It’s not often that mid-range PC laptops stoke our fires. But the Samsung R620 promises something a tad different: a Blu-ray drive in a standard machine. Is Sammy pointing us to a brighter, HD future? Find out in our Samsung R620 review.
Chucking Blu-ray into a sub-£600 machine is an ace move on Samsung’s part and helps garner the Samsung R620 with more attention than it would normally muster. With a 16-inch screen, Windows 7 and 3GB of RAM, you’re looking at an above average machine. But that lovely hi-def video support, coupled with an HDMI out, makes this a truly attractive proposition.
Load up Blu-rays and watch them on the HD Ready screen and you’ll get decent, but not eye-popping pics. The format is designed, after all, for Full HD panels. Which is where the HDMI hook up comes in handy. Grab a cable and you’re looking at a cheapish laptop that can double up as your home cinema. Now that’s nifty.
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The machine itself is solid, if a tad on the large size. The 16-inch screen makes it a bit big for lugging about on long journeys, but crank it up and the 3GB of RAM will happily take care of a slew of basic apps. Just don’t try to run too many graphics intense programmes at once.
Just like on the excellent Samsung netbooks, the keyboard on the Samsung R620 is ace. It never gives any wobble and caused us no issues when tapping out lengthy missives. Similarly, the touchpad is a peach, its light panel adding a nice touch.
The major quibble we have with the Samsung R620 is its frame. It’s not that its poor, just that it gets scratched as easily as cat-friendly furniture. It’s a real problem and one that can only be solved by keeping it hidden away in a bag when not in use. Hardly ideal.
Still, this is a small gripe to have with such a standard machine. At £575, the Samsung R620 is a bargain if you’re after Blu-ray on a budget.
