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Samsung Q330 (NP-Q330-JA01UK) review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £561
inc VAT

It's a decent ultra-portable, but for this price you can get a laptop with more memory.

Samsung’s thin and light Q330 certainly looks attractive, with its brushed aluminium effect body and contrasting black lid. The welcome lack of activity LEDs and shortcut buttons completes the minimalist design, which makes the laptop look much more expensive than it actually is.

Samsung Q330

The LED-backlit 13.3in screen is well matched to a native resolution of 1,366×768. As the pixels are more densely packed than in larger screens that have the same resolution, text and images appear sharp and detailed. The screen hinges don’t allow it to tilt back very much, but this could be intentional as the maximum tilt also provides the best vertical viewing angle. While a screen of this size isn’t designed for multiple people to view it at once, good horizontal viewing angles mean it’s still possible, although reflections from the glossy coating become more noticeable at extreme angles.

Despite being designed for go-anywhere computing rather than multimedia playback, the Q330 handles both video and audio well. The tiny pair of speakers above the keyboard produces semi-decent audio, with good mid-range and slightly tinny treble, but a lack of bass. Video playback is crisp, although fast motion tends to blur slightly. The Q330 has no problem playing high-definition content, and will play 1080p video on an external display.

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Basic Specifications

Rating*****
ProcessorIntel Core i3 350M
Processor clock speed2.26GHz
Memory3.00GB
Memory slots2
Memory slots free0
Maximum memory4GB
Size26x329x230mm
Weight2.0kg
SoundRealtek HD Audio
Pointing devicetouchpad

Display

Viewable size13.3 in
Native resolution1,366×768
Graphics ProcessorIntel GMA HD (Core i3)
Graphics/video portsVGA, HDMI
Graphics Memory128MB

Storage

Total storage capacity320GB
Optical drive modelTSST TS-U633A
Optical drive typeDVD+/-RW +/-DL

Ports and Expansion

USB ports3
Bluetoothyes
Wired network ports1x 10/100
Wireless networking support802.11n
PC Card slotsnone
ModemNo
Supported memory cardsSD, SDHC, MMC
Other portsminijack audio output, minijack microphone input

Miscellaneous

Carrying caseNo
Operating systemWindows 7 Home Premium 32-bit
Operating system restore optionburn own restore disc
Software includedCyberLink DVD suite
Optional extrasNone

Buying Information

Warrantyone year RTB
Price£561
Detailswww.samsung.com/uk
Supplierhttp://www.lambda-tek.com/componentshop