drive. I used Drive Snapshot to restore all three partions in the correct order. 1)EISA Recovery (around 6G) 2)C Drive 3)D Drive. Be aware that all three partions are Primary (no extended partitions here) and the second one (C Drive) is the one marked Active. When I restored the D Drive I just let it take up all the rest of the hard drive space.
There is no compartment door to change the drive. The bottom cover of the computer must be removed. But it is thankfully very easy. Remove the battery. Remove all 11 grommets (4 feet and 7 small plugs) by sliding something sharp and tiny past the grommet and hooking under and pulling up. I used a dental pick. Remove all 11 screws under grommets (phillips). Remove SD dummy card. You do not have to remove memory cover. Pry bottom cover off using fingers only by gently working around the edges with gentle pressure. No need for guitar pick or anything else to pry. The bottom cover comes off very easy. Hard Drive is next to memory module on the bottom of the computer. Remove 3 tiny screws (phillips) from drive caddy. Pull up slightly on front of drive enough to clear plastic tray and slide out of connector. Should come out very easily. Remove 4 screws (phillips) from drive caddy and swap drives. Put caddy screws back in to new drive. Lay drive and caddy back up against connector holding the other end of the drive up slightly to clear plastic rim. Push drive back onto connector good and tight. Lay drive back down and make sure all 3 tiny screw holes are alligned. If not cinch the drive up into the connector better. Put 3 tiny screws back in and tighten. Place the bottom cover back over the unit sliding the VGA connector in first. It should snap back in place easily. Put all 11 screws (all the same size) back into the bottom of the unit. Do not over tighten. Replace all 4 rubber feet and 7 plugs. The plugs are actually tappered to the shape of the cover and are keyed to fit only one way. All except the middle one. Put the battery and SD dummy card back in and you're done.

Fantastic!

Review Date: October 8, 2009

Reviewer: Sashin,

Got this to travel with. Surprised it works so well. No problems with powering up and using. Lots of "functions" you need to access the Samsung help guide to learn about and use. LONG battery life. Got the Samsung external DVD reader/writer here on Amazon (about $52.) Easiest installation. Can watch three movies on a flight. Bottom of netbook has little feet so that there is air circulation under it and I have not had a problem with overheating... but I generally put a little something under the netbook to make sure there is more air under there. Hard drive is partitioned so you have a C and D drive.. save to D just in case things crash. Put it in my purse everyday. Lifesaver with the Goggle maps.

Love it.

Review Date: October 15, 2009

Reviewer: Dustin Ward,

I love this little laptop. I'm a writer and I was looking for something with a long battery life and this is it. I can use it all day without plugging it in. They keyboard isn't so small that it's a pain to type. I've already written a screenplay using it. It's slick looking and draws a lot of attention which is nice. Packed full of features with a bright screen. Can't go wrong. I love this laptop!

Great Product

Review Date: September 17, 2009

Reviewer: Charles Smith, concord, CA USA

I just bought one of these it was a snap to setup. I also installed XP Pro on it with absolutely no problems over XP home which is what it ships with. So far it's working out very well.

Cheers

Couldn't be happier

Review Date: September 2, 2009

Reviewer: Patrick, Berkeley, CA

I'm not one to write reviews, but just very pleased with this product. I purchased it together with a Linksys router, and the best thing is that my wireless connection was truly automatic. No hassles whatsoever, just a quick, fast, steady connection.

Everything else is cool, too. Just got it today but so far I'm very pleased with the look, feel, keyboard, processor speed - everything. Absolutely worth the extra dollars over a cheaper netbook - amazing what you can get for $400 bucks these days.

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