Hands-On With the Samsung Q310-34P

Sexy, sexy, sexy.

That was our first thought upon getting our paws on the Samsung Q310-34P, the consumer-end sister machine of the Samsung X460. The 13.3-inch thin-and-light notebook weighs 4.8 pounds, and sports a black, glossy lid and base that unfortunately draws lots of fingerprints and smudges. Still it’s quite the eye-catcher with an equally glossy black base that features a dash of red.

For $1,349 you get the following specs:

• 2.2-GHz processor
• Windows Vista Business operating system
• 3GB of RAM
• 320GB, 5400-rpm HDD
• Intel GMA X4500 graphics
• ExpressCard/34
• 7-in-1 memory card reader
• 3 USB 2.0
• VGA
• HDMI
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi
• DVD +/-RW with LightScribe

Upon firing up the machine, we were impressed with Vista Business’ relatively snappy boot time; it took “just” 48 seconds to load, which is about 12 seconds shorter than many Vista machines. The 1280 x 800 display isn’t nearly as bright as the X460’s, but should suit everyday users just fine.

The keyboard gets the job done without too much flex, but the touchpad is a bit on the small side and features mushy mouse buttons. It should be noted that the keyboard has a Silver Nano, anti-bacterial coating designed to keep the cooties at bay.

In terms of performance, the 2.2-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 engine and 3GB of RAM made for remarkably snappy performance; Windows and menus opened quite briskly. The 6-cell battery is rated at 6 hours of battery life, but our Notebook batteries provide power to the system whenever it’s unplugged.
Learn MoreLAPTOP Battery Test (surfing the Web until the notebook’s endurance is drained) saw the Q310-34P last 4 hours and 41 minutes on a charge–that’s over 30 minutes better than the typical thin-and-light notebook.

The Samsung Q310-34P is certainly off to a fine start. Check back shortly for a full review.