The good: Attractively priced for a midrange laptop; LED-backlit display; sleep-and-charge USB port; water-resistant keyboard.

The bad: No discrete multimedia controls; memory card slot takes only SD format; ExpressCard/34 instead of the full 54mm variety.

The bottom line: Targeting the portable entertainment crowd, the Samsung R470 offers good value for money with midrange hardware and an LED-backlit display, though we still feel there is room for improvement.

Read full review of the Samsung R470 »

By Darius Chang, CNET Asia
Sep 11, 2009

Before Samsung left the Asia-Pacific market in 2006, the position of its laptops was clearly aimed at the lifestyle set who don't mind paying a premium for slim and sleek notebooks. This was fine back when even budget laptops cost over S$1,800 (US$1,296.36) and were considered a significant investment. Fast forward to 2009, and the mobile computing scene has changed considerably. With full-fledged machines going for under S$1,000 (US$720.20) and Netbooks costing half of that, it's a challenging return for the Korean chaebol. Fortunately, its initial rollout has so far consisted mainly of Netbooks and budget machines that target the mainstream market. However, after an absence of three years, the onus is on Samsung to regain consumer mind share.

The Samsung R470 caught our eye because at S$1,449 (US$1,043.57), it offers Core 2 Duo performance along with the latest Nvidia graphics card. This puts it in the same price range as competitors such as the Acer Aspire 4736G, though the latter does not have an LED-backlit display like the R470 does. However, there are a few gripes which stopped us from giving the laptop two thumbs up.

Design

We've said this over and over again. The only time a glossy shine looks good on a laptop is in the showroom. If the machine is in the thin-and-light category, it is meant to be carried around. This means a glossy lid and palm rest that attracts fingerprints are not the best choices, even if these look good on store shelves. Fortunately, the surface is quite scratch-resistant and, according to Samsung, tough enough to withstand the rigors of urban travel. A nice aesthetic touch is the blue LED-lit frame around the touchpad, which turns off when the atter is deactivated.

For an entertainment machine, we were quite disappointed to find a distinct lack of multimedia controls on this laptop, much less a remote control. However, Samsung did go the extra mile when it came to the keyboard. Not only is this water-resistant to up to 100cc of liquids, the raised key design provides an excellent tactile feel and we've no complaints over typing long essays. Heat vents are located on the left, front and back of the unit, which prevents heating right-handed users. A row of LED lights on the battery allows for instant checking of charge levels without having to turn on the portable.

Features

First, we'll start with the downsides. For a thin-and-light machine, we were disappointed that the ExpressCard slot is of the smaller 34mm type instead of the full-sized 54mm port. Moreover, while 5-in-1 memory card readers are standard in the industry, the one on the R470 handles only SDHC cards.

However, this portable does have features which similarly priced competitors such as the Acer Aspire 4736G and Dell Inspiron 14 lack. The 14-inch display has LED backlights which are more commonly found on high-end machines. The 16:9 aspect ratio and HD-ready resolution are great for viewing widescreen movies as well. This machine is more than capable for casual gaming and high-definition movies, thanks to the discrete midrange Nvidia GeForce G105M graphics chipset.

There are a total of three USB ports on this machine, two of which come with a twist. One of the slots has a lightning sign above it, which symbolizes that this USB has sleep-and-charge capability. This means that even when the machine is turned off, the port continues to supply power allowing connected devices to charge. This cuts down on the number of adapters one needs to carry when traveling. The other is an eSATA/USB combo port that allows either the ubiquitous USB or faster eSATA peripherals to be used with the notebook.

An interesting feature is the SuperSilent mode that activates when you press the Fn + F8 keys. In this mode, the system fan can be slowed down for silent operation is quiet places. However, we noted that the keyboard, which is comfortable to use, tends to be a little clicky. So typing in a library is still annoying to some, SuperSilent mode notwithstanding.

Last, but not least, the Samsung R470 comes preinstalled with Windows Vista Home premium, which means units purchased after June 26 are eligible for free upgrades to Windows 7 come October 22.

Performance And Battery Life

At S$1,449 (US$1,043.57), you get a pretty good set of components, which include a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB RAM and 320GB storage. Together with the 256MB Nvidia GeForce G105M graphics card, Windows Experience Index returned a score of 4.4 (5.1 for the processor and 4.4 for the graphics). Using the gaming 3DMark06 benchmark, the Samsung R470 achieved a score of 2,559. This machine should have no issues with any productivity tools thrown at it, while at the same time it can handle all but the latest and most demanding 3D games.

The battery life is average for a thin-and-light with a discrete graphics chipset. The R470 played a DVD movie for 1 hour 56 minutes before shutting down. This test was conducted with the standard six-cell battery and we expect the uptimes to double with the optional 12-cell pack.

Service And Support

Samsung notebooks come with a one-year international warranty. On its support Web site, you can download user manuals, drivers and software patches. However, there is no knowledge database or comprehensive FAQ for self-diagnosis. There is no telephone technical support and only a hotline number is given for basic enquiries. In case of hardware failure, the unit should be brought to a service center for repair. It is unfortunate that the number of service centers, of which there's only one location in Singapore, is found lacking. Overall, there is much room for improvement when it comes to Samsung's technical support.

Tags: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Intel Core 2 Duo, NVidia Corp., Expresscard, chipset

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