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Samsung Q330 review: Samsung Q330

The 13.3-inch Samsung Q330 backs up its stunning performance with looks to match. As a result, we think it's a great option if you're looking for a laptop to use on the move.

Headshot of Niall Magennis
Headshot of Niall Magennis
Niall Magennis Reviewer
Niall has been writing about technology for over 10 years, working for the UK's most prestigious newspapers, magazines and websites in the process. What he doesn't know about TVs and laptops isn't worth worrying about. It's a little known fact that if you stacked all the TVs and laptops he has ever reviewed on top of each other, the pile would reach all the way to the moon and back four times.
Niall Magennis
3 min read

Whenit comes to making a laptop, striking the right balance between power andportability is a delicate task. The good news for us is that Samsung seems tohave pulled it off with the 13.3-inch, ultra-portable Q330, while managing to keep the laptop just underthe £600 mark. 

8.8

Samsung Q330

The Good

Fast and powerful; Bright screen; Slim and light; Isolated keys and large touchpad.

The Bad

Relatively poor graphics performance.

The Bottom Line

The 13.3-inch Samsung Q330 backs up its stunning performance with looks to match. As a result, we think it's a great option if you're looking for a laptop to use on the move.

Suitcase-suited

Itmay have a low price tag, but the Q330 looks far from cheap. Samsunghas given the plastic chassis a clever makeover with a brushed metallic effectthat gives it a slightly more premium look. It's light, at just 2kg, andrelatively slim, too. The rear of the machine measures 32mm and tapers off tojust 23mm at the front. This means it's small enough to tuck comfortably into yourluggage without taking up too much valuable space.

The brushed metallic effect of the plastic chassis gives the Samsung Q330 a premium look.

Equallyimportant is the Q330's build quality, which is sound. It takes excessive forceto ripple the screen and the chassis doesn't creak when you move it around likesome cheaper laptops. Subsequently, we'd expect the Q330 to put up with all theknocks, bumps and bruises it's likely to suffer in the hands and bags offrequent travellers.

Portof call

It'sonly expected that an ultra-portable laptop is going to have a limited range ofports compared to a larger desktop-replacement model. The Q330 actually doesn'tfair too badly on this front, all things considered. While it does only havethree USB ports, one of those is a sleep-and-charge port, perfect forcharging peripherals like cameras and mobile phones when the laptop's turned off.Alongside the VGA port, Samsung hasmanaged to add an HDMI socket, which makes it possible to connect the laptop to an HD ReadyTV. Sadly, the networking port is not Gigabit Ethernet-enabled, but there is 802.11nWi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

 

An isolated keyboard makes touch typing a breeze, with extra space and prominent keys.

Likemany of today's premium laptops, the Q330 features isolated keys, which helpto minimise typing errors and make using the keyboard a pleasure. Touch-typistswill appreciate the extra space between the keys and their highly responsivenature. We also like the sizeable touchpad that feels smooth without beingsticky, and its generously proportioned buttons. The screen is rather small, atjust 13.3 inches, and has a pretty average resolution of 1,366x768 pixels.Despite its relatively diminutive specs, it's remarkably bright and deliversvivid colours, which makes for outstanding picture and video quality.

Power and perseverance

Withits super-swift, dual-core Intel Core i3-350M processor clocking 2.26GHz, and a beefy 3GBof RAM, the Q330 is an extraordinary performer. It racked up a score of 5,156 inour PCMark05 test, whichputs it up there with some of the best-performing ultra-portables we've tested.As with most of its kind, however, its graphics performance isn't quite as brag-worthy.It uses an Intel GMA HD graphics chip, which pushed it to a score of 1,709 in 3DMark06 -- not exactly earth-shattering. If you want to play the latest games on this laptop,you'll have to turn the detail settings down somewhat to achieve a decent framerate.

 

Samsung managed to squeeze a multi-format DVD drive into the slimline Q330.

TheQ330 packs a reasonably roomy 320GB hard drive for an ultra-portable, so you'llhave no problem storing plenty of files, photos and videos. If you do findyourself running low on storage space, you can always back up your files to DVDthanks to the slim, multi-format DVD drive that Samsung managed to squeeze in.

Inour highly intensive Battery Eater test, the Q330 managed to keep running for1 hour and 20 minutes before it needed a recharge. This is a good show ofstamina for a powerful ultra-portable, and you're likely to get even longerbattery life from it with ordinary day-to-day usage.

Conclusion

We'remightily impressed with the Samsung Q300. It's easy on the eye, very slim andlightweight, and has plenty of grunt under its beautiful bonnet. At areasonable asking price of around £600, we have no problem recommending thislaptop.

Editedby Emma Bayly