After plotting its entry into the branded U.S. laptop market for close to two years, Samsung burst onto the scene this past October with seven models in four categories—just in time to see the economy go into full-meltdown mode. So to win the hearts and minds of buyers, the company needs exceptional products at attractive prices. While Samsung hit those marks with its NC10 netbook, its business-focused P560-54G is less successful. It’s not that it’s a bad machine; the problem is, this 15.4-inch mainstream business platform is largely unremarkable, delivering the expected features at the expected price ($1,299) in a package that’s dull even by boring business-PC standards.
Take My Industrial Designer, Please!
At 14.1 x 10.5 x 1.4 inches and 5.8 pounds, the P560 is similar in size to most 15.4-inch notebooks—which is to say it’s fine for lugging to and from your car but far too big for an airplane tray table. The exterior design is nonexistent, consisting of just a rounded matte black shell reminiscent of the off-brand notebooks you see at warehouse clubs. Granted, business notebooks tend to be conservative, but the P560 makes no attempt at a style statement, which is curious considering the attention Samsung paid to aesthetics with its other notebooks, such as the X460-44P. The black-on-black treatment is a little more successful inside, where the smooth keyboard and perforated speaker grille could be read as minimalist-modern. Or just plain ol’ plain.
The keyboard itself is a high-quality, full-size model that’s comfortable and quiet to use. The responsive touchpad could be larger considering the screen size and the copious room on the palm rest, and unlike many business models, Samsung did not include a pointing stick in addition to the pad. Nor are there any multimedia control keys or even dedicated volume controls; the latter, at least, have become commonplace in this class.
Display
The 15.4-inch LCD is, again, an unremarkable choice. Its 1280 x 800-pixel resolution makes for readable text, but a higher-res panel would have made better use of the expansive size, letting you have more windows open and viewable at once. The satin (as opposed to heavy matte) antiglare finish on the LCD is the right choice for a business notebook, cutting down on reflections but still letting the colors come through.
Watching a DVD copy of Pirates of the Caribbean, the screen showed natural color reproduction and remarkably little motion blur. Unfortunately, Samsung’s speakers are abysmal; sound was thin and tinny. It’s worse than most notebooks we’ve tested and particularly poor compared with other machines this size, which tend to have room in the chassis to work some audio finesse. The speakers are maybe good enough for Web audio, but if you were planning on using the P560 as a presentation device, bring external speakers.
Hands-on video with Apple's groundbreaking tablet.
