Netbooks are becoming ten-a-penny at the moment, but Samsung's latest entry into this growing market really has caught our eye this week.
Our colleagues at What Laptop magazine assure us that this tasty-looking netbook will be on sale in the UK by the end of October, with Samsung already taking orders. We first suggested Samsung was seriously considering a netbook launch after visiting the company's Korean HQ back in May.
Dinesh Chand, Samsung's UK product marketing manager, said of the decision to launch: "We feel the time is right for our portfolio to expand and introduce a Samsung netbook. We see two distinct market opportunities for this product."
"Firstly, netbooks will attract first-time buyers. They will exist as a means for people to connect to the internet and communicate. The low price and practical functionality will bring millions of new people into the global web."
Second computer for many
Chand adds: "In more mature markets, we see a second major usage model for netbooks. They will become supplementary PCs and access points for internet services, media and information. Samsung envisages a Netbook for travelling, an extra PC for school work for the children and a PC set up in the house for consuming content on the web."
Specs-wise, the Samsung netbook will feature a 10.2in screen, will run Intel's Atom N270 processor, ship with 1024MB of memory and come with Windows XP pre-loaded. It will also feature a comfortable keyboard, particularly good news for the larger-fingered gentleman and a 6-cell battery, to keep you powered up for a good amount of time on-the-go.
"In order to fit as large a keyboard as possible on the Netbook you won't find any superfluous media keys. Instead the power button is positioned on the side of the netbook, along with VGA-out, audio and USB ports. The other side sports Ethernet, power input and two more USB ports," writes What Laptop in its first look piece.
It will be available in three colours: white, blue and black and, we are assured, be priced competitively, in line with other netbooks on the market (so, expect a price tag around the £300-£350 mark).
Feast your eyes on the first pics of the Samsung netbook right here and stay tuned for the first review of the product from What Laptop shortly.
