Getting the balance of price, performance and mobility on portable laptops is no easy task. Something normally gives in the equation but Samsung has done itself proud with its Q-series – specifically the dinky Q330.

The brand new Q330 gets so many things right. It is aesthically stunning, wapped on a dinky 13.3-inch form factor and served under 2Kg. It’s also very practical, offering sublime mobile performance and is superb value for money.

View our Samsung Q330 gallery here

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The 13.3-inch laptop has a funky black lid with a lovely metallic finish on the rest of the case. It is a metallic look rather than metal so it isn’t going to look as a pristine or take the knocks over time. However, if feels high-grade enough – as does the brilliant keyboard.

Samsung opted for separated keys on the board, making speed typing very simple. It has oversized return, backapace and enter keys, making working on Office docs and presentations a cinch.

Given the limited space, Samsung has done well to make connectivity good. You get an HDMI out to watch full HD movies via a flatscreen, which the Q330 has enough number crunching processing power to deliver without stutter. There’s also a VGA out, three USB and Samsung has managed to cram in a multi-format DVD optical drive- a big surprise on such a small model.

Samsung Q330: HD streaming

Samsung has added a couple of unique features worth your attention. Samsung uses its own USB sleep charge technology so you can charge up any of your mobile USB devices without the need to boot the laptop up. The Q330 also has a bespoke Samsung technology that works like Intel’s Wireless display. This AllShare tech lets users stream content, even HS content, from the laptop to other devices – as long as they’re DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) certified Samsung devices.

We’re seen a few smartphones with it at T3, but this is one of the first laptops we’ve ever seen with Bluetooth 3.0. This has a transfer rate of 24Mbit/s. That’s twice as fast as the first USB connection you were using not that long ago. It also means it’s possible to transfer your tunes, and films in no time.

Samsung Q330: Specs and performance

Our model has 3GB of memory and a 320GB hard drive combined with a powerful Intel Core i3 at 2.27GHz Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit. This makes the Q330 very responsive and able to cope with multi-tasking – even if you aren’t.

The excellent LED-Backlit display is vibrant if a little too glossy in bright lights. It does only support 1366x768 so there’s no sweet high-def movies playback or gaming for you. In fact, there’s no gaming either on this bad boy. The Q330 has Intel’s HD Graphic which can barely cope with games on medium settings. There is a bigger brother in the Q-series with a dedicated nVidia GeForce 310M or GT 330M graphics card. Great but we think the Q series just makes more sense at this size.

Samsung touts a five hour battery life and achieves this by using Intel’s HD graphics. Apply a bit of jiggery pokery and dark juju, the Q330 uses the graphics to extend the running of the battery. The Q330 has a six-cell model and Samsung wasn’t exaggerating its claims by much. We turned on all power saving settings on the Q330 and got just over four and a half hours.

Screen resolution and graphics aside, the Samsung Q330 represents great value for money, combinging style with portablity and performance.

Find out  more from Samsung

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SPECIFICATIONS

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 32Bit
Screen (size and res): 13.3inches 1366x768
Processor (inc speed): Intel Core i3 at 2.27GHz
Graphics: Intel’s HD Graphic
Memory: 3GB Storage (inc DVD): 320GB, DVD drive
Battery tested: 270 minutes
Battery claimed: 300 minutes
Connections: 3x USB, Mic jack, Headphone jack, HDMI, Ethernet, Monitor
Dimensions/weight: 293x207x25mm/1.97kg
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