You may, or may not have noticed, but Samsung quietly launched the ‘Samsung NC10+’ – the follow-up to the best-selling NC10. It features the looks and build-quality of the original NC10, with a few very important upgrades.

Here’s our rundown of the 6 biggest changes they’ve added to the NC10+:

1. Updated Processor

The Intel Atom N450 is a little faster and a little less power-hungry than the original NC10′s processor. This means you can get things done faster, and the battery lasts longer.

2. Bigger Hard Drive

The original NC10 had a 160GB hard drive. Samsung have bumped this up to a 250GB hard drive in the NC10+. (To be honest, we thought 160GB was enough, but we’re not complaining!)

3. Improved Wireless

The NC10 comes with ’802.11n’ wireless. That means a greater range, and a little bit faster (depending on the wireless network you’re connected to).

4. Windows Updated

The original Samsung NC10 used Windows XP Home. Now that Windows 7 has been around for a while, and proves extremely fast, Samsung have installed Windows 7 Starter on the Samsung NC10+. This feels just as fast as XP home did, with the wonderful added features (and quicker boot times) of Windows 7.

5. Even Lighter

If you’ve ever held a Samsung NC10, you’ll find this hard to believe. The NC10 felt ridiculously light compared to other netbooks that were around at the time. Samsung have managed to shave even more weight off. The NC10 was 1.33kg, the NC10+ is 1.24kg.

6. Longer Battery Life

Samsung’s stated battery life on the NC10+ is 13.8 hours. In real life, you’re more likely to get around 11. In other words, you can work on this thing for a whole day without plugging it in, take it on a long-haul flight without worrying, or even use it as a ‘going away for the weekend’ laptop without having to worry about carrying adapters with you.

The key promises of the machine are a solid, small machine with a very long battery life.

Here’s an overview of the spec, plus 5 things we love about it and one thing we’d change:

Specification

First the specification – as usual with Samsung, good quality components and nothing that would make you worry.

• Intel Atom N450 1.66GHz Processor
• 250GB Hard Drive
• 1GB DDR2 Memory (upgradeable to 2GB)
• 10.1″ screen (1024 x 600)
• 0.3-megapixel Webcam
• 3-in-1 Card Reader
• Bluetooth 2.1 EDR
• 802.11b/g/n wireless
• Ethernet
• 3x USB Ports
• Windows 7 Starter Operating System

And now here are the 5 bits that we think make the Samsung N210 stand out ahead of many of Samsung’s competitors:

Build Quality

The Samsung N210′s build quality is noticeable immediately. The machine is very light, but very solid. It has obviously been built to carry around in a bag & use on the train without worrying about it taking the occasional knock.

Screen

The N210 has a 10.1″ screen, with a 1024 x 600 resolution. This is very clear, and the picture is great even if you turn the brightness way down. The resolution can be changed (to 1024×700 and 1152×864), but is clearest at the standard resolution. The machine also has a VGA output, meaning it’s really easy to plug it into an external monitor (perfect for in the office/at home). Perhaps my favourite thing about the screen is that it’s matte. Most netbook screens are glossy. Glossy screens look great in the shop, but are terrible to use in bright conditions where they reflect everything. I was really happy to see the N210 had gone for a nice, clear matte display instead.

Battery Life

Samsung have always tried to remain ahead of the pack when it came to netbook battery life. With the Samsung N210 they quote an 11.2-hour battery life. It’s very common for manufacturers to quote battery life figures way above those you’ll actually get when using the machines. I was therefore really surprised to find that I could get very close to 11 hours of actual use from the N210. This was at a screen brightness of around 40%. I expect at a higher brightness you’d still get 7 or 8 hours, meaning a full day’s work.

Weight

Though you can’t say much about it, the weight of this thing is definitely one of its key features. The N210 weighs a ridiculously small 1.3kg. In other words, about the same as a plastic 2-pint milk bottle.

Keyboard

As with older Samsung netbooks, the keyboard here is great. It fills the width of the machine, meaning you get something as close as possible to a full-sized keyboard. The keys themselves are designed quite cleverly too. Each key pokes through the case individually, meaning there are virtually no gaps between keys. This is great, as it means it’s very hard for any dirt to get under there, and gives a very sturdy feel when typing.

Anything Bad?

The only fault I’d pick with the N210 is I had to spend 10 minutes uninstalling various pieces of ‘trial’ software that had been bundled with it. I understand why they do that (they get paid to do it), and that I get the laptop cheaper as a result, but I wanted to mention this in the review anyway.

Where to Buy the Samsung N210

Out of the 12 sites we checked, Amazon are selling the Samsung N210 at the best price. Move your mouse over the images below to check their current price:

It’s tough to improve on the Samsung NC10. Even a year after its release, there is very little on the Netbook market that beats it.

BUT – if you’re really fussy – and you’re desperate to find a way to improve it – we suggest powering it up with a 9-Cell battery.

Why would you want to extend the already huge battery life?

The NC10’s battery life is awesome, but there is always room for improvement. Imagine a guaranteed work day with no need to charge? Or how about going away for a weekend without your AC adapter?

Well here’s the stats on the difference between your standard battery & a 9-Cell:

In other words – under the heaviest use – your standard battery would last 4 hours 46 minutes, while the 9-cell battery would last a massive 7 and a quarter hours.

I don’t know about you, but my standard battery lasts around 5 and a half hours under normal use, meaning I get around 9 hours from the better battery.

• Buy the White 9-Cell Battery at Amazon (£69.99)
• Buy the Black 9-Cell Battery at Amazon (£69.99)
• Buy the Blue 9-Cell Battery at Amazon (£69.99)

The screen is tiny (around 10 inches), but Samsung have cleverly allowed it to link to most standard monitors.

Here’s a selection of the best larger monitors available from Amazon.

* samsung nc10 dual monitor photo by smemon

Are you using the NC10 with a larger monitor? Let us know what you think!

Thank god they didn’t include a CD drive with the NC10: You’d be dragging an extra 600g around everywhere with you, just for the 1 time every few weeks you need it.

Having said that… when you do need an external CD drive, there are some decent options available. Here’s a selection of the cheapest external CD, DVD and DVD-RW drives around for the NC10:

CD-ROM Drives

If you just need to install software and turn your CDs into MP3s, these drives are simplest and cheapest.

• Black External USB CD Drive – £19.99
• White External USB CD Drive – £17.99

CD-RW/DVD Drives

These drives let you read DVDs & CDs. They also let you burn CDs yourself – great if you need to transfer stuff to & from your NC10.

• Black External USB CD-RW/DVD Drive – £39.99
• A Cheaper Black External USB CD-RW/DVD Drive – £35 inc shipping!
• White External USB CD-RW/DVD Drive – £34.99

DVD RW Drives

Read & Write DVDs, and read & write CDs too. If you want a totally flexible drive for reading & writing DVDs, go for one of these. As they only cost a few pounds more than CD-RW/DVD drives (if that) these are your best bet if you’re not sure what you’ll need.

• White Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive – £39.99
• Black Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive – £39.99

There you have it – the complete selection of slimline black/white external drives for your Samsung NC10.

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OK, so it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it actually look great and works. The colour isn’t the wishy-washy pink of some other laptops, the slick top looks very expensive (like a £2-grand sony!) and the spec is identical to the other colours.

Best of all is pricing. Whereas most merchants priced the other colours a little higher at launch, Dabs are offering a decent price and Amazon is currently taking orders at a ridiculously low price.

Move your mouse over the image below for the latest Amazon price:

The kit is solderless and looks surprisingly straightforward. There are no ‘how to’ videos available yet, but the instructions are available in PDF format .