Samsung X360
Written by Lee
Samsung X360 notebook, fondly called as ‘Lighter than air’ is a bold reply to all the ultra-portable laptops available on the market, belonging to top notch manufacturers. Beating the MacBook Air and competing with the Lenovo ThinkPad X300, Samsung X360 has all the style and smartness one would look for in a notebook. It’s unique in design and robust in operation and it’s worth your attention and money.
Size and Weight
Samsung X360 with a weight of 1.29kgs has earned the well deserved title of ‘Lighter than Air’ and at this beats Apple’s MacBook Air which is around 1.36kgs in weight. However, in dimensions, X360 is slightly behind the MacBook Air, measuring about 311 x 228 x 31mm (WxDxH). With 3cm thickness (comparing with only 2cmm thick MacBook Air), it’s still ultraportable as can be slipped into a hand bag or carried around in hand. The fact that this added thickness accounts for some of the features that would have been compromised for an otherwise lesser thickness, makes it no big deal. The notebook is also cheaper than the other models of this dimension and weight and hence has an edge over the others.
Exterior and Design
Comes in different chassis colours, the X360 bears a classy design. In one-third piano black plastic and two-thirds brushed aluminum lid, it shows elegance and in versions having one-third red and red to black gradations, the chassis gives it style with grace whereas an all black type makes it a great colour choice for business users.
The outer case is smooth and glossy and once the lid is opened, one will see that the interior matches the exterior in composition. The screen bezel, keyboard area and the wrist rest are all splendidly designed with a glossy rich texture. Just be careful with the smooth surface as it’s inevitable to keep it free of finger prints and marks, however when its clean, it looks really nice.
The Screen
Samsung X360 Notebook impresses you not only by it’s style but also by it’s smart features. The power-saving 13.3 inch LED backlight Display is one of them. The display has a high resolution of 1,280×800 pixels that produces ultra bright images with par clarity and excellence. However, the dazzling screen may cause strain on sight if looked at for too long. The screen is good at horizontal viewing angles but the vertical ones are just ok. If you tilt the display, the image integrity will be reduced.
Competing with Sony VAIO TZ series in terms of screen quality, Samsung X360 is simply remarkable with a fine glossy coating to give it a nice touch up. But, unfortunately this makes it more reflective and a nuisance to view in bright light. Nevertheless, the vibrant colours and even lighting across the whole screen compensates for such small downsides.
The Keys and Controls
The keyboard is well built with each key resting comfortably in its own slot in the laptop frame but being flat and plastic; they create a little problem while typing. The arrow keys and the Shift key are cramped closely in the right hand side which may pose a tricky typing challenge to some. A finger print reader is provided at the bottom right of the keyboard that requires only a swipe of your pinky finger to let you log in in case you forget your password.
Processor
Keeping in mind its ultimate target customers, which are travelers, Samsung had to come up with a processor that will run smoothly, rapidly and on low voltage and what can be more apt than the dual core Intel SU9300 ultra-low-voltage CPU which operates at speed of 1.2GHz. The chipset comes with a 800MHz Front Side Bus which is a pleasant improvement from the previous ULV 1.2GHz chip comprising of a 533MHz bus. Though the processor is not that speedy in action, it works just fine with the daily tasks and not to mention its low power consumption that makes it ideal for outdoor use.
Memory
Samsung X360 has a Memory cache of 3MB supported by a 3GB of DDR3 RAM that is sufficient to operate the 32 bit Windows Vista Business operating system since Window Vista cannot tackle memory above 3.2GB. The RAM runs at a rate of 1066MHz and works accurately and efficiently.
Graphics
Incorporated into the system is the Intel’s GMA X4500 graphics chipset which is a mediocre choice. Playing the latest games on this system will not be a good idea. Small gaming programs will be fine to open and run but don’t expect anything exceptional from the chipset.
Hard Drive
At a competitive price, X360 offers 128GB Solid State Disk Hard Drive allowing better storage facility and if you are not so thrilled with what SSD has to offer, you can opt for the traditional 120GB Hard Drive. The memory space is enough to accommodate all your text data, multi media functions and programs. The system is also equipped with an external USB super-multi DVD writer. This drive supports all DVD standards such as DVD-RAM, CD-R and CD-RW. This permits you to burn CDs freely as well as install softwares on the system with less effort.
Battery Life
The awesome battery life of the six- cell battery used for charging is10 hours- as claimed by the manufacturers, which is more than enough for you to complete all your tasks without recharging it; again excellent for outdoor use. However, in practice, the battery life is just half an hour short of the claimed time. If you are working through your assignments quiet slowly then maybe, the life time reduces to 6-7 hours which is still remarkable for a laptop so small and light.
Verdict
with an exceptional battery run-time, light weight and ultra portable design, Samsung X360 is a wonderful notebook at a budget price for premium laptop seekers. And not to mention the 128GB SSD which makes X360 superior from it’s competitors in performance and skill. All in all, it’s a stylishly useful deal that is worth your money.
Samsung X360 Notebook Specifications
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo U9300, 1.2 GHz
RAM: DDR3 1066MHz, 3072 MB
Motherboard: Intel GS45 Chipset
Data bus speed: 1066 MHz
Hard Drive: SSD, 128 GB
Optical Storage: External USB dual-layer DVD writer
Interfaces / Networking
USB: 3 ports
ExpressCard: 1 slot
Ethernet: Yes
Infrared: No
Bluetooth: Yes
Wireless networking: Yes
Others: Fingerprint reader, multi-format card reader
Input devices: Qwerty keyboard, mouse track pad
Display Graphics processor: Intel GMA X4500
Max resolution (external): 2560×1600
Video outputs: VGA, HDMI
Display technology: SuperBright LED WXGA
Display diagonal size: 13.3 in.
Maximum resolution: 1280×800 pixels
Soundcard: Realtek HD Audio
Audio inputs/outputs: Headphone-out, microphone-out
Built-in speakers: Yes
Dimensions (W x H x D): 311x31x228mm
Weight: 1.29 kg
Battery technology: Li-ion
Battery capacity: 5900 mAh
Number of batteries supplied: 1
Estimated battery life (mfr): 10 hours
Max batteries supported: 1
Operating system: Windows Vista Business
Included software: Samsung Utilities, CyberLink DVD Suite, Microsoft Office
Professional 2007 (60-day trial): Included accessories
