By Sasha Muller on Wednesday, 12 December 2007
 Samsung’s Aura range of laptops are a fantastically stylish-looking bunch. Unfortunately, those looks come at a price — even the cheapest model we’ve seen, the Samsung R70, will set you back just over £700. Indeed, if you’ve been looking for a laptop for under £400, then you might have abandoned all hope of finding a good-looking, well-specified portable from any of the big brands. Well, Samsung’s R60 Plus might be just what you are looking for.
First impressions were so good that at first we thought that Samsung had sent
us the wrong laptop. Surely, we thought, there was no way that you could get
such a good-looking and sturdy feeling laptop for just under £400. But happily,
our cynicism was misplaced and we found the R60 Plus for sale at its suggested,
and surprisingly low, retail price.
It doesn’t look like a budget laptop, though. The wide glossy black lid is
similar to other laptops in the Aura range, and the transition to the matte
black interior is similarly attractive. Build quality is surprisingly good,
too. The R60 Plus is fairly slim and dainty for a 15.4” model, so there is a
bit of flex in the base, but its no more pliant than many pricier options. Similarly,
the screen is protected by the sturdy glossy lid. Press firmly on the lid and
show-through is quickly visible on the display, but again, it’s more than strong
enough to fend off the odd knock on its travels.
Best of all, it seems that someone at Samsung has been paying heed to the complaints
levelled at previous laptops, and we were delighted to find two catches holding
the lid closed. With the lid clasped shut there’s still just enough room for
a paperclip or a coin to slip in and endanger the delicate glossy screen, but
it still does a great job of keeping larger pointy objects at bay. Once we’d
finished prodding and poking the Samsung’s good-looking frame, we had yet another
pleasant surprise.
A poor keyboard can compromise an otherwise fine laptop, but the R60’s would
be a sterling example whatever the price. The full-sized, amply-spaced keys
have a delightfully positive action and we almost forgot we weren’t typing this
review on our usual full-sized keyboard. Typing for long periods is a real pleasure
and the Silver Nano coating on each key makes them silky smooth to the touch
— it also fends off nasty bacteria. If we were to be really picky, then we’d
have found it more comfortable if the keyboard was more tilted towards our
typing position, but its nothing that a laptop stand, or a magazine wedged
under the laptop’s rear, couldn’t sort out. The Samsung’s display is a fine
example, too. Measuring 15.4” across it provides a native resolution of 1280
x 800 pixels, which makes for a perfectly spacious Windows Desktop. Its amply
bright and the glossy finish gives a wonderfully high contrast image. Colours
are surprisingly accurately reproduced and only the very slightest fuzziness
counts against it. Indeed, its image quality is enough to embarrass many significantly
more expensive laptops.
As you’d expect given the tight budget, the R60’s specification is the principal
compromise. Memory is limited to a modest, but still acceptable 768Mb, and the
penny-pinching means that the hard disk is also restricted to a low-capacity
80Gb model. Similarly, the Intel Pentium Dual Core processor ticks over at a
slow-sounding 1.46GHz, but while its not one of the latest Core 2 Duo chips,
its still light years ahead of the single core Intel Celeron processors usually
found in laptops at this price point. And when you stop to consider that you’re
getting a dual core processor, discrete graphics, great build quality and a
superb 15.4" display, all bundled together in a great-looking package for just
£399*, only Scrooge himself would find it hard to be filled with festive cheer.
[*The Laptops
Direct site is currently down, and the next best price online is £433
from Amazon
-- still a bargain!]
| Price: |
£399 |
| Rating: |
6 out of 6 |
| Good: |
Price, looks, build quality; keyboard |
| Bad: |
Modest memory; low-capacity hard disk |
| Manufacturer:
|
Samsung
|
| Buy from: |
Amazon
|
| SPECIFICATIONS |
| Processor: |
Intel Pentium Dual-Core T2310 (1.46GHz) |
| RAM: |
1Gb (4Gb max) |
| Graphics: |
ATI Radeon X1250 graphics |
| Hard disk: |
80Gb SATA 5400rpm |
| Optical drive(s):
|
DVD±RW (+R double layer) / DVD-RAM |
| Floppy drive: |
No |
| Screen: |
15.4in (1280 x 800) |
| Ports: |
Ethernet, modem, 802.11b/g, Bluetooth |
| Other: |
Memory card reader |
| Size: |
358 x 265 x 36 mm |
| Weight: |
2.7kg |
| Battery life: |
2h 43m |
| DVD playback: |
1h 50m |
| Recharge time: |
1h 26m |
| Warranty: |
1 year international |
|
