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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.

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A black Chiclet-style keyboard creates an attractive contrast with the aluminium-effect chassis, and typing is a pleasure on the full size keys. As with most ultra-portable laptops, there isn’t room for a number pad. A touchpad recessed into the wrist rest looks great and works well with little resistance. The two touchpad buttons are split rather than in one long bar, but they’re small and react to very minor nudges.

Samsung Q330 right

At 1.96kg, the Q330 is just light enough to be classed as an ultra-portable laptop, yet Samsung has still managed to squeeze in an optical drive. Other connectivity is limited to VGA and HDMI video output, audio in and out and three USB ports, one of which will continue to charge your USB device even when Windows is shut down. Bluetooth is built in, and a card reader beneath the touchpad accepts SD, SHDC and MMC cards.

Despite its small size, the Q330 still had a 2.27GHz Core i3 350M, which handles everyday tasks with ease. Samsung has installed 3GB of memory and matched it with the 32-bit version of Windows 7. While we would have preferred 4GB of memory and a 64-bit version of Windows, the Q330 still delivered some admirable benchmark results. A score of 80 overall is high for an ultra-portable, particularly one with only 3GB of memory. The integrated Intel graphics chip isn’t designed for gaming, and returned a lacklustre 10.2fps in our Call of Duty 4 test. In our battery test, the Q330 lasted a respectable 5 hours 7 minutes.

Samsung Q330 left

With less memory than other laptops in this price range and a 32-bit operating system, there is no question that you’re paying for the Q330’s excellent design. Performance is still on par with most other machines in this price range, however. Unless you need to run 64-bit applications, the Q330 is a great choice if you’re after an ultra-portable.

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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