Samsung P10 C XTC 1900 Fingerprint review

We no longer have to look to bad post-apocalyptic sci-fi films and huge corporations to see biometric security in action. With Panasonic's BM-ET100US Authenticam iris scanner and the Samsung P10 C's fingerprint reader, we're entering an age where passwords could be a thing of the past.

The fingerprint reader sits by the touchpad and works as an imaging device under Windows. You install the TouchChip software and are then asked to enrol when you reboot. You can scan as many of your fingers (or thumbs) as you like, and each digit is scanned three times to get a near enough match. Next time Windows boots up, you're prompted to put your finger on the scanner and, once it's verified that you're the bona fide user, a cheesy graphic of a safe appears and lets you in.

It worked flawlessly with my hands every time, while blocking access to everyone else. But security is only one of the P10 C's important business features. Next on the list is integrated 802.11b WLAN, providing wireless bandwidth of up to 11Mb/sec. This is a vital inclusion for any modern business notebook, and also means you don't have to use up your single Type II PC Card slot, which leaves space for a Bluetooth adaptor (sadly not integrated).

The lack of Bluetooth and a second PC Card slot are the only disappointments, though. Upgrade potential is otherwise well catered for, and the appropriate plates and screws on the bottom are labelled to make life easier. There's a spare SODIMM socket for future memory upgrades, and the optical drive can be easily popped out and replaced by releasing a catch.

Not that you'd want to upgrade the latter, as the Samsung combo drive already functions as an 8x DVD-ROM and an 8x/8x/24x CD-RW. It's not the fastest around, but the functionality is there if you need it. There's also an S-Video output on the back, so you can have a high-quality signal sent to your TV for watching DVD movies, or to an older projector for presentations.

In fact, this notebook is so versatile it could be used at home or in the office. A 32MB ATi Radeon Mobility 7500 graphics chip is fine for the current generation of 3D games, with the P10 C producing an adequate score of 3,227 in 3DMark2001 SE at 1,024 x 768 in 32-bit colour. Meanwhile, the business user will be pleased with the full allocation of both legacy and newer high-speed ports, which includes parallel, serial and PS/2, as well as modern standards like USB 1.1 and FireWire. All that's missing is USB 2, but this could be added via a PC Card later.

The best thing about the P10 C, however, is its build quality. The lid, while plastic, is solid and sturdy and will afford good protection to the screen, although it tends to scratch easily. The silver-spray plastic finish doesn't do it any favours from the outside, but once open the blue-grey and metallic effect makes the Samsung look aesthetically sound.

The keyboard is also solid and, although a little lightweight, has a firm action and deep click with each key press, and no annoying dips in the middle. Even the screen is first class. It's based on Samsung's own Wiseview TFT technology, which is designed to improve viewing angles. It works well horizontally, although the vertical viewing angles aren't the best we've seen. It's still a bright, sharp and high-quality TFT screen though, particularly when placed next to cheaper notebooks like the Multivision Visage LT (see p120).

Samsung quotes the P10 C's weight as 2.3kg, but it tipped our scales at 2.45kg. This is still light enough to take on the move, especially compared with 3.7kg desktop replacements like the Dell Inspiron 8200 2.2GHz P4-M, and the Samsung offers an enormous range of functionality as well.