Samsung may be better known for its mobile phones but it's had a wide range of notebooks for the best part of 5 years now and with the latest design refresh, the company has opted for a high-gloss finish that looks impressive and certainly feels cool to the touch.
The design is called the "Aura" design and the R70 follows in this trend but as with other machines we found the lacquered lid can easily be scratched.
So, if you're thinking of opting for this machine, you're best to invest in a slipcase to carry it around in, along with your backpack. That's the bad news out of the way, as the R70 delivers on almost every other front.
Weighing in at 2.7kg, this is a machine you may well want to carry around with you at least on semi-regular occasions. We managed to get a little over three hours on average from the battery, which is more than acceptable given the fact it comes with a 15.4-inch super-TFT screen.
At this price we were impressed to find graphics have also been catered for. Fitted with the Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS GPPU, you'll find you can play the latest games with a degree of comfort as this is a powerful mainstream card.
When it comes to choosing a notebook, it's not only the screen you need to be wary of, as the keyboard needs to meet your needs and comfort level. Luckily, usability is particularly strong on the R70.
The keyboard is large with full-size keys that have a consistently comfortable typing action. A button above the keyboard launches Samsung's AV Station Now media centre software, for easy access to your music, photos and videos.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to opt for this notebook is the specification you get for the asking price. Powered by an Intel 1.8GHz Core 2 Duo T7100Core 2 Duo processor and with 1024MB of memory, performance is impressive.
This is a dual-core processor so you'll be able to run any current software with comparative ease. We found the R70 was more than powerful for the tasks we set it, which included burning a DVD of data while surfing the internet at the same time.
With a 120GB hard drive rounding out the specification, along with a dual-layer DVD rewriter. You'll also find such features as a 6-in-1 media card reader and 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi, making this more than capable of handling all your digital media as well as being connected to a wireless LAN network in your house.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Aesthetics, Graphics capabilities, HDMI output, Customizing options both hardware and operating features Disadvantages: Keyboard does not light up, more battery life would be nice, no bluetooth
PepeLaPue 13.06.2008 (13.06.2008)
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Review of Samsung Aura R70
Advantages: Aesthetics, Graphics capabilities, HDMI output, Customizing options both hardware and operating features Disadvantages: Keyboard does not light up, more battery life would be nice, no bluetooth
PepeLaPue 13.06.2008 (13.06.2008)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Samsung Aura R70
Mar 12th, 2008
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