Samsung X120

Full specifications | Add your review

Review

We may have mentioned in the past that 2009 was going to be the year of the ULV ultraportable, with the implication that these ‘thin and light’ laptops with more traditional specifications would quickly eat into netbook sales. Well, you know what? We were wrong.

The ULV ultraportables we’ve seen so far have all been far too expensive to tempt anyone who’s considering a £300 netbook and performance, although better than any Atom-powered portable, is still lacking for a laptop that costs £600 or more. Disappointing, eh?

Even so, with 2009 almost at an end, there is now at least one ULV ultraportable that’s come good on the promise — the Samsung X120. It’s one of three new ULV laptops from Samsung, but it’s the only one that really caught our eye — the X420 and X520 are both larger and considerably more expensive.

The Samsung X120 is an 11.6” laptop, which means that it’s much the same size as ASUS 11.6” Eee PC Seashell and not that much bigger than other 10.1” netbooks. At just 1.36kg, it’s also not much of a burden to carry around and since it’s only 1” thick when closed, it slips easily into most bags — laptop or otherwise.

We liked the look of the last Samsung netbook we reviewed and the X120 certainly compares very favourably. Every edge of the case is rounded and the metallic grey lid contrasts nicely with the narrow silver band that runs around the base. The base also has a curved lip at either side that the curved edges of the lid fit snugly into — it’s a completely superfluous touch, but it’s encouraging to see Samsung paying such close attention to the fit and finish of the X120 when other manufacturers don’t bother.

• 1
• 2

We couldn't find any prices for this laptop. Click for our full laptop price comparison