Samsung Q330 (NP-Q330-JA01UK) review

A black Chiclet-style keyboard creates an attractive contrast with the aluminium-effect chassis, and typing is a pleasure on the full size keys. As with most ultra-portable laptops, there isn’t room for a number pad. A touchpad recessed into the wrist rest looks great and works well with little resistance. The two touchpad buttons are split rather than in one long bar, but they’re small and react to very minor nudges.

At 1.96kg, the Q330 is just light enough to be classed as an ultra-portable laptop, yet Samsung has still managed to squeeze in an optical drive. Other connectivity is limited to VGA and HDMI video output, audio in and out and three USB ports, one of which will continue to charge your USB device even when Windows is shut down. Bluetooth is built in, and a card reader beneath the touchpad accepts SD, SHDC and MMC cards.

Despite its small size, the Q330 still had a 2.27GHz Core i3 350M, which handles everyday tasks with ease. Samsung has installed 3GB of memory and matched it with the 32-bit version of Windows 7. While we would have preferred 4GB of memory and a 64-bit version of Windows, the Q330 still delivered some admirable benchmark results. A score of 80 overall is high for an ultra-portable, particularly one with only 3GB of memory. The integrated Intel graphics chip isn’t designed for gaming, and returned a lacklustre 10.2fps in our Call of Duty 4 test. In our battery test, the Q330 lasted a respectable 5 hours 7 minutes.

With less memory than other laptops in this price range and a 32-bit operating system, there is no question that you’re paying for the Q330’s excellent design. Performance is still on par with most other machines in this price range, however. Unless you need to run 64-bit applications, the Q330 is a great choice if you’re after an ultra-portable.