X60 Review Now Posted

My review of the Samsung NP-X60 has now been posted http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2867&review=Samsung+X60 .

John

 

nice review!

 

Notabenem has also posted a review of his X60 http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3086&review=Samsung+X60+Studentbook .

John

 

John, can you also see the light gray dots on your display? According to our review, you have a lower resolution display and I was wondering if those artefacts are a generic issue, or just a specific , in which case I might contact the service centre for a replacement...

 

I’m seriously considering purchasing a Samsung laptop similar to the X60 or M55 but I need to know a few extra details concerning the remote before hand. I’m also waiting on Core Duo 2 laptops to hit the UK before making my final decision but hopefully any new laptops they release will have the same functionality on the remote.

I understand that the 3(?) main AVS buttons on the laptop itself can be manually programmed to different tasks so that’s not an issue for me, as I don’t really want to be using the AVS suite – I would most likely uninstall it.

With the remote I was wondering if the functions it provides are global Windows functions, for instance I’m looking at a picture of the remote now; I see previous track, play/pause, next track and the generic volume controls (up, down and mute). Is it only the AVS application that responds to these functions or are they sent to the operating system? For example I have a keyboard at home with similar buttons and they provide functionality in any media application because when pressed they raise a global event on the operating system; similarly the volume buttons control the Windows master volume. Is this the case with the Samsung X60 remote?

Thank you kindly for any feedback.

 

Yes, my display is the 1280 x 800. I see nothing that I would call light grey dots. However, my X60's display does not seem to be as bright or with such high contrast as either my Asus W3A or the Sony S which I had before the Asus.

John

 

I've just tested the remote and it seems to have some functionality in most Windows applications. eg pressing Enter on the remote gives the same effect as pressing Enter in an application. The volume controls work at the Windows level. The Back button is the equivalent of backspace while the navigation buttons become cursor controls.

The only time I have used the remote was for a PowerPoint presentation. It was quite convenient to have the computer next to the projector while I was standing near the screen. In my view, the remote control is a potentially useful accessory but not something that would be a deciding factor. I have still yet to see another 15.4" widescreen notebook which has a 3 hour battery life (under light usage) and weighs only 2.5kg.

John

 

I really want to use this laptop to plug into a TV using the s-video lead to watch movies and a few episodes, the inclusion of a remote really expands the usability of the laptop for doing this. I'm just wondering now though, the manual says the remote has a distance of 3m, could you confirm or expand on this please?

Thanks for the feedback!

 

I have tested the range of the remote control. It works OK up to at least 6m /20ft provided the remote is pointed directly towards the sensor on the front of the X60. So, unless you have an extremely big room, the range should not be a problem.

John