Samsung X30

Hi everyone, as you can see this is my first post to the forum. I've been hanging around for a while reading your posts and decided it's time to ask some questions myself I'm looking for a nice new notebook. I'm looking for a notebook that has a good combination of performance & mobility (& battery life, but that often goes with mobility and its less important). I'm also willing to pay extra for design (I hate ugly laptops such as the Dells). My first thought would be the Powerbook, but I can't have a Mac as I'm developing software for Win32 systems. A nice videocard would be nice, but it's not mandatory.

I had three notebooks in my mind. The first being the M375E, but as that one was seriously toned down and still not released either I guess that one won't be on my list anymore. I was also looking at the Samsung X30.

The specs:

15.4" WSXGA+ TFT
Pentium M 1.7Ghz
1GB DDR333 RAM
80GB 5400rpm 8MB HD
GeForceFX 5200 Go
WiFi b/g
No bluetooth
Fingerprint reader for security
2.4kg incl battery
1" thick

I really like the fingerprint reader (it's between the buttons at the touchpad). It can be used for any password in Windows. I guess it simply pastes some generated password based on your fingerprint to the currently activated textbox or something like that. It can also be used to encrypt data (which is a big plus). The videocard isn't too shabby I guess, but I wont use it to play games anyway. I also like that you don't have to shut down the notebook when switching batteries. You can put it in standby and you have a couple of minutes to change the batteries. You standard get two batteries, one standard and one high-capacity. Together they give you about 10-11 hours battery life (they say ).

I was wondering if anyone has experience with this laptop. I'm especially interested in what the screen is like and if it looks good (to look at it in real life is different as to look at pictures). It's a rather expensive notebook (starting at about $3300 (that is above config though)), but then again most notebooks in this class are. Also I'd like to know more about the fingerprint security system.

So anyone who has experience with this notebook (or older samsung notebooks) or someone who has another good suggestion for a good looking laptop with good performance tell me about it! Links to reviews etc. are also welcome (there aren't much, except a one or two German ones).

Some pictures of the laptop (BIG pictures):

http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...x30_serie1.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...x30_serie2.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...x30_serie3.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...x30_serie4.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...x30_serie5.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...x30_serie6.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...x30_serie7.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...x30_serie8.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...x30_serie9.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...30_serie10.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...30_serie11.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...30_serie12.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...30_serie13.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...30_serie14.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...30_serie15.jpg
http://www.samsung.de/webdownloads/p...30_serie16.jpg

Well, I live in the Netherlands, so what will be a good reseller for me, might not be such a good one for you. I'm thinking of ordering the laptop myself here (site is in German):

http://www.notebook-shop.de/main.php...shop&group=142

I have noticed big differences though where you order it. Germany seems to be the cheapest. The notebooks in Germany have 1GB RAM default, while most other countries have 512MB RAM. The same config in the UK is MUCH more expensive.

As for the US, when you look at the Samsung site, only the following countries are listed:

China
France
Germany
India
Hongkong
Korea
Russia
UK
Ukraine

So I assume if you live in the US you'll have to import it.

I don't think it's possible to get a DVD burner in this notebook. I don't understand why you would want one either I have a DVD burner in my desktop and used it once since I bought it. If you want it for backups you are better off using an external HD. Besides the DVD standard is far still unsure (+/- stuff) and then there's the thing that they are working on those 20GB discs now. A DVD burner is a big no for me atm.

That German site is very supportive though. I already asked if it was possible to change the keyboard and harddisk and it was no problem. They even swap the keys for you if you wish.