Samsung Q35 review

Samsung has a good track record when it comes to ultra-light notebooks, and the Q35 is a tempting budget proposition.

It weighs in at 1.9kg so it isn't as light as the Lenovo, but it feels just as sturdy as the X60. The lid in particular is strong, giving ample protection to the bright and glossy 12.1in widescreen TFT. The equally well-built base houses a comfortable keyboard with a sensible layout and all the necessary function keys, such as one to switch off the screen's backlight if you need to conserve the battery.

Battery life is good, though, as long as you don't push the Q35 too hard away from the mains; it gave us over 6hrs under light use, but this dropped to less than 2hrs running intensive applications.

The Q35 is built around a 1.66GHz Core Duo T2300 with 512MB of memory and it romped through our 2D benchmarks with a speedy score of 0.92. Just note that if you want to up the memory in the future, the one available socket is already in use. A DVD writer is integrated and can burn dual-layer and DVD-RAM discs. Plus, a card reader supports SD, MMC, Memory Stick and xD-Picture cards.

Another highlight is the instant-on entertainment mode (AVS Now) that lets you watch DVDs or play MP3s without booting into Windows. Thankfully, the speakers are up to the task, being loud enough to fill a small room. Meanwhile, the 80GB hard disk is generous for this price.

We like the attention Samsung has paid to details such as the battery-level indicator, which gives you an at-a-glance charge state, and a Bluetooth module to accompany the 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi radio. There's a mini-FireWire interface and a Type II PC Card slot, but note that there are only two USB 2 ports.

We can't complain about the lack of a carry case when only Fujitsu Siemens provides one this month - the single year of collect-and-return warranty is also par for the course at this price.

There are no security features like the Lenovo's fingerprint reader, but these aren't needed on the Q35, which is clearly aimed at those for whom work is a secondary priority. Considering the well-rounded specification for the money, the Samsung is a superb choice.