Samsung makes fantastic laptops. We're big fans of the Q45, R700 and pretty much anything else it's churned out recently, so we're expecting big things from its latest effort, the R410.
Unfortunately a quick hands-on in the company's South Korean headquarters left us cold -- at least to begin with. When the person demonstrating the R410 handed one over, proclaiming it was "really light", its 2.4kg chassis nearly snapped our arms out of their sockets. Say what you like about our masculinity -- or lack thereof -- but we expect 14.1-inch laptops to weigh much less.
The R410 is purportedly the ultimate lifestyle accessory for students, mobile workers or anyone who wants to stand out from the crowd. To its credit, it does look pretty -- even if its glossy black lid and optional silver, black or patterned interior section provide nothing in the way of originality.
Inside, the R410 can use anything from an Intel Celeron T1400 up to an Intel Core 2 Duo T9300, 2GB of RAM, an ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 graphics card, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, and either gloss or non-gloss coatings on the 1,280x800-pixel display.
It's not quite the hero product Samsung needs in order to hammer home its competence in the laptop world, but it's a step in the right direction, and at just £499, it's an absolute steal. Watch for a full review shortly. -Rory Reid
Update: Read our full Samsung R410 review.
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