Photos: Samsung Q330
Samsung's Q330 is a slim 13.3in. notebook offering good features at a low cost. We found it online for as low as £438 (ex. VAT) running Windows 7 Home Premium: if you need a Windows 7 Professional version, you should expect to pay around £520 (ex. VAT).
The screen has a native resolution of 1,366 by 768 pixels and its glossy coating should help maximise brightness and enhance video playback clarity. As ever with this type of screen, though, it is very reflective.
The Q330 weighs 1.96kg and measures 32.9cm by 22.95cm by 2.64-3.2cm. Despite its slimness, Samsung has managed to include an optical drive — quite a feat, as many 13.3in. notebooks lack this feature.
The Q330 has a shiny black with a diagonal line patterning: this look is perhaps slightly 'blingy' for some business users, but shouldn't be a deal-breaker.
The chiclet-style keyboard is comfortable to use and we had no problems typing at full touch-typing speed. However the wrist rest bows slightly under moderate pressure, which may not bode well for the longevity of the chassis.
Inside the Q330 is a 2.4GHz Intel Core i3-370M processor, supported by 3GB of RAM. It has a 320GB hard drive, Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) and 10/100Mbps Ethernet.
Bluetooth 3.0 is also present. This covers a greater distance and supports higher data transfer speeds than earlier versions — when talking to other Bluetooth 3.0 devices. Bluetooth 3.0 is enough of a rarity to be a real plus point in such a low-cost notebook.
The Q330 has three USB ports, an HDMI connector, headphone and microphone jacks, a VGA port and a reader for SD-compatible media. A webcam above the screen caters for videoconferencing. The security conscious may be concerned by the lack of a fingerprint sensor.
Samsung does not estimate the life of the 6-cell battery, but our anecdotal testing suggests you should get through the better part of a working day on a full charge under a moderate usage regime.