Samsung Q320 and R522: Hi-def laptops

By Rich Trenholm on 24 March 2009, 12:44pm

Looks like it's laptop day over at Samsung, with the N series of netbooks getting two additions, joined by two high-definition models: the Q320 and R552.

The Q320, pictured above, sports an edge-to-edge 13.4-inch LED screen, with 16:9 aspect ratio. Samsung claims the screen is hi-def, which isn't much of a boast on a laptop, but hasn't yet revealed its resolution. Having said that, the Q320 packs a fair bit of movie-watching and gaming grunt with an Nvidia GeForce G105M graphics card and dedicated 256MB of GDDR3 memory.

The whole shebang is run by an Intel Centrino 2 Processor. You get a slot-loading optical disk drive -- referred to by Samsung as an ODD, which must be some kind of joke -- and one USB port. There's also a combination USB and eSATA port.

The Q320 weighs 2.2kg with a six-cell battery, which is claimed to last up to 4.6 hours. A 12-cell option is also available.

The R552, pictured below, packs a 15.6-inch screen, also in 16:9 HD. Samsung is trumpeting 5 hours battery life, so you could watch two films or get in an eyeball-straining gaming session. Design-wise, there's a light-up touchpad and an 'aluminium-style' palmrest, whatever that is. Something's either aluminium or it's not, you'd think.

Samsung R552

You also get a whopping four USB ports, including one that's powered to charge devices even when the computer is turned off. A separate combo port also supports both USB and eSATA connections.

Like the N310 netbook launched yesterday, both the Q320 and R552's keyboards are coated with anti-bacterial science-y stuff. They'll show up in April. We'll keep you posted on pricing when we know more.