I purchased the i3 version with Windows 8 as an addition to my far more powerful i7-kitted desktop replacement machine, also Samsung.
In its silver colour, it looks and feels far more expensive than it actually was. The lid surface has a similar appearance to the etched aluminium used by another brand and the wrist rest area bears a cross-hatch pattern over the major part and the touch pad, which is larger than that on my 17-inch laptop, is silky to the touch. The island keyboard is well-spaced and the keys are reasonably large but there is no provision for indicator lights for Caps Lock, Num Lock etc but there is not an on-screen indicator either and you will need to exercise some caution when using these keys. The touch pad is very responsive and the cursor goes only where directed, as it should, unlike that on a Lenovo which only a day or two previously I had attempted to set up and where it appeared to have a mind of its own.
There is one issue with the touch pad which I feel is probably common to many other windows 8-equipped models, whether lower-level such as this or higher, and that is very limited gesture support; it appears only to support the three basic ones, horizontal and vertical scroll, and zoom. It is the ‘expert’ view often seen in magazines and on-line, and which I had commented upon before seeing any of these published reviews, that a gesture input device is absolutely essential. If it were not, there would be no need for Microsoft to introduce a new keyboard and a new mouse, each with Windows 8 features; additional supporting keys on the keyboard and a touch surface on the mouse that responds to several gestures. Logitech have their own gesture pads and mice, one roughly equivalent to Microsoft’s. The gesture pads offer more complete gesture support with one that supports all fourteen currently recognised. There are rumours about other manufacturers following suit, although nothing as yet concrete. Keyboard short-cuts and moving the mouse to a corner or an edge are neither the solution or are always reliably enabled. There are a few Ultrabooks with fully-enabled touch screens but they are not the universal solution or inexpensive.
The screen is reasonably bright and has a matte, non-reflective surface. It should therefore not be unduly sensitive to orientation in respect of room or desk lighting, although you probably would not want it to be under bright, direct illumination. During its initial set-up and when downloading and installing available Windows updates it was very silent without any evidence of fan noise. The i3 processor tends to run moderately cool and I would not expect there to be a major issue with heat under normal conditions. As it utilises an integrated graphics processor, there is no separate video RAM and some proportion of the fitted memory will always be ‘borrowed’ for the display; just how much will depend on which applications you happen to use.
The lid depth is minimal and probably only 1-2mm thicker than that on the current Macbooks, which for a plastic-cased laptop is really quite good. The overall weight is quite modest and portability should not therefore be an issue. A sleeve case may suffice if there is no likelihood of needing access to power for a recharge; otherwise a satchel or backpack will accommodate the power leads and any needed accessories such as a mouse which many prefer to use or a full-function gesture touch pad.
I was very quickly able to connect to my router by Wi-fi during its initial set-up procedures as is to be expected, in direct contrast to the same Lenovo laptop mentioned previously where it became a significant problem. On the several Samsung laptops I have owned, either 5 or 6 to date, I have never known that to be an issue.
The provided documentation is quite basic, limited in its coverage and principally concerned with initial set-up and identification of its parts. It is probably no worse than is commonly supplied by other manufacturers. There is a downloadable User Guide which is a little more detailed and explains and demonstrates some, but not all, of Windows gestures. I inferred from this that those illustrated are fully supported and that the unlisted others are not but it appeared to support very few. There are keyboard alternatives for all, but they are not always convenient or easily remembered.
The power adapter uses a three-pin connector and is quite small and light, more of a size similar to a Mars bar than the house brick supplied with my 17-incher. As usual, a Velcro cable strap is provided for the power block and its lead but not separately for the mains lead. The two can use the one strap at a push. The power input socket is at the top left corner when looking at the screen and will not interfere with the optical drive drawer as with some other machines. The two USB 3.0 sockets are also on the left edge together with the Ethernet, HDMI…
A very good machine for the money. Fast and well specced but the screen could be better. Not sure about Windows 8 yet – quite a learning curve and it is really optimised for a touchscreen PC, which this isn’t.
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A really attractive laptop with a feel of quality,
I purchased the i3 version with Windows 8 as an addition to my far more powerful i7-kitted desktop replacement machine, also Samsung.
In its silver colour, it looks and feels far more expensive than it actually was. The lid surface has a similar appearance to the etched aluminium used by another brand and the wrist rest area bears a cross-hatch pattern over the major part and the touch pad, which is larger than that on my 17-inch laptop, is silky to the touch. The island keyboard is well-spaced and the keys are reasonably large but there is no provision for indicator lights for Caps Lock, Num Lock etc but there is not an on-screen indicator either and you will need to exercise some caution when using these keys. The touch pad is very responsive and the cursor goes only where directed, as it should, unlike that on a Lenovo which only a day or two previously I had attempted to set up and where it appeared to have a mind of its own.
There is one issue with the touch pad which I feel is probably common to many other windows 8-equipped models, whether lower-level such as this or higher, and that is very limited gesture support; it appears only to support the three basic ones, horizontal and vertical scroll, and zoom. It is the ‘expert’ view often seen in magazines and on-line, and which I had commented upon before seeing any of these published reviews, that a gesture input device is absolutely essential. If it were not, there would be no need for Microsoft to introduce a new keyboard and a new mouse, each with Windows 8 features; additional supporting keys on the keyboard and a touch surface on the mouse that responds to several gestures. Logitech have their own gesture pads and mice, one roughly equivalent to Microsoft’s. The gesture pads offer more complete gesture support with one that supports all fourteen currently recognised. There are rumours about other manufacturers following suit, although nothing as yet concrete. Keyboard short-cuts and moving the mouse to a corner or an edge are neither the solution or are always reliably enabled. There are a few Ultrabooks with fully-enabled touch screens but they are not the universal solution or inexpensive.
The screen is reasonably bright and has a matte, non-reflective surface. It should therefore not be unduly sensitive to orientation in respect of room or desk lighting, although you probably would not want it to be under bright, direct illumination. During its initial set-up and when downloading and installing available Windows updates it was very silent without any evidence of fan noise. The i3 processor tends to run moderately cool and I would not expect there to be a major issue with heat under normal conditions. As it utilises an integrated graphics processor, there is no separate video RAM and some proportion of the fitted memory will always be ‘borrowed’ for the display; just how much will depend on which applications you happen to use.
The lid depth is minimal and probably only 1-2mm thicker than that on the current Macbooks, which for a plastic-cased laptop is really quite good. The overall weight is quite modest and portability should not therefore be an issue. A sleeve case may suffice if there is no likelihood of needing access to power for a recharge; otherwise a satchel or backpack will accommodate the power leads and any needed accessories such as a mouse which many prefer to use or a full-function gesture touch pad.
I was very quickly able to connect to my router by Wi-fi during its initial set-up procedures as is to be expected, in direct contrast to the same Lenovo laptop mentioned previously where it became a significant problem. On the several Samsung laptops I have owned, either 5 or 6 to date, I have never known that to be an issue.
The provided documentation is quite basic, limited in its coverage and principally concerned with initial set-up and identification of its parts. It is probably no worse than is commonly supplied by other manufacturers. There is a downloadable User Guide which is a little more detailed and explains and demonstrates some, but not all, of Windows gestures. I inferred from this that those illustrated are fully supported and that the unlisted others are not but it appeared to support very few. There are keyboard alternatives for all, but they are not always convenient or easily remembered.
The power adapter uses a three-pin connector and is quite small and light, more of a size similar to a Mars bar than the house brick supplied with my 17-incher. As usual, a Velcro cable strap is provided for the power block and its lead but not separately for the mains lead. The two can use the one strap at a push. The power input socket is at the top left corner when looking at the screen and will not interfere with the optical drive drawer as with some other machines. The two USB 3.0 sockets are also on the left edge together with the Ethernet, HDMI…
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|Fast and good value,
A very good machine for the money. Fast and well specced but the screen could be better. Not sure about Windows 8 yet – quite a learning curve and it is really optimised for a touchscreen PC, which this isn’t.
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|Delighted,
Bought this for my son and his wife who had been researching laptops for a while. They are really delighted with it so far. Recommended.
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