Let me start by saying there are some drawbacks to this computer: No bluetooth, no blueray, i5 and not i7, and I don't love the touchpad, but...
There are some great features that I love on this laptop.
The multimedia functionality is quite good. The processing speeds for multiple high-demand applications running simultaneously are good. The keyboard is very comfortable and responsive which is huge for me because I type on it a lot. It has a great port configuration with HDMI and 2 of the 3 USBs under an easily accessible protective cover on the left, and 1 USB on the right very efficient for multiple devices. There is very little preloaded "factory" software to remove after purchase, in fact some of the samsung applications are quite handy (the backup for instance).
The aesthetics of this machine are great, it was half the price of the Macbook Pro with the same processing capabilities, it has the seperate dedicated video processing chip which is essential I think, and the battery life is double a comparable Sony or Toshiba (about 6.25 hours per charge -with an additional 3/4 of an hour after powering back on after first shut down).
One thing no one has mentioned is the overall thoughtful engineering. Not only is it very solid and comfortable, but there are a lot of little things that are well thought out. For instance the palm rest is slightly elevated above the keyboard so that when it closes the screen does not contact the keys. Seems like a small feature, but I enjoy watching my friend constantly cleaning finger oils off the screen of his $2,200 MacBook Pro. You can also charge USB devices from the laptop while not running, and the auto save features allow for great convenience (just shut the lid mid sentence and come back whenever to the exact same configuration you had going. This is very useful for me because I utilize multiple research programs and resources simultaneously while writing, and love being able to just slap the thing shut and resume at my convenience when others need my attention).
The portability, durability, screen resolution/quality, processing power (again the dual video processing is invaluable if you want to keep this thing for 5+ years like I intend to), and beauty of this computer combine to make it a very wonderful machine at a very economic price point.
This is a very sleek, stylish and well thought out computer that performs extremely well.
I am glad I trusted the Samsung name even though they are relatively new to the laptop space.
I have no idea if the 430 is of the same caliber as this 410 so I would recommend the 410. It's probably worth the extra $150!
I won't lie what first drew me to this laptop was its look. It is the essence of cool borrowing all the best parts from a host of other laptops and putting them together into the ultimate package. Ultra thin, light, and edge-to-edge glass = drool. But looks fade, right?
Well, so far, the QX410's brains match its looks. This laptop is fast and powerful. I've been editing HD video on here as well as mixing multiple tracks of audio. I have yet to make it slow down or stutter.
Last but not least, the battery. I routinely get 5-6 hours out of the battery and am very happy with that performance.
If someone forced me to say something negative I'd say that I wish the screen resolution were a bit higher it would help when I have an editing program open and a bunch of tool windows. Most times, this doesn't affect me.
Buy this laptop, you won't regret it.
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I've had the QX410 about 3 weeks now. I really like it.
Pros:
Nice feel, nice keyboard action. Stiff hinge. Looks pretty, feels solid.
Built-in drive partitioning
Nice start-up and shut-down speed
Great battery life 5 to 6+ hours per charge
Very nice display love the edge-to-edge glass, brighter and easier to clean than standard LCD
Cons:
A lot heavier than it looks
The i5 processor is so-so for multimedia work better than most in its class, but bogs down a lot faster than the Lenovo Thinkpad R400 I use for work.
Hate the keyboard layout if you're an IBM person, you're going to screw up your screen dimensions whenever you reach for your control key. Yes, you adjust eventually, but it's frustrating.
Also don't much like the mouse buttons integrated into the mouse pad. I keep relocating the cursor with my sleeves. But again, you adjust eventually. It's not a big deal.
Overall, it looks and feels great. Good strong wireless, nice port set up (3 USBs and a HDMI) for a slimline, really good battery life even on full-light display. Great value for the money, and I'm happy with it. It'll handle 2-3 high-load operations at a time. But if you're looking for serious multimedia processing power, this may not be the one for you.
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In order to provide an extensive review, I would have to wait some more time for such a review. However, my first impressions can (hopefully) suffice for now.
I purchased this laptop from Woot! back on May 21st and eagerly awaited its arrival, which occurred on June 1st. I've had it for about a week now, have toyed with it, and so far it is wonderful. I could rave and go on about the great things about it, but I will only give a few cons for right now.
As per the most helpful critical review, I've had no touchpad problems of that sort. However, I have noticed that at times the touchpad doesn't register the click immediately after typing, even with the Palm Guard option turned off. This is hardly a nuisance, however, since I use a wireless mouse most of the time.
The hard drive is 5400 rpm, so those who are used to 7200 rpm hard drives may notice some degradation in terms of performance or file transfers, but whether this is troublesome or not depends on the end user. In my case, it makes no difference.
The screen is a bit iffy. While the edge-to-edge glass is pretty nice, it is extremely reflective, which can be a nuisance on lower brightness settings. But hey, you don't have to worry about accidentally hitting your screen and having it damage the pixels inside. Also, the 14" screen is nice, but considering the extra space around the edges to match the width of the laptop, Samsung could have fit in a 15" screen just as easily.
The battery may be a problem in the future. It is not user-replaceable, so anyone who likes to remove it when not in use cannot do so. Since it lasts 1000 cycles, this may not immediately be a problem, so we will have to see once the first owners of this machine have held out for its lifetime (since it was released in Q4 2010, we have a while to wait).
The GPU is not very powerful, but it is a vast improvement over an integrated card, which this machine also comes paired with, allowing for extended battery life when not using visually intensive programs. I play Minecraft regularly, and the dedicated card is more than enough to run it super smoothly, surprisingly better than my other machine with a much more powerful GPU.
One thing to note, though, about the RAM in this machine is that 210 Mb of its 4 Gb are reserved for video memory for the integrated GPU, so only 3.79 of its 4 Gb of RAM are accessible. However, considering how well this machine performs, I have never run into any problems with this.
As a final thought, the pros FAR outweigh the cons, which are few and minor. The laptop in its entirety is GORGEOUS. Very high quality, solid build, light enough to carry around with you, very thin, and -my favorite part -very long-lasting. The claim for the battery in this machine is 7 hours. Well, I've clocked it in at 8:23 before, so I'm one happy camper. :)
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The mouse on this laptop is VERY annoying! First it sticks, and then it runs around on it's own like crazy! There's a setting to change the 8 different things the mouse does. That's the problem...this mouse thinks it knows too much and doesn't want to always do what what you tell it to do. Other than that this is a REALLY nice laptop. Hope it helps to prevent someone for getting highly frustrated with the mouse.
Very pleased with the design (probably an intellectual property violation of Apple's Macbook Air design!). Performance with 256GB SSD is blazing. The screen is amazingly bright and sharp. I compared it to my business partner's MacBook Air, and the Asus is MUCH brighter. Great for my aging eyes! The speaker sound is a bit low on volume. The most significant issue I have is the sensitivity of the touch pad. I noted that others identified this issue with other UX31s. I have never experienced this with any previous notebook computer. If you so much as touch in the slightest way the large touchpad while typing, large swathes of text will be highlighted and, upon the next key stroke, erased. I have used my undo key to correct this more times than I like to remember. Hopefully, there is a software update that corrects the problem. Other than this, I am pleased. Best notebook I have ever had, even with the concerns I expressed.
