Best Netbooks

Best Netbooks - Samsung NB30 and NB30 Pro Netbooks

Samsung make some of the best netbooks around and if you are lookig for a netboook for heavy duty use, then you should consider the Samsung NB30 or NB30 Pro - but, although the two are very similar, the Pro version is a better choice as it runs Windows 7 Professional.

The NB30 weighs just 1.3kg but is surprisingly solid. Samsung designed it with a protective 'S' pattern over the entire outer case, thus creating a robust finish. The matte black finish is a relief from all those shiny black models and it is also spill-proof and doesn't scratch easily.

Samsung has fitted a drop-protected 160GB SATA hard drive with a free-fall sensor, which detects if it is falling and locks the drive and backs up your data at the same time, which is pretty neat ! Although it is only the hard drive that is drop protected.

Samsung has built the NB30 on a very small 10.1in chassis to make it extremely portable but unfortunately the battery sticks out and adds half an inch in height to the back of the netbook.

But at least you get a six-cell battery with up to 11 hours of power, a big bonus.

The keyboard is solid and makes typing quite a pleasant experience on such a small netbook.

The NB30 features Intel's 'Pine Trail' Atom N450 running at 1.66GHz, which is pretty good for everyday tasks but unfortunately only has 1GB of RAM, which can make it slow at times.

The 1,024 x 600 backlit LED display is excellent for such a small netbook and there are no nasty reflections to contend with !

The NB30 features 2 x 1.5W speakers at the bottom front of the unit, which do sound a bit tinny, but the headphone jack lets you take advantage of the high-definition audio playback.

All in all the NB30 is fine but don't expect high-end gaming from it.

It has three USB ports, a 3-in-1 card slot and VGA out, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and an embedded webcam.

Conclusion - The NB30 is one of the best netbooks available it is a solid netbook with long battery life; excellent display; good value for money, but there is only one memory slot and the battery sticks out.

For a better alternative to the NB30 take a look at the Samsung NB30 Pro

It looks the same as the NB30 but it has Windows 7 Professional instead of Windows Starter Pack and is fitted with up to 2GB of memory.

The rest of the specs are the same - a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, 10.1 inch, intel GMA 3150 graphics, 160GB hard drive, 1024 x 600 pixel display, VGA webcam, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, and 6 cell battery.

The semi-rugged case design is the same as are the spill-resistant keyboard, and the hard drive sensor that parks the HDD spindle if you drop the computer. As the Samsung NB30 was designed for the business user looking for something better than an average netbook, makes sense to have Windows 7 Professional instead of Windows 7 Starter Edition.

The NB30 costs around $340 the NB30 Pro should be available soon for around $519.

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