Samsung’s newest laptop, the svelte X360, is a beautiful upmanship of the MacBook Air. Although it looks slightly bulkier, the X360 looks to beat the Air in every way that counts. It’s thinner, although it paradoxically looks fatter thanks to the Air’s clever beveling. And at 1.27 kilos, it’s lighter than the Air’s black matter dense 1.36 kilos.
But when you get a laptop down that small, those extra millimeters and grams are merely for spreadsheet comparisons. Where Samsung has really nailed the X360 is with its features: a 13.3 inch screen, an Intel Centrino 2 processor, a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, 802.11a/b/g/n wireless connectivity and a 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD). But it doesn’t end there: the chassis also contains 3 USB ports, a built-in HDMI connection, an Express Card slot and VGA output. That makes the Air even more feature-paltry than it appeared before.
Spine-extracting fatality? Samsung claims the X360′s battery can last 6-10 hours on a charge.
If they can release this for a competitive price, it looks like a better thintop than the Air all around… except for the buzz killer of Windows Vista. The Air will always have the OS X edge. Now just work on the name Samsung: the X360 is not only less memorable a name than the Air, but Microsoft (XBOX 360) and Lenovo (X300) are probably going to want to have words with you.
Samsung X360 steals Apple’s laptop crown [Pocket Lint]
No firewire, ethernet or integrated CD drive? Sorry, those were deal breakers for the air, and they’re deal breakers for this one.
The Samsung Aerogel?
Wow, I’m impressed, almost a year (well, 9 months) after the Air, Samsung is going to introduce something that’s going to be slightly better! And probably more expensive! And with the amazing Vista® OS!
It’s like all those iPhone clones. They’re still trying, and failing, to compete with last year’s iPhone 1.0.
“No firewire, ethernet or integrated CD drive? Sorry, those were deal breakers for the air, and they’re deal breakers for this one.”
What do you need a CD drive for? Do you also need an 8″ floppy drive and an 8 track drive?
I think he meant optical drive, not CD per se. And I agree, it needs one, certainly before it needs a 1.3 megapixel camera. I’m much more likely to watch a movie or install software on a laptop than take frikkin pictures with it. “Hey guys over here – look at my lap and say cheese”?
Yeah, the hardware specs are nice. I have to wonder how the fit & finish is. My experiences with Samsung laptops are… unfortunate.
Unfortunately, it lacks the one feature that matters to me: OSX
In the 4+ years I’ve had my Thinkpad T30, I’ve only used the optical drive to install MS Office and burn an audio CD while I was at work. My next laptop will not have an optical drive.
As for this Samsung laptop. I don’t think it’s a direct competitor to the Macbook Air, in terms of price and specs. I think the Lenovo Thinkpad X200 and the Sony TZ would be the main competition.
I have an Air. I love it. And I’m probably never going to get another laptop in a larger form-factor.
Also, women ask me about my computer all the time at coffee shops. No other computer has ever gotten me a date before. And that’s really the point to all this, isn’t it?
I can’t wait until my MacBook is finally crapped out enough that I can justify buying an Air and freeing myself from the space-hog that is the optical drive. As a video professional, having FW on my MacBook is nice if I feel the need to edit down at the coffee shop or what-have-you, but really that’s what the desktop is for, so I think I’ll deal. Lack of ethernet is a deal-breaker? Really? I just can’t make myself sad over a couple of missing ports and a missing DVD drive.
For me, portability is key, and the first time I picked up an Air was just a total “wow” moment. It is my next laptop, for sure.
Oh, and this Samsung? It’s got some specs but it doesn’t have charm or OS X. And I like both those things.
Not to be nitpicky, but Centrino (and Centrino 2) are *platforms*, not processors. I see this mistake quite a bit due to Intel’s wonderful marketing, but c’mon, not on a gadget blog.
The fanboys are out it force today.
Anyway, does it come with a red ring of death?
Maybe they should call it the Helium… because it’s lighter than Air?
Baddum-tish!