Jørgen Sundgot inspects Samsung's X50, a light yet powerful laptop boasting a 15.4" widescreen, 2.13 GHz processor and 80 GB hard drive at a mere 2.41 KG.
Perhaps best known for its extensive line-up of mobile phones, Korean manufacturer Samsung makes just about everything under the sun - including laptops. Surprisingly, few are aware that the maker even has a laptop line-up, and particularly so in the U.S. where it isn't even carried, but that doesn't hinder the Korean giant from applying some of its manufacturing expertise to this particular are.
Unveiled to the world in January, Samsung for the first time demonstrated the X50 here at CeBIT 2005 as a desktop replacement laptop which offers a solid amount of power under the hood and a great screen, yet still manages to keep its weight down to a surprisingly light 2.41 KG.
 | | Samsung X50 |
Offering Intel Pentium M processors ranging from 1.6 through 2.13 GHz, the X50 comes with a 15.4" glossy LCD of very high quality and one of two resolutions: WXGA (1280 x 800 pixels) or WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050 pixels). Admittedly, competitors such as Fujitsu Siemens' Amilo M4438 offer even higher resolutions, but the screen of the model on display at CeBIT was quite frankly an astonishing sight nonetheless.
For powering the display, users will have a choice of either an ATI Mobility Radeon X700 or X600 graphics cards, offering 128 MB and 64 MB of video RAM, respectively. Granted, there are more powerful offerings in the market, but these options should still satisfy the needs of most users. Moving to hard drives, we find a choice of either 40, 60 or 80 GB, and there's also DVD+-RW for those optically inclined.
 | | Samsung X50 |
In the communications department, we find solid support for wireless with the option of either 802.11b/g or 802.11a/b/g, with Bluetooth also being an optional feature. On the wired side of things, we have 10/100/1000 Ethernet, a 56K V.90 modem, 3 USB 2.0 ports, an IEEE 1394 jack, VGA out, composite video out, SPDIF audio out and a PCMCIA Type II slot. Also, a multi-format memory card reader accepts Memory Stick and SD Card formats.
Rounding things out, the X50 can also be delivered with optional biometric security courtesy of a fingerprint reader, and also offers Samsung's AV Station Now concept which allows for the playback of movies, music and pictures without booting the laptop. Already available in the German market, availability for the remainder of Europe is unknown however is likely imminent; official pricing from Samsung is non-existent, but expect a model with maximum configuration to sell in the area of 4,000 EUR.
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