The featherweight Samsung Q30 finally hits the Singapore shores today after being launched in other parts of region. Similar to Dell Latitude X1, the Q30 differentiates itself with a striking red sheen and better features.

Stylish Samsungs snag Singapore
Red hot Samsung photo gallery

Upside: We've seen what the Latitude X1 is capable of, so how different is the Samsung Q30? Clearly, this notebook aims to appeal to the ladies and it successfully does so, sporting a sleek and sexy red profile. The insides feature a faster Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) chip in the form of the Pentium M processor 753 (1.2GHz) just like the IBM ThinkPad X41. The screen is much better than the Dell, with a 250 nit reflective screen to enhance image clarity. Though we found the Latitude X1's CF and SD reader great, it was even more convenient with the Q30 which supports CF, SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro formats. The monaural sound of the Dell is replaced with 3D sound on stereo speakers. With the Dell, one USB port had to be given up in order to connect to the external optical drive but for the Samsung, both USB 2.0 ports can be used as a 6-pin FireWire port serves to bridge the two devices instead. Indeed, the notebooks are not as identical as one can initially presume.

Downside: As this laptop is targeted at the high-end market, there's obviously a premium price which Samsung states as S$3,999, significantly higher than the Dell's S$3,151. While the memory is limited to a maximum of 1.28GB DDR2 RAM in the Dell, the Q30's capacity is a mere 768MB and uses slower DDR RAM. In addition, networking is compromised in the Q30 as there's no Bluetooth which the X1 managed to integrate.

Outlook: S$3,999 certainly doesn't make for a very affordable notebook but the Q30 clearly wants to target the higher-end segment of the market. Undeniably stylish and feature-packed, this Samsung may just win over the female executives longing for a laptop to match their lifestyle.