Engadget: Review – Samsung QX410 Laptop
The QX410 competes nicely with the Dell XPS 14 and highly-touted HP Envy 14, this reviewer says. It doesn’t equal its more expensive competitors up in every department, but the price makes it a contender in the premium laptop race.
“Just $799? Wait, really? Indeed, it’s quite hard to grasp that the Samsung QX410 costs under $800, and when you hear about what you get for the money, you’ll understand exactly why. The system not only packs some seriously impressive specs — a Core i5 processor, NVIDIA GeForce 310M GPU with Optimus, and a 640GB hard drive – but it’s also got an aluminum lid, flush glass 14-inch display, and is just an inch thick. And on top of all of that, you can stream video to your TV with Intel’s WiDi and get on a fast WiMAX network without an extra dongle. So yeah, on paper it’s a killer deal, but after spending a week with the rig do we still feel the same way? Or do we suggest you keep shaking the piggy bank until you can come up with an extra $200 for the Envy 14 or a Dell XPS 14? Find out in our full review!
We have a sneaking suspicion that the QX410’s squared edges and clean grayish aluminum lid were designed with the business professional in mind, but we’re more than fine with the simplistic look. Hey, any laptop that ditches glossy plastics and odd patterns is a win in our book. However, it’s the actual build of the QX410 that has us really taken — that aforementioned aluminum lid feels tough as nails, and while the metal doesn’t extend to the bottom of the system, the plastic underside shows no noticeable bend. Even under the lid, the silver aluminum palmrest and keyboard deck look and feel great. Now, we’re not going to say the laptop feels as rigid as the entirely aluminum Envy 14, but it undoubtedly feels better than the majority of systems under $1,000.”