As is usual with Terribly Senior People, they were quite resistant to actually giving away any information that might be considered useful, but one thing came out loud and clear: initially Samsung did seriously consider a Linux netbook, but after speaking to retailers it won’t be dabbling with Linux any time soon.

I asked why, especially when Acer had such success with its Linux-based Aspire One. Over to Terribly Senior Person Patrick Povel, senior product manager of Samsung’s European computer operations: “When the mini-notebook launched it was 100% Linux-based and that was the reason why a certain community was very happy, but… the normal user is used to this XP thing and how to install a printer and so on.”

Did Samsung every consider Linux? “[Before we released our first netbook] we even started to develop in some Linux platforms, but once we had the product almost ready it turned out there was no demand from the customer.”

Just to be clear, in this context Samsung was talking about retailers like PC World being the customer, and the reason why they weren’t demanding Linux was very simple: the likes of Dixons were hit with return rates of something close to 40% when people found they couldn’t easily hook up their camera or install a printer onto their lovely, shiny new netbook.

But, as Mr Povel pointed out, if people on the street were demanding Linux-based netbooks “the retailers would be knocking on our door. [But] it’s a niche market and the big mass consumer doesn’t ask for Linux at the moment.”

Which brings me to the main question of this post: has Linux missed its chance of ever hitting the mainstream? I think it will struggle to ever break out of the enthusiast niche, and to a large extent because that niche is so comfortable.

If the prime target of your operating system is tech enthusiasts, you’ll tend not to go that final painful mile to make it a totally hassle-free experience. Even the most consumer-friendly Linux distribution of them all, Ubuntu, has occasional hiccups when trying to connect to external devices, and if you do hit problems your only support is via forums – fine for techies, not so great for the “big mass consumer” Samsung refers to.

So where does Linux go next? Is there anywhere else for it to go on the desktop? I can’t see it – if it was going to dominate anywhere, it would be cheap devices that had little expectation from buyers, but both retailers’ and consumers’ fingers have been burnt.

To a certain extent I guess that Red Hat’s chief exec feels the same, but he inevitably puts a more positive spin on it – that he really didn’t want to be there anyway. “The concept of a desktop is kind of ridiulous in this day and age,” he said. “I’d rather think about skating to where the puck is going to be than where it is now.”

He might be proved right, but wherever that puck ends up the end-user experience needs to be a pleasant one not just for the buyer of the product (and I’m not going to argue with anyone who suggests that Ubuntu has largely done this), but for the manufacturer and the retailer. And unfortunately both are too often forgotten when extolling the undoubted virtues of Linux.

The outer coating looks almost like painted polystyrene to the untrained eye, and it’s only when you feel it that you realise this is moulded plastic vaguely reminiscent of 70s kitchens (think coloured Formica). It’s unusual, but somehow it works – because the surface is textured, when you hold it the N310 actually feels quite nice in the hand.

Some might not appreciate the embossed SAMSUNG on the lid, especially as the lettering is written so large, but it again adds a striking difference to the conventional – and, let’s face it, dull – netbook design.

Another design feature that definitely works is the frameless screen. It appears as a sheet of glass, just as we’ve become used to seeing in Apple’s MacBook range. The image is vibrant, colours look accurate and, though it’s a little disappointing to see just a 1,024 x 600 resolution, it adds up to an excellent 10in screen.

The keyboard is less impressive. It uses what Samsung describes as a “pebble” design, with isolated keys that we generally call Scrabble-style. This means there’s plenty of space between each key, making typos less of a worry for hunt-and-peck typists, but nonetheless I felt the key action to be a little unsatisfying.

But that’s the only real bad note to say about the N310 on first usage. We’re still waiting on exact spec for the UK (we’re hoping that it will include embedded HSDPA, for instance, as well as all the usual wireless standards), but if you’re looking for a netbook with a difference this looks to be a prime contender.

It won’t come cheap, though – Samsung has now confirmed it will cost £399 inc VAT.

We’ll provide a full review as soon as we can get a sample into the Labs for proper benchmarking.

[Note - this post initially referred to the Samsung NC310, which was my error - it should have been the N310 as it now correctly states!]

Key specs below:

Microsoft Windows XP Home (SP3)

Intel Atom Processor N270 (1.60GHz, 533MHz, 512KB)

1GB DDR2 RAM

10.1” WSVGA (1024 x 600) SuperBright Gloss LED backlit

80GB / 160GB (5400 rpm SATA) / 16GB (SSD)

Intel GMA 950 (Int. Graphic)

10/100 Ethernet

1.3 Megapixel Web Camera

4 Cell (4400mAh) Lithium ion – Up to 5 Hours*
- Up to 2.7 Hours* for video playback
6 Cell (8850mAh) Lithium ion – Up to 11 Hours*
- Up to 6.2 Hours* for video playback

802.11bg + draft-n WLAN

Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR

3W Stereo Speaker (1.5 Watt x 2)

1.23 kg (incl. 4 cell battery) / 1.35 kg (incl. 6 cell battery)