I decided last week that my ageing Fujitsu Siemens Amilo SI 1520 was in need of an update, so looking around for a 12″ replacement laptop I came across the Samsung X120 for £480. There’s enough out there on the web to cover reviews, videos, photos etc, so I’ll add my opinion solely on using it for the last 2 weeks.

In terms of hardware spec, there’s nothing missing from it that I could need. It has Bluetooth, WLAN, Webcam, HDMI, Memory Card slot (SD), 250Gb HDD, 3Gb RAM and a very, very bright well contrasted LED screen. Its touchpad is multitouch enabled (which is a software thing more than a hardware thing ‘cos my last laptop also had a capacitive pad, but no multitouch), and this means you can zoom, rotate etc all with certain finger movements which is quite handy for zooming in on web-browsers etc.

The CPU is a Dual Core SU4100 which from the PassMark site is quite a bit better than the T2400 on my old Amilo. I run Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Office, PowerDVD, IE, Chrome, Spotify, Filezilla, all without any problem at all. It also just about runs a Blu-ray ISO off an external drive, I wouldn’t class it as watchable though, just an indication of it’s power. The keyboard is a good large size (it couldn’t get any bigger), and the the overall design is clamshell like that closes tight with no rattles or any sign of dodging build quality. The charger port is even on the side which is a vast improvement over my old Amilo which at the back always got in the way when using during charging. The heat sink vents are also side mounted meaning it shouldn’t overheat when the bottom is covered (by being on your lap or carpet etc).

It comes with Windows7 as well which is much better than staring at the decade old XP interface, and from out the box it takes about 2 hours for it to whir through the process of installing/configuring itself with all the bloated/crap software that PCs come with. 30 minutes of uninstalling later and a quick run of CCleaner to rid the registry of all the rubbish and it’s firing on all cylinders. Windows7 Home Premium also means Media Center is included, which believe it or not is of no real benefit to me, but still nice to have should the need arise.

The only thing that sucks on it is the battery. It lasts the same as my old Amilo, 2hrs, from a full charge, and given it’s branded as a Netbook means it’s up against rivals with 9hr battery lives. All can be forgiven though due to it wiping the floor with the others in terms of power. For such a lightweight, well spec’d machine, battery life must be a sacrifice and one that I’m happy to allow, and anyway, apparently there is a 6-cell battery on the horizon (currently 4-cell) that will no doubt make this the sub £500 12″ Netbook/Laptop of choice.