Samsung's X360 ultraportable reviewed: cheaper than competition, but not as good

If Apple's Macbook Air is the poster-child for "form-over-function," and Lenovo's X300 its utilitarian cousin, Samsung's X360 falls somewhere in between on the 13.3-inch wafter-thin ultraportable family tree, serving as another solid, though somewhat underwhelming choice according to TrustedReviews' full write-up. It's not as thin as the Air, but is slightly lighter while still feeling reasonably durable, and with a full complement of ports certainly has the edge in terms of utility. It also manages to be a bit more visually appealing than the X300, is blessed with a "superb" keyboard (which we liked, too), and the five hours of battery life in real-world usage impresses as well. But, it's hampered by a disappointing 1280 x 800 glossy screen and an under-performing 1.2GHz Core 2 Duo CPU. The thing is popping up at online retailers a bit cheaper than we'd expected (we found one for about $150 lower than Samsung's indicated $1,899 MSRP), but, in the US at least, might just be priced a little too close to its proven competitors to make it a serious contender over here.

[Thanks, Simon W]

[Justin @ Nov 28th 2008 11:35AM]

Samsung and their crappy lappy!

[Joe Rogan @ Nov 28th 2008 11:59AM]

Nice

[Justin @ Nov 28th 2008 11:35AM]

Gotta Have!

[Bill @ Nov 28th 2008 11:43AM]

Sweet looking laptop - I wonder how well it runs though

[tmoft @ Nov 28th 2008 11:49AM]

The keyboard does look fun and soft

[Saad Rabia @ Nov 28th 2008 12:07PM]

That's what she said.

[G @ Nov 28th 2008 11:50AM]

If you don't like it you can turn 360 degrees and walk away.

[ArcticFox @ Nov 28th 2008 11:52AM]

If you turned 360 degrees you would be looking at the machine again, you mean 180 degrees.

[toxicpiano @ Nov 28th 2008 11:52AM]

if you turned 360 degrees you would still be facing it

[Corey @ Nov 28th 2008 12:08PM]

Was this a joke reference? because I remember someone saying a comment like this in regard to the xbox 360....and it resulted in massive facepalm

[Saad Rabia @ Nov 28th 2008 12:09PM]

What if I turn 124 degrees then walk?

[Chris @ Nov 28th 2008 12:25PM]

May I direct you kind folks to

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3105/2606082787_d33fbf66bf_o.jpg

[Luigi193 @ Nov 28th 2008 11:59AM]

What's disappointing about a 1280 X 800 13.3'' screen? Isn't that the normal resolution?

[Oli D @ Nov 28th 2008 12:23PM]

i think its the glossyness that everyone gets so anal about, i don't mind it myself but then what do i know?

[Eric Falsken @ Nov 28th 2008 5:58PM]

Yeah, that screen sounds fine to me. Nothing wrong with it at all. And I love glossy screens. They actually work outdoors unlike the matte ones!

There is a facebook support group: We Love Glossy Laptop Screens
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=29859053010

[oZ @ Nov 28th 2008 2:12PM]

Same as MacBook Air, less than ThinkPad X300. X300 manages 1440x900 out of 13.3", it's quite nice.

[Corey @ Nov 28th 2008 12:02PM]

Still dont think this is better than the Air. Extra ports doesnt make an ultraportable better than the Air automatically. The Air still has a much better CPU than this thing, faster bus speed, better screen, backlit keyboard, huge multitouch trackpad, thinner, better austhetic appearance, and of course the always solid OSX behind it.

People knock the Air, but I have yet to find any computer as powerful as it, in its form factor, with a beautiful pro-like 13" screen / huge trackpad for $2499 or less.

[Corey @ Nov 28th 2008 12:05PM]

Air also has more L2 Cache, and the GeForce 9400M compared to the old Intel GMA this has

[chickenator @ Nov 28th 2008 12:34PM]

apple hateboys activated!

[Adderz @ Nov 29th 2008 7:55AM]

Im really surprised this post wasnt low ranked already, seems very un-engadget.

He speaks the truth though, so many people bash Apple products because they dont do exactly what they need.

The thing is, Apple target the majority of peoples needs and say get stuffed to people with specialised needs.

Samsung etc try to target EVERYBODY..which leads to tradeoffs.

[rpahk @ Nov 28th 2008 12:10PM]

Reminds me of the old Toshiba Portege 700 series of several years ago: lightweight, 13.3" screen and no CD drive. It was my favorite laptop. The Mac Air is attractive except Apple really should have included 2-USB ports or at least an RJ-45 port. I can live without a CD drive but one USB is a pain in a non-wifi networked office environment.

[chad smithers @ Nov 28th 2008 12:12PM]

I hate everything samsung. Especially the samsung glide. Worst phone I ever had.

[chickenator @ Nov 28th 2008 12:32PM]

u hate samsung yet u bought it.
dont tell me your mom bought it for u.

[Nomi @ Nov 28th 2008 12:15PM]

I want the X300 with the looks of this lappy....*sigh*...can't have everything...

[Alex @ Nov 28th 2008 12:18PM]

Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid chiclet keyboard.

I'm not going to head into Apple-bashing mode. Obviously it was their choice to popularize this type of keyboard, and it does look pretty eye-catching. But I wish other companies, rather than follow Apple's lead, would think for themselves and choose a more functional/comfortable design. I have a hard time typing on those newfangled keys, and I know a long-time Apple fanatic who feels the same way.

[Quikboy @ Nov 28th 2008 10:08PM]

Um, it's actually Sony's chiclet keyboard. They had it before the MacBooks did.

[Patriks7 @ Nov 28th 2008 12:22PM]

Waiting for an iEye or Clak post about copying the keyboard in 3...2...1...

[chickenator @ Nov 28th 2008 12:35PM]

...0,-1,-2,-3...

[Luigi193 @ Nov 28th 2008 12:51PM]

The keyboard looks a bit like the Macbook's, which is great, because I love that keyboard!
I'm surprised the whole, "Spaced Keys" keyboard didn't take off sooner...

[BOGRASH @ Nov 28th 2008 1:05PM]

not as surprised as Sony

[Gnormie @ Nov 28th 2008 1:20PM]

Looks a bit like one of Sony's keyboards...

[KIFF @ Nov 28th 2008 12:59PM]

The keyboard looks like the one on the VAIO X505, but what do I know. I am a PC...

[looieloo @ Nov 28th 2008 1:58PM]

I don't like the backslash/ pipe key taking up part of the right hand shift key space.

[JerkfacedFed @ Nov 28th 2008 2:09PM]

Nice, and since it has X360 in the model number that means it has a Xbox 360 Jasper chipset builtin and it can play Xbox 360 games! Wow PS3 sucks!

[styx @ Nov 28th 2008 4:49PM]

Got one on Wednesday.
The screen resolution is fine, fonts look good so far. The glossy display is sometimes disturbing, yes. A non-glossy display would've been better.


Installing linux on it now ;P
(If someone has problems, leave a comment, I'll reply)

[Sneaky @ Nov 28th 2008 5:37PM]

One thing very annoying about Samsung's are their bright blue lighted power button.

[styx @ Nov 29th 2008 9:20AM]

Somebody should prohibit bright blue status leds. A light shining green is fine.

[mptu @ Nov 29th 2008 9:36AM]

The keyboard is maybe taken from Sony Notebook type Z