We're not just staring down a boring press release of
Samsung's new X360, we actually got to fiddle around with it for a few minutes and came away fairly impressed. It has a build somewhere in-between the plastic-ish
Voodoo Envy 133 and the rock-solid
ThinkPad X300, though probably closer to the latter, and the sheen of Silver Nano Technology on the technology saves us from bacteria but adds a slightly cheap flavor to the keyboard. The isolated keys aren't as deep as those found on Sony's latest models, nor not quite as crisp as an Apple keyboard, but should make for a comfortable typing experience. The port layout seems reasonable, the LED-backlit screen bright and not-too-terribly-glossy, and the brushed metal finish on the back is surely a nice touch. We didn't play much with the Korean OS, but Samsung claims the next-gen 128GB SSD offers a 25-50 percent boot time bump. Up against the MacBook Air the X360 is significantly thicker, but actually a tiny bit (3 ounces) lighter. We'll leave it to you to decide the victor while we swap USB devices willy nilly in an attempt to finish this post.
posted Aug 28th 2008 12:46PM
Makes me wonder if the X360 is susceptible to the RRoD.
you fail
I actually lol'd.
"[...]and the sheen of Silver Nano Technology on the technology saves us from bacteria[...]"
I guess he ment on the keyboard.
I hope it will be a good competitor to overpriced MacBook Air...
Get a clue, son. This thing is going to have a 128GB SSD? Your wallet gon' get raped.
Zak, there are other options... including a cheap 5400rpm 120GB HDD.
Heh, I thought along the same lines when I read the title as-"Samsung Xbox 360 Handheld"....BOY was I ready to read about that!
"patient presented with second degree burns from holding gaming console in hands"
"patient presented with second degree burns from holding gaming console in hands"
Wasn't that the psp?
First post in IE8 Beta 2 - had to switch to compatibility mode...
Something is screwy with the comment box guys.
Nonetheless that Sammy would look pretty nice on my coffee table near the Sammy 46" HDTV
I'm also using IE8 Beta 2 and the comment box appears normal to me and I'm not running in compatibility mode.
using Firefox 3.0.1
everything works perfectly
You know what DOESN'T work in FF3? Windows Live Hotmail.
I'm still using Firefox 2.
Windows Live Hotmail works perfect for me under FF3.
Why the F are you using Hotmail?
(Or IE, for that matter)
Because I have had Hotmail for a very long time and that's the email address people remember. Also it works pretty well. I like the interface.
It's a Windows Live Hotmail issue...called SUCK.
@ Abuzar: I run FF3 and I can't even remember the last time I had an issue with anything, everything works great, including Windows Live mail.
Let them fight, we're the winners.
Both look very nice I wish I could just buy them both.
weird, i said the same exact thing in amsterdam. who knew that brothels and gadget blogs elicited the same responses?
they do when all the best weed is only $7 a gram
hmmmm.. that xbox 360 looks like the vaio tz series ultra portable notebooks.. oh wait.. :P
X360? I thought I already had one of those in my living room... namely the Xbox360. that's a VERY close name in my humble opinion :)
Yeah I mean what if I'm so confused I start carrying my xbox 360 around because I think it's my netbook. I mean think of my back.
Wow... That's amazing. I want one. Go Sammy!
how much heat does this thing produce?
1.21 jigga.. BTUs?
looks nice but IMO the macbook air looks nicer. there's something about apple and being apple to make all their stuff look beautiful and unique
Unique, when they first come out.
Not so much when everyone has an iPod, an iPhone and an iMac, seeing as THEY'RE ALL THE SAME
What's unique about Apple? All their products are aluminium or shiny plastic with Apple logo stamped on it. IMO it just looks horribly bland and generic, a return to the early 1990's of case design that everything must look exactly the same
leave paul alone, he drives a convertible.
haha, you failed! lowest ranked for being apple fanboi^^
The Apple is nothing special, it's just that the Samsung is cheesy and glossy like it was made for people off the street who buy glossy laptops at Best Buy. I hope it is cheap like it looks.
"nor not quite as crisp as an Apple keyboard"
uhm... so it's just as crisp as an Apple keyboard???
i like crisp red delicious or granny smith apples, personally
oh man i could go for an apple right now. i'm starving..
Very pretty, but flat keys are for people who aren't touch typists. Sony & Apple have the same problem.
They don't exactly look like they're fighting; they look like in ~9 months we can expect another Eee PC model...
It doesnt look thinner than the Mac Air in that picture !!
"Up against the MacBook Air the X360 is significantly thicker, but actually a tiny bit (3 ounces) lighter."
rtfo
Please, this is not a competitor for the MacBook Air. This is a competitor for the X300 or the Voodoo Envy 133.
People who are in the market for a MacBook Air are not going to stop, see some new Windows machine, and decide not to buy Apple, especially when the X300 and 133 already didn't do it for them already. This is a competitor for the X300 and the 133 -- full-featured ultra-light 13 inch screen Windows notebooks.
Making the comparison to the MBA just feeds fuel to the hype machine. Not that Engadget is ever slow to fuel the Apple hype machine.
They're all ultralight 13.3" notebooks, but because the Air is from Apple somehow it's not a competitor for the X360? What planet are you on, and what are they smoking there?
Yeah, I'm with Zak on this one. People who are considering the Air might also consider this, and vice versa.
Maneki made a wise comment. If you plan to buy a computer to run Windows you will not buy a MBA for obvious reasons. And if you plan to run OS X on an ultraportable you will only choose beteen MBA and ..well MBA. The only part of the market where these machines fight for the same customers are for the few for whom the choice of OS is less important that that of the hardware to run said OS.
Astute observation, Sir.
The MBA doesn't play in the same market as the other 13" sub-notes at all. Only a very small number of geeks is going to compare it to the X300 or this new entrant, and those geeks are probably happier with the PC in any case.
I met an archetypical MBA customer recently - He's 60 years old; he has a Windows laptop that's not quite sleek enough for his taste; the MBA happens to do everything he needs for his daily work (word processing, email, web); he has enough money to by a MBA. And lastly he lusts after the Air because it looks so good. He is fine with Windows but thinks he'll be fine with OS X too. For him the MBA's many compromises don't matter.
Just an example, but that's the MBA market. That Samsung doesn't nearly look good enough to come under consideration.
And, yes, the only reason Engadget and other media outlets will mention the MBA in connection with this laptop is $$$$$$$$$$$$$. Linkbait. I wish they'd stop already.
Who the hell high ranked Stranger? Any computer can run any OS nowadays, and soon you'll see (but won't notice) seamless virtualized MacOS apps on Windows and Linux and vice versa. Competition is alive and well.
Part of what sets the Macbook Air apart, as well the Macbook & Pro, is the great operation system. I'm not saying it's a value buy, because it isn't, but no way can Windows XP or Vista beat OS X Tiger / Leopard. This observation comes from a 15 yr. Windows Tech..
so once you reach the 15 year mark in IT you get to call it "operation system"?
Then your comment is invalid because you've seen the worst of Windows.
I take it you haven't seen the worst in Mac OS X?
I like OSX, but it's simply too limiting and barely any of the software and games I own run on it, and it's tied into grossly overpriced hardware. It may be good, but when it's tied into a Mac it's a good 'feature' of a machine that overall is just bad value for money.
Wow what flamebait
No, what makes apple so appealing is
1) eyecandy
2) existing hate of micro$oft
3) inability of a user to use linux
4) a very savvy advertising campaign
5) deep pockets with lonely dollars just begging to be spent
"is just bad value for money."
not if you like or need OSX.
sure a fully decked out mac pro is a rip off, but the mini, and entry versions of the MB and MBP are actually pretty competitive, especially with other name brands like sony, toshiba, et al
The MBP is certainly not value for money, Alienware have better price:performance then the MBP. The Macbook is OK in terms but there's still much better available for slightly cheaper. And the mac mini may have a good price point but is too limiting in terms of hardware.
I can see why people would like OSX, but when you trade a list of bad things such as bad value for money, boring design (subjective), difficult to upgrade/repair, lack of software options, sub par screens etc. for the one good thing of having a slightly more reliable, slightly easier to use operating system. It's just not worth it.
dude seriously? everyone knows alienware's are ripoffs and have the worst service/support in the industry. just sayin'
either way, since you're buying dedicated gaming machines, clearly you're the wrong demographic for a mac.
It's so pathetic when people tack on obvious bullshit like "15 years of experience" in order to sound credible.
You're an ass.
I agree they are rip offs, but they still give you a better price/performance ratio then the MBP does. I wasn't making a point about dedicated gaming, I was making the point that if you take 2 laptops which are the same size and have the same specs and price, except 1 laptop has dual graphics cards costing in excess of £300. Which one is the better deal?
It just seems a little stupid to go for a Mac, when for the same money you could buy a PC that does everything the Mac can, and much much more. Neither is windows difficult to use, nor does it crash, nor is it noticeably slower than OSX when doing day to day stuff. And even if you just want what the Mac can do, why not go for the PC which with the same specs will be 20-50% cheaper.
Well 14 of those must have been in the womb.
Righhhhht.. planet earth to Sam, others: People don't buy Macs in droves because of clever advertising that somehow tricked them into doing so. They see better value, period.
The MBP is the smallest 15" laptop you can buy for money - fact. Maybe you don't care about that - but please consider that others do. The same goes for other features that set these machines apart - OS X, light up keyboard, fit and finish, etc. Maybe you don't care about these things and they don't add any value for you. But over 2M people do see the value every quarter - fact. Apple consistently tops satisfaction surveys too.
I think he meant to say "15 yr OLD windows tech"...
YOU DONT KNOW THE POWER OF THE MAC SID OF THE FORCE
IT FORCE TEH CAPSLOCK YO
Le fail epique
No, I'm sorry, but the French don't get to fail anyone anymore. You may, if you wish, hand out a D -
price?
Jeez why does the X360 look so fat in photo 21? I assume part of it is perspective, but Jeez... I can see Steve showing the two off from this angle on stage to make fun of this thing, even if it isn't really that representative? Is the battery really big or something? Why can't you see it from the other shots of the thing...
incidentally, i paid $1500 for a refurb'd MBP 2.5 years ago, and have since upgraded the RAM and the HDD (though that's a bit tough, but it's easy on the MB). the battery is user-replaceable. the thing is still smokin' for all my hi-def and work needs, and also runs XP SP3 on bootcamp without a hitch.
so how is it harder or more difficult to repair than any other laptop? what else can you replace besides RAM, battery, HDD? don't generalize your specific experience to everyone. unless you're just propagating old stereotypes
I was more refering to the fact about how difficult it is to switch graphics cards in the Mac pro, even between cards that Apple supposedly supports. Because Apples goes out of it's way to modify BIOS's to make sure consumers can't buy a card from a store and put it in their Mac Pro, even if it's an identical card to the one they are forced to buy from Apple for a big mark up.
I agree they are rip offs, but they still give you a better price/performance ratio then the MBP does. I wasn't making a point about dedicated gaming, I was making the point that if you take 2 laptops which are the same size and have the same specs and price, except 1 laptop has dual graphics cards costing in excess of £300. Which one is the better deal?
It just seems a little stupid to go for a Mac, when for the same money you could buy a PC that does everything the Mac can, and much much more. Neither is windows difficult to use, nor does it crash, nor is it noticeably slower than OSX when doing day to day stuff. And even if you just want what the Mac can do, why not go for the PC which with the same specs will be 20-50% cheaper.
because 20% is a small price to pay for dual-booting the two most popular OS's
Why do you need 2, when you only need 1 of those to do everything you could ever really need to do? And is a 20%+ markup on £700 or so really worth it? Because that makes OSX about quadruple the cost of Windows
again it all depends. people buying a Mac Pro are probably actually pros who need mac software for work.
personally, i use lots of programs in both environments. it's not a question of whether you _can_ do everything under one OS, but whether you _prefer_ certain progs that only work under one OS.
personally, the $200, if that, I would've saved buying an equivalently priced Dell in '06 instead of an entry-level MBP wouldn't have been worth it. for my needs anyway.
Juxtah: "you could buy a PC that does everything the Mac can"
FAIL. If you actually believe that, you're an idiot. Unless you want to show me a PC running Windows with Aperture installed, or Final Cut Pro, or Logic Pro, or GarageBand, or the thousands of other OS X-only programs. Additionally, one of the best reasons to get a Mac is OS X itself.
ha... look at that, you get downranked for being even handed...
i guess even admitting you don't hate OSX will get you downranked.
here's a hint microsoft fanboys: you're no better than apple fanboys; you're just annoying shits.
Glossy bezel, and glossy screen: yuck! How cheesy and cheap does the thing look? This will not appeal to Thinkpad owners at all.
I saw on Register that this guy is €1500 to €2000 which puts it significantly more expensive than the MBA. It has more features (docking port!!!!) but isn't that about double the cost (MBA is ~$1800)?
Arguing which OS is better, or whether PC's or Mac's are superior to the other is pointless and usually reserved for single-minded thinkers and fanboys. Honestly, it's all about the user's preference and actual hardware/software needs that *should* be the determining factor. Not the "Mac OS is superior, Windows sux!" or vise-versa. I use primarily Windows/PC's for my own personal reasons, but if I saw a need for a Mac I wouldn't have a problem switching over - and some of their notebook designs really are superior to most PC notebooks (as far as exterior casing and LCD's).
As for all the Mac guys (and supposed IT professionals with 15-years experience), consider this:
How backwards-compatible is Mac OS? I personally don't know...but I'm willing to bet the latest version of Mac OS X will NOT install on a Mac system from 10 years ago and run.
When was the last time you saw Windows XP running on a user's system - that came from the store with an OEM version of, say, Windows 98? or 95? :) My point, Microsoft goes out of their way to support as much new and legacy hardware as humanly possible! Mac...not so much. Also, Windows XP dies 9/10 times from USER ERROR, not because the OS sucks.
Bottom line though...Samsung rocks! :-D
removing soap box from under feet.
You do realize that XP is not the latest version of Windows, right? I doubt you'll see Vista running on many 10 year old machines.
I doubt you'll even see Vista crawling on a 5yr old machine. That was the dumbest comment I've read in ages.
Isn't XP just about 10 years old? :)
Ok, yes, I realize XP is not the latest MS release...but Vista WAS built on XP technology. I still consider XP as the dominant MS OS - especially in the IT world. I know my company has no immediate plans to upgrade to Vista.
Still, I'm more pointing out the fact that MS's track record is that they (almost) always consider backwards compatibility as a high-priority with their OS's. My experience with Mac (which I'll admit is somewhat limited)...not so much.
Isn't MAC OS X based on Unix which is almost 40 years old?
Isn't its graphics architecture OpenGL almost 16 years old, almost unchanged while Microsoft has released ever more sophisticated versions of DirectX reflecting the vast progress that has been made in graphics processors over that time?
Etc. Etc.
If you're just going to parrot things other people say about something, be prepared to be called an idiot.
@ Desert Fox - Idiot!
@Fanfoot - that was like psychic!!
Are they fighting in that picture? Looks to me like they're doin somethin else...
Bow chika bow wow
I agree with the above posts that make note of the differences between two operating systems. From my personal experience, the windows gui/navigation interface 'feels' more sensible and smooth in its operation (and the multitude of software!) But I have to give it to what OS X can do with its bootup time+stability / lack of a need to manually defragment. While IT nerds may cry windows and linux is so much more advanced and capable, think back at Linux's roots--->Unix (sort of), which is what the Mac OS is also built upon. The Terminal behind that juicy interface in a mac is quite capable also.
I think why the something like the macbook is such a popular option (especially on college campuses) is you open it up and it works without any 'additional' junk programs booting with your OS. As someone who is somewhat computer literate, I spend on average 30 minutes (mostly waiting time) uninstalling/msconfig-ing "Assistance/advertisement/sony-e-pene awesomeness" types of programs that come with any new branded windows laptop. (I've had 3 recent experiences with 2 vista machines + 1 xp, apparently companies like sony think there needs to be a vaio-everything to "enhance" basic functionality built in windows, acer/toshiba-->u guys are guilty of this too!)
Anyways just a balanced perspective from someone who uses mac for work and windows for the gaming :) I personally have a home built HTPC for my windows (xp + vista 64bit) machine, and a macbook pro that has dual boot OS-X/XP (with rEFIt, all of you boot-campers convert ;-) )