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Samsung Series 3 Chromebook XE303C12
by northernlovely
I went into the Apple Shop with my 9 year old, faithful MacBook to have the keyboard repaired and was told 'I'm sorry, we don't support that model any more' (by a guy who would probably have been in school when I bought it!). I toyed with the idea of buying a new MacBook, but at around £900 for a machine I basically go on the net with, ... it just seemed too much.
I didn't want a Windows laptop though - I have one for work, and am generally in a state of frustration with it. It's so boring and blocky, I've never really liked Windows. And again a cheap laptop would set me back £250 and would be a chunky lump of plastic. Hmm.
So when I saw Chromebooks I was amazed - they offered everything I needed and wanted (simple web browsing, easy to use, occasional applications and a few fun games) and could be bought for as little as £220. They're neither PC or Mac, they run on Android, like many popular and powerful mobile phones (I have a Samsung Galaxy SIII). Amazing, I just had to have one. And on saving up my DooYoo Amazon vouchers and adding a little bit to it, have one I had.
I went for the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook XE303C12 which wasn't the cheapest Chromebook but I liked the look and the specs of it and it set me back £299, yes, I could have bought a PC laptop cheaper however you have to see this Chromebook - wow - it has all the aesthetics of a MacBook at a PC price, with a friendlier OS.
Currently the stockists are listed as John Lewis, Currys PC World and Amazon but after visiting a John Lewis and a Currys PC World I was told they mainly stock and sell them online, neither had a display of Chromebooks, and I bought it online at Amazon with free next day delivery.
Specifications on the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook XE303C12 are as follows:
Google Chrome Operating System
CPU / Processor Samsung Exynos 5 Dual Clock Speed (Max.) 1.7GHz CPU Cache 1MB
Screen Size 11.6" Type LED HD Resolution 1366 x 768
Standard System Memory: 2GB Total amount of available memory may be less based on system configurations graphics support, and other factors.
Memory Type DDR3L
Hard Drive 16GB
Graphics Integrated
3W Stereo Speaker (1.5W x 2)
Internal Mic
Web Camera 0.3 MP
WirelessLAN 802.11 a/b/g/n
VGA Available only with dongle sold separately
HDMI
USB Ports 1 x USB 3.0 + 1 x USB 2.0
Headphone Out
Microphone In
Multi Card Slot 3- in-1 (SD/SDHC/SDXC)
74 Key Keyboard
Touch Pad
AC Adapter 40W
Battery Life 6.3 hours approx
Product Dimensions (W x D x H) 11.4" x 8.09" x 0.69"
Product Weight: 2.43 lb
The main reasons I went for the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook XE303C12 are the internal hard drive at 16GB (which is used only for apps and some local storage, everything else is cloud based), the excellent battery life, and the looks.
The Samsung Series 3 Chromebook XE303C12 is a thin profile, silver plastic laptop with the razor sharp stylings of a first generation MacBook Air. The keys are spaced in a Mac / Vaio style, and are a very dark grey with white lettering / numbering. It's stunning to look at.
When the Chromebook is closed the Samsung logo in silver is printed on the back with the Chrome logo in the corner and 'Chromebook'. It looks very modern and due to being such a new thing, many people ask me about it when they see the Chrome logo.
In terms of use I can't fault it. You only need to install the applications you'll use, very much like a mobile phone, so to say this laptop is personalised is an understatement - you can make it what you want and need very easily. It has the standard Google Chrome browser which I find excellent, coming from Safari which was often a struggle to update and sometimes had display issues on sites. I've never had any such problems with Chrome.
Installing new apps is a doddle too, and there's a whole host to choose from. You can install games, learning tools, entertainment apps (such as Netflix which works very well on the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook XE303C12) and so on. The range seems to be growing, too, as more and more people invest in these low cost, high power, stylish laptop alternatives.
Most apps do need a permanent internet connection to run but there are plenty of offline capable apps too so don't let that put you off - you can still use the Chromebook if there is no internet connection available. I have mine at home 99% of the time so it was never much of a concern or consideration for me - but if you're worried you can't work on a word document or Excel spreadsheet on the train - yes, you can. Just make sure the app you are installing is offline capable, there are plenty, and you can store locally too using the 16GB of available hard drive space.
Some of my favourite apps are:
Pixlr (a fantastic alternative to PhotoShop)
Google Docs / Zoho Writer (Both excellent and free alternatives to Microsoft Word, and also fully compatible with Word)
Zoho Sheet (A feature packed spreadsheet application)
FaceBook and Twitter (No introduction needed)
Netflix (A great Chrome OS version of this movie streaming service)
... the rest I just do directly from the browser as it's such a fast and easy to use browser.
The screen I can't fault - bright, and with amazing clarity. Same goes for the sound, too, it's loud, with excellent top and bass and generally listening to music and watching movies on it is a pleasure.
In terms of battery life I find I am getting around 5 and a half hours from it which I'm really happy with, obviously were you working offline you'd get an extra hour at least but I'm more than pleased I'm getting such a long time for such a low price laptop as I used to get 6 hours on the MacBook and I didn't want to drop down too much from that.
The keyboard is very easy to type on, well spaced and just sensitive enough, and the mouse is very Mac - wide, large and with an invisible single mouse button, I love it. It might take a little more getting used to if you are coming from a PC laptop but I don't think you would find it restrictive as you can do everything you want to with the mouse including scrolling. There is no need to 'right click' (joy!)
For gaming, obviously this isn't a high end gaming laptop. But if a few cheeky games of Angry Birds and other low demand (but modern!) games are your thing, then yes, the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook XE303C12 will easily handle that. Basically for every day needs it's spot on.
Another thing I have noticed is that due to the architecture of the laptop and the operating system / browser, I never get any pop ups and don't really need to worry at this time about virii. I don't know whether that will change, likely it will, but I've not had to install any type of virus checker as yet.
So, would I recommend the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook XE303C12 - and Chromebooks in general? I think the answer here would be a resounding yes - for most people. I use my computer to browse the net, go on DooYoo, watch movies and pretty casual tasks. For that, this is an absolutely amazing laptop. I wouldn't recommend it for home offices, heavy workloads and so on, I wouldn't recommend it as a gaming, graphics or audio work laptop, but it's not designed for that.
For the money I cannot fault the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook XE303C12, I am so glad I took the plunge and went for a Chrome OS laptop. I can't comment on the other Chromebooks in the range however mine, I love, and I hope it lasts me a long time, which if the build quality is anything to go by, it will. Five stars out of five from me.
I'm blown away by this laptop, it's beautifully simple and simply beautiful.
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Packard Bell Dot sr UK/031
by tzlubbock
I bought this netbook because I was looking for a travel companion. Small and of relatively good spec I thought it would do the trick.
I have a problem with tablets and a particular software I use, tablets simply don't support it. Because this unit still works like a PC (in that it has windows) it did the trick for this ... particular requirement.
So about the product:
Build - its ok...the joints of the screen seem a little flimsy I worry that my heavy handedness will one day break it, but to press they have lasted! The unit other than this is sturdy, very little flex in the chassis. The keyboard is a mini type but is tactile, keys showing some shining after six months use. The mouse pad is good with a tactile click action that does not disappoint.
Speed - surprisingly fast! I render NEF images (negative digital image files) and it can keep up. I take the unit to the photography site with me to check what the images are like, it is lacking in memory however, I noticed a vast speed increase once I gave windows some more RAM to use. The chip has all the power saving features you would expect, it increases performance when demanded and saves battery life when idle
Battery life - talking about battery life, its GREAT! Seriously I can get days out of this thing with intermittent usage. My last trip saw me through 3 days with several internet cafe sessions. All in all I am getting about 4 hours life if not more in some instances.
Screen - Here is where it suffers! The resolution is low, you might expect small resolution because it's a small unit but others out there ARE topping the 600px that this has on its smallest edge. Width wise it does the job for internet pages but I find myself using the F11 (no window) browsing feature to try and squeeze all I can out of those 600px. Its bright however, crisp and renders the images in good color when matched to prints. Contrasty with depth of blacks and whites. The only adjustment however is brightness, you cannot change much else hardware wise. If you wanted to, you would have to turn to software to do this in windows.
Weight - its SO light! Seriously it's not much more than an IPAD in terms of weight.
Connectivity - packed with all the connectivity you need for a travel/compact unit, SD slot, USB, VGA network, WIFI. It would benefit from an HDMI out but sadly it missed the boat on that one!
Software - Other than the Packard bell stuff that is loaded that is of no use to me in reality (update software, social tools etc..) the only notable point is that windows 7 is poor! Simply put its not up to scratch, no desktop wallpaper change ability, no user switch, no remote connectivity. It just drops the hat in all respects. I ended up upgrading for a small fee to get Windows 7 full version. I ask what the point of installing this mini OS is....none that I can think of!
All in all this unit is a good carry round unit, with good battery life and good range of connectivity I rarely find myself stuck when out and about with this mini unit. It's fast enough to do normal day to day work on, and I turn to it when the tablet just cannot do what a PC does. Here is this unit's selling point in fact...it's a great option for when you need a PC on the go. With a decent sized hard disk it helps my on the move productivity.
Alternatives? Lets be honest if you had the cash an ultrabook would be the minicomputer of choice, but all in all this unit can keep up to the user and for the price offers a very attractive alternative at a superb price point!
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Samsung NC110
by Huomenna
I first purchased this netbook around a year ago while looking for something portable to display images I'd taken at car shows, make quick edits and send to my dye sub printer, all on site. I thought a netbook would be the way to go as my laptop was a bit to big and heavy, plus laptop battery life is usually not brilliant, whereas ... netbooks excel in this area. I did a bit of research into specifications and checked the software I had would run given the memory of these things. In the end I decided this Samsung seemed like the best option...
So why this particular Samsung?
There were several points that lead me towards this model - the inclusion of 3 USB ports (which somewhat made up for the lack of a CD drive - couldn't find a single netbook that did have one), supposedly fast start up, 1gb RAM (which seemed one of the higher ones on the market), 250gb hard drive, SD card slot and up to 10 hours battery life. Overall this seemed like it would do just the job I needed it to, with the bonus that it was in my price range.
What impressed me about it?
Putting it to use I have to say the battery life has not been exaggerated by Samsung, you can use it for hours and hours without needing to hook it up to the mains, great for when you're outside. Also while the keyboard is obviously smaller than normal, the keys are well spaced so you don't feel like you're mashing the keyboard and hitting several at once. The wifi connections are easy to set up and so quick to connect plus the 10.1" screen is also nicely clear and colours seem fairly accurate.
The unit is very small and light so great for portability - certainly if you're travelling abroad it will add very little weight to your already limited baggage allowance. The overall small size means it will also fit in most ladies average sized handbags or any gentlemans briefcase with ease.
What didn't/don't I like?
Unfortunately I have to say I've not been as impressed with this netbook as the other two reviewers - maybe this is because I've been spoilt with higher spec laptops and desktop computers, that said I did expect something better than my smart phone and I'm not sure I've really got it, let me explain why...
The start up time was quoted as being very fast, I can't remember exactly how quick, but it was certainly in the seconds, not the minutes I've found to be the case and this has been from the very first day I've used the thing. I could cope with this if the rest of the machine had impressed me, but I'm still underwhelmed by it. Using it for photos clearly seems to have been a very bad idea - it's just so gut wrenchingly slow to do anything, sure it copies them from the card quick enough but god forbid you want to edit the things (no I'm not trying to run photoshop on the machine - it's loaded with an event software called Dark Room).
After a few car shows last summer this netbook essentially ended up abandoned in my office with the exception of being taken to Cornwall with my for a week last October. I'm using it again now, infact I'm writing this review on it, because my trusty full size laptop is in need of a new charger. Luckily I recently got a lovely new desktop for my office otherwise I'd be driven mad by the Samsung by now - I'm purely using this for messing around on the internet ie. anything not to do with my business.
You'd think that a netbook would work perfectly well for internet use, after all surely the clue is in the name? Nope. Want to have multiple tabs open at any one time? Samsung says no. Ok so you can physically have multiple tabs but the browser is so painfully slow flicking between them. Further more once a page seems to load it often freezes for a few seconds like it's playing catch up and you have to wait before you can scroll down or type anything.
Remember that with the lack of a CD drive everything will either need to be downloaded from the internet or copied onto memory card/USB this is a bit of a pain, but as this seems to be a feature of all netbooks I can't say Samsung is worse than it's competitors in this respect - I'm assuming it must be a space saving feature.
Is the build quality any good?
Yes. For a something so light and clearly made mainly from plastic it does feel quite sturdy (not that I suggest dropping it). The top is a gloss finish (mine is black) which does attract alot of finger prints, but it seems fairly scratch resistant and is wipe clean. Although my netbook hasn't had much use, a year down the line from purchase it still looks almost brand new.
The various sockets are a bit 'clunky' looking but they are functional and anything connected ie. power cable or USB sticks, feel securely in place. The power button is a bit of a pain - it's located on the side corner and easy enough to press, but when it goes into sleep mode sometimes I struggle waking it back up and have to press the power button multiple times to get any sort of response.
How much did it cost?
I believe I paid £260 when I purchased it last March.
Do I recommend it?
Essentially the netbook isn't good at what I bought it for. Ok it wasn't designed for that so I can't really blame Samsung in that respect, it's my fault for buying an inappropriate product I thought would serve my purposes, BUT now I am using it for its intended purpose and I'm still not impressed. Just loading a few holiday snaps from my compact camera was a nightmare - even when trying to use the windows editing software provided you'd spend minutes staring at the screen waiting for anything you'd selected to take effect and the poor performance on internet browsing takes the biscuit.
Honestly I can't say I recommend it, if all netbooks are like this I can't really see the point - slow, frustratng and effectively useless at doing most jobs, from what I've seen most tablet computers look faster so if size and portability is key maybe this is a road you should look down.
I won't be selling mine - I already feel like I wasted money buying it and I know I'd lose alot from selling second hand, so I'll be keeping it as emergency back up and taking it with me on short trips. If I had my time again though I think I'd either be looking at a tablet of a small fully fledged laptop.
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