Samsung Q330 (NP-Q330-JA01UK) review

Samsung’s thin and light Q330 certainly looks attractive, with its brushed aluminium effect body and contrasting black lid. The welcome lack of activity LEDs and shortcut buttons completes the minimalist design, which makes the laptop look much more expensive than it actually is.

The LED-backlit 13.3in screen is well matched to a native resolution of 1,366×768. As the pixels are more densely packed than in larger screens that have the same resolution, text and images appear sharp and detailed. The screen hinges don’t allow it to tilt back very much, but this could be intentional as the maximum tilt also provides the best vertical viewing angle. While a screen of this size isn’t designed for multiple people to view it at once, good horizontal viewing angles mean it’s still possible, although reflections from the glossy coating become more noticeable at extreme angles.

Despite being designed for go-anywhere computing rather than multimedia playback, the Q330 handles both video and audio well. The tiny pair of speakers above the keyboard produces semi-decent audio, with good mid-range and slightly tinny treble, but a lack of bass. Video playback is crisp, although fast motion tends to blur slightly. The Q330 has no problem playing high-definition content, and will play 1080p video on an external display.