Samsung X10? The first pancake is not always lumpy. Fantastic foldable Samsung Galaxy X for the first time in images from all sides Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite and Galaxy A91 turned out to be different devices
Samsung has been toying with the idea of foldable smartphones for nearly a decade. It was eight years ago when they first showed off the flexible display, but it's finally ready to turn the concept into reality. We have news from China that the Galaxy X will be launched later this year.
Release date and price
It's been a tough year for Samsung, with Galaxy Note 7 woes and a corruption scandal in Korea, but according to GSM Arena and SamMobile, the company still managed to work on exciting innovations codenamed Valley Project rather than just focusing on incremental spec improvements. their devices.
It's likely that the Galaxy X will take some time to become popular, but if it proves popular, we could see more models with flexible screens in the future. Samsung may integrate this technology into their flagship devices if users accept the technology and there is significant demand in the market.
Design
The overall design of the Galaxy X may contain the Galaxy-specific elements we're all used to, but we don't know what might change due to the flexible screen. The camera, buttons, and placement of the fingerprint scanner can really affect the appearance of the device. The overall shape will obviously change, and rounded edges could make the device more ergonomic.
Having such a device with a display size that can fit in your pocket would be cool, but then the price of such a device due to manufacturing and R&D costs may put it out of reach for most consumers. It remains to be seen whether the Galaxy X will sell well or poorly.
We know Samsung is working on foldable phones based on its patents, and we think the device will most likely launch in 2017, but now we have confirmation from China that the Galaxy X will launch in the third or fourth quarter of this year .
Galaxy X: Display
The Galaxy X will have a 4K resolution display (according to SamMobile), but not much else is known about the display specifications. There are rumors that the display area will extend beyond the front of the device to its edges, something we may have already seen on the Galaxy S7 Edge.
Everyone wants a big screen, but no one is comfortable carrying it around. Flexible screens will help solve this paradox in the world of smartphones.
Below you can see the patent for a flexible screen. This is what we mean when we talk about the Galaxy X. You'll actually be able to bend the screen without breaking it in half, and that's what makes it useful. The lifespan of this type of screen can be a real problem. Constant bending and pressure can damage your screen, especially if you sit down with your phone in your back pocket. I hope Samsung will be able to design a model of behavior for the average user and we will see a worthy device on the smartphone market.
Samsung's success story or failure with flexible screens?
Below you can see an old example of Samsung trying to curve the screen. Could the Galaxy X also be that bulky or will it be a thin and sleek smartphone? The success of an idea depends on execution and Samsung's ability to design according to user needs.
Galaxy X: Features
The Galaxy X will likely feature biometric technologies for security, including a regular fingerprint scanner, facial recognition and iris scanner.
The SAMSUNG X10 line of laptops based on Intel Centrino technology, presented on the Russian market in May 2003, was first shown at the March CeBIT 2003 exhibition. Shortly before this event, numerous premieres of these laptops took place in most European countries, as well as in China and Hong Kong. Thus, the SAMSUNG X10 series appeared almost immediately after the announcement of Centrino technology.
At first sight
The first thing that catches your eye when you look at the SAMSUNG X10 laptop is its original, stylish design. Unlike laptops of this class from domestic manufacturers, which are mostly made on the same MITAC platform and differ from each other only in logos, the SAMSUNG X10 laptop has a unique, inimitable design. The laptop is made in a silver-colored case with a metallic tint, and, apparently, made of a lightweight durable alloy. The quality of the paint on the body seems to be quite reliable, in any case, you can be sure that scratches will not appear on the body after a while. Of course, it would be wrong to reduce the unique design of SAMSUNG X10 laptops only to its stylish appearance. The advantages of this model are its ultra-thin body and low weight, which is combined with high performance and functionality. With an LCD matrix size of 14.1 inches (working resolution 1024x768 pixels), the thickness of the model does not exceed 23.8 mm and the weight is 1.8 kg.
It is necessary to take into account that in terms of its functionality, a laptop can fully compete with a full-size workstation (see Table 1).
The secret of such a small thickness of the case is that the laptop uses an LCD display with a thickness of no more than 5.2 mm and a combined DVD/CD-RW drive with a thickness of 9.5 mm of our own production.
Let us immediately note that the laptop has passed all the necessary stages of certification from Intel, that is, it is rightfully considered a laptop based on Intel Centrino technology. Let us remind you that to obtain such a certificate, it is necessary that the laptop has all three mandatory components of the platform: an Intel Pentium M processor, an Intel 855 family chipset and an Intel PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 wireless module of the IEEE 802.11b standard.
The SAMSUNG X10 laptop is built based on the Intel 855PM chipset. In the basic configuration, the laptop comes with an Intel Pentium M processor with a clock frequency of 1.3 GHz (model SAMSUNG X10 1300) and 512 MB of DDR266 RAM. The line of laptops also includes models with processor frequencies up to 1.6 GHz. The SAMSUNG X10 has a 60 GB Fujitsu hard drive.
The laptop is equipped with a high-performance graphics subsystem NVIDIA Ge Force 4 440 (64 MB DDR memory).
The functionality of SAMSUNG X10 is emphasized by a large number of various input/output ports. Thus, the laptop is equipped with two USB 2.0 ports located on the left and right side panels, a VGA connector for connecting an external monitor, an S-Video connector, an IEEE-1394 interface connector and a PCMCIA type II slot. In addition, there is an RJ-45 connector for connecting to an external Ethernet 10/100Base-TX network and an RJ-11 connector for connecting to the telephone line of the integrated modem. On top of that, on the front panel of the laptop there is a device for reading flash cards (card reader) of the Memory Stick standard, as well as connectors for headphones, a microphone and an optical audio output S/PDIF.
It should also be noted that the convenient two-button touch screen (TouchPad) with scrolling, for which special software is supplied with the laptop, allows you to lock the screen, adjust its sensitivity, etc.
The communication capabilities of the SAMSUNG X10 laptop are provided by the 3Com 3C920 Ethernet 10/100Base-TX network controller, a wireless adapter for connecting to a wireless network using the 802.11b protocol, and a software modem.
The LED indicators on the front of the laptop are divided into two groups. Four indicators are located above the keyboard and are accessible only if the laptop is open, and two more indicators - turning on the laptop and battery level - are located on the front edge of the front panel.
To activate or block the wireless communication module, there is a special button with a light indicator. This allows you to scan the wireless network as needed, which significantly saves energy consumption in battery mode.
The SAMSUNG X10 laptop uses a battery with a rated capacity of 24,420 mWh. Such a low battery capacity is explained by its small size. It is simply impossible to place a large battery in such a thin case, so manufacturers installed a fairly miniature battery in the laptop, which, of course, also has its negative consequences: one cannot expect that such a small battery capacity will ensure long-term battery life. However, it is necessary to make a reservation and clarify that we are talking about a standard battery. An optional extended-capacity battery is available, which is slightly larger in size and has a capacity of 48,840 mWh.
The BIOS of the SAMSUNG X10 laptop is not very flexible. In any case, strict setting of power consumption modes (Maximum Performance Mode, Automatic Mode, Battery-Optimized Performance Mode, Maximum Battery Mode) provided by Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology is not implemented in the BIOS. The only option available is to disable or enable Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology. However, here too everything is not as obvious as we would like. To enable Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology, you must set the Intel Speed Step parameter to Gv3 Enable. This is because Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology was previously known under the code name Geyservill III, which, although rarely used, is still used today. So, after Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology is activated, the power consumption mode is set through the Power Schemes settings in the Power Options dialog box. Note that when you set the Intel Speed Step parameter to Disable (that is, blocking Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology), regardless of the choice of power scheme, the processor operates at a clock frequency of 600 MHz, and not 1300 MHz, which, in principle, is not entirely logical.
Testing methodology
Since the SAMSUNG X10 laptop on the Intel Centrino platform implements the Enhanced Intel SpeedStep energy saving technology, which, in fact, is an integral part of the Intel Pentium M processor, the question arose under what conditions to conduct testing when activating or blocking this technology? On the one hand, the concept of Intel Centrino technology is precisely to provide the user with maximum mobility, that is, the ability to work in autonomous mode for an unprecedentedly long time (from a battery). This opportunity is provided by the latest energy saving technologies (Enhanced Intel SpeedStep, Deeper Sleep, IMVP, etc.) implemented at the processor and chipset level. On the other hand, the use of energy-saving technologies cannot but affect the performance of the laptop.
Performance and battery life are kind of the two poles that limit the potential capabilities of a laptop. At the same time, the user must have a choice of what is more important for him at the moment: to get maximum performance at the expense of battery life, or, conversely, maximum battery life at the expense of performance. In addition, laptops do not always operate in offline mode, and when operating from an external network, the use of energy saving technologies makes no sense, therefore, in this mode, the factor of maximum performance is of paramount importance.
In order to evaluate the laptop's capabilities in both maximum performance mode and maximum energy saving mode, we tested both with Enhanced Intel SpeedStep technology activated and disabled.
Testing was carried out under the operating system Windows XP Pro SP1 (English version). In addition, all the latest Windows XP Hotfix (SP2) available at the time of testing were installed on the laptop. The operating system was also tuned for maximum performance. Additional utilities and drivers used:
Intel Chipset Software Installation Utility version 5.0.0.1018;
Intel Application Accelerator utility version 2.2.0.2126.
The laptop was tested with a working matrix resolution (1024×768 pixels) and a color depth of 32 bits.
To test the SAMSUNG X10 laptop, we used the Future Mark MobileMark 2002 test package.
The MobileMark 2002 test was run in Battery and Performance Test mode, which allowed us to evaluate the laptop's performance when working with office applications (performance rating) and battery life.
To implement the maximum performance mode, the Always On power supply scheme was installed in the Windows XP operating system. In addition, to obtain correct results, the time for turning off the monitor, hard drives, and switching to Standby mode was blocked.
To implement the maximum energy saving mode, the Max Battery power scheme was installed in the Windows XP operating system. In addition, the time to turn off the monitor and switch to Standby mode was blocked, and the time to turn off the hard drives was set to 3 minutes.
We also note that during testing, the brightness of the LCD matrix was set to the minimum level, which, however, turned out to be quite sufficient for operation.
Test results
The results of testing the SAMSUNG X10 laptop for each of the power schemes are presented in table. 2.
Always On scheme
As you'd expect, the highest performance and shortest battery life are with the Always On design. When choosing this scheme, the processor clock frequency is set equal to the maximum value and does not change when the processor is loaded. You can verify this using the System Monitor utility included with the Windows XP operating system.
It looks like Samsung is seriously taking over the computer market. Recently there was a statement that the company was going to take a leading position in the production of hard drives by 2005, and now Samsung has introduced its laptop computers to the Russian market. Indeed, the laptop market is growing, and the desire to “bite off a bigger piece of it” is quite natural. For our first acquaintance, we chose a model on the new Intel Centrino Samsung X10 platform.
Samsung X10 Specifications
(declared by the manufacturer)
| CPU | Intel Pentium M processor based on Centrino technology (on the tested model 1.6GHz) | |
| Chipset | Intel 855PM | |
| Memory | 2 SO-DIMM PC2100 (266 MHz) or PC1600 (200 MHz) up to 2GB (on the tested model 256MB) | |
| Screen | 14.1" TFT LCD XGA 1024×768 (24 bits) | |
| Graphic arts | NVIDIA GeForce 440 Go, 64 MB DDR | |
| Maximum external monitor resolution | 1920×1200, 32 bit | |
| Audio | Built-in AC "97 2.2 Compliant CODEC, CS 4202. Built-in 1 W speakers | |
| HDD | 30/ 40/ 60 GB (IBM, Hitachi, Fujitsu) (on the tested model Hitachi_DK23EA-60 with a capacity of 60 GB) | |
| Optical devices | 8xDVD-ROM/ 8xRW/ 8xCD-R/ 24xCD-ROM DVD+CDRW Combo (on the tested model Samsung CDRW/DVD SU-408B) | |
| PCMCIA | 1xType II Ricoh R5C590 | |
| Network devices |
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| Dimensions and weight |
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So, the first thing that catches your eye is the unusual graphics. Until now, laptops based on the Centrino platform that have been in my hands were equipped with either integrated graphics or an ATI M9 graphics controller. And Samsung chose NVIDIA. Well, let's see. Security devices based on fingerprint scanning are no longer exotic (I, for example, wrote about this in an ASUS review); in my opinion, it is the optimal way to protect information in a laptop (not taking into account hacking resistance and the likelihood of errors) It's hard to forget your finger :).
Scope of delivery:
- the laptop itself
- power supply with cord
- telephone cable
- warranty card
- System Software CD (drivers, utilities, electronic user manual)
- System Recovery CD (Windows XP Pro)
- CD with FingerPrint Recognition Software
- CD with Cyberlink PowerDVD XP4.0
- Nero Burning Rom V 5.5 kit with instructions
- booklet “First acquaintance” XP Pro
- quick guide to fingerprint recognition software in Russian
- “Windows Registration” booklet in English
The only drawback, in my opinion, is the lack of a printed user manual.
First impressions
The first impression of the laptop is its lightness. Moreover, this feeling appears even before you pick up the computer. Having tried to analyze the sensations, I came to the conclusion that the reason is the small thickness (23.8 mm less than an inch), well-chosen colors and thoughtful design of the top cover.
In general, I liked the laptop right away, so I apologize in advance if anyone thinks that I am abusing photographs, both my own and those provided by Samsung. In my opinion, the Samsung X10 is worth a look.
On the front end there are the main indicators and a Memory Stick slot.
The rear end surface is not so saturated with connectors. The reason is the battery, which occupies a “central place”. To the left of it are:
- S-Video output
- S/PDIF output
- power supply connector
It is worth noting that Samsung has abandoned the usual practice of “combined” S/PDIF output. In my opinion, this is the right decision. The headphone output should, in theory, be located in an easily accessible place, closer to the front of the computer. The best place for an optical output is at the rear end. To the right of the battery there is a Kensington lock slot.
As a result of the “unloading” of the rear end, the connectors migrated to the side surfaces.
On the left are:
- ventilation grille
- connector for connecting to a telephone line
- LAN connector
- connector for connecting an external monitor
- USB port
- PCMCIA slot
- IEEE 1394 connector
In general, when working with a laptop “stationary”, most of the wires will approach from the left. I can’t say that this is the most successful option, but at least it’s logical.
On the right are audio jacks, a combo drive and another USB port. It is pushed back a little far, but this does not create any particular inconvenience. And of course, this location is better than the “standard” one at the rear end.
Ergonomics and operation
The first thing that attracts attention when the lid is open is the rather “coarse-grained” coating.
On the top panel, the extremely original location of the fingerprint scanning sensor immediately catches your eye. Of course, I understand that this is an option, and I didn’t want to make an extra hole in the panel. But why is this option installed INSTEAD of scrolling? Why can't I get both in the "top" model? Unclear.
Moreover, when working, the finger every now and then “out of habit” tries to press the scroll key. Otherwise the touchpad is comfortable. The keyboard is fairly standard. Only the cursor control key block includes the menu key and the “Fn” key. To be honest, I like it better when these places are left unused - there is less chance of missing. Among the original solutions, I would like to note the ability to display power information on the screen (when you press “Fn+F2” in the upper left corner, the mains or battery power symbol lights up for a while, then battery charge level in percentage) and enable/disable optical optical power from the keyboard exit.
Keys for quickly launching applications, turning on/off wireless communications and a block of auxiliary indicators are located as standard at the top of the panel.
In general, working with the laptop is pleasant. At the same time, it is really very light. The specifications indicate a weight of 1.8 kg with a standard battery. But in my tests, as you can easily see, I tested a laptop with an increased capacity battery with a charge indicator.
Therefore, I could not resist the temptation to check the manufacturer's data. Here's what I got: the weight of the Samsung X10 without battery is 1.65 kg, with a battery of increased capacity 2 kg. By the way, if I were buying this model, I would probably stick with a standard battery. And not because of the savings of 200 grams (which, however, is also important), but because of the appearance. Still, it is spoiled by the cylinder protruding from behind.
Another, dare I say it, design discovery from Samsung is the power supply. I haven't seen anything better.
It's not about the original form, but about ease of use. The cord leading from the power supply to the computer is wound onto the body of the unit through a slot. In this case, the body profile is made in such a way that the coil “goes” under the bend of the cover, freeing up space for the next one. Moreover, the plug has a protrusion with which it is fixed in the same slot.
And this whole design does not interfere with connecting the power cord at all! To be honest, this simple product caused me some kind of childish delight. How well done!
Restoring the operating system and installing drivers
Since this is the first laptop from Samsung that we tested, I will focus on system recovery capabilities. The kit includes two discs: a system recovery CD and a System Software CD. The first of them contains the Russian version of the Windows XP professional operating system. The disk is bootable; when used, the system is installed normally. The second disk contains drivers and utilities. Drivers can be installed either individually or as a set.
I note that installing support for the Intel Pentium M (Banias) processor is automated here (CPU checkbox), whereas in early samples of laptops on the Centrino platform this procedure had to be done manually, and in a rather cunning way. From the same disk you can install a set of utilities.
Fingerprint recognition system
The system software is located on a separate CD. Unfortunately, it is not Russified. True, the kit includes a booklet that describes in Russian what actions need to be taken to activate one or another function of the system. Standard functions: login, registration on sites, file encryption. The only problem is that the program command center is in... German. Personally, because of this, I couldn’t get to the bottom of all the possibilities. Thank goodness the fingerprint scanning software is in English. Although this combination is mysterious. I honestly tried to find some language settings I couldn’t find them. But we still managed to test the protection during system startup.
So, when the system starts, a prompt appears to scan your fingerprint or enter a password.
The system has enough of one or the other, so if you hurt your finger, you will be able to start the computer. The password is entered after scanning the fingerprints and does not have to match the operating system login password. I have not made any particularly active hacking attempts, but I can say that the system operates independently of the BIOS and does not allow booting from any media without personal identification. Identification errors do occur, but it did not take more than two attempts to download. In general, at first glance, the system is quite successful.
Warranty and service. Website
The laptop warranty is standard for Samsung 3 years (1 year full warranty and two years of free repair). A list of service centers is provided on the Russian website. True, it does not indicate which centers service laptops. After calling a couple of times at random, I heard that Samsung laptops were not being serviced. In general, I would like more specifics with service centers. There, on the website, you can send a description of the problem to Samsung a kind of online support. However, there was no answer to the “security question” during the working day. We wait.
There are addresses of stores selling Samsung products (however, I’m not sure that laptops are sold in all of these places), information about models and their specifications. Unfortunately, I did not find any drivers or user manuals. The disadvantage is significant. In general, the level of user support cannot be called sufficient. I hope that the situation will be corrected in the near future. But there is a forum on the site, from which I learned that, according to the forum moderator, on the Russian site there was a typo in the characteristics of the matrix - the color depth is indicated as 18 bits, while in fact the color depth is 24 bits. I'm not sure yet whether this is actually true. There is no official information.
Modernization
The laptop just begs to be taken into the hands of a real Russian self-taught craftsman. Each hatch on the bottom cover is equipped with explanatory inscriptions.
So increasing the amount of memory, replacing a hard drive or installing mini-PCI cards should not cause any difficulties. Another thing is that it makes sense to take such actions only after the warranty period has expired.
Laptop testing
For comparison, let's take a model on the Intel Centrino platform with integrated graphics ASUS M2N, as well as a model with ATI M9 Bliss 501C graphics.
In terms of offline performance, the laptops are almost equal. In terms of battery life, the Samsung X10, which has the least energy reserve, overtook the Bliss 501C. On the one hand, it’s good apparently, graphics from NVIDIA have lower power consumption. On the other hand, the Samsung laptop showed these results when working with a high-capacity battery, which, by the way, is included in the package. The characteristics of the “standard” battery are unknown to me, but the stated battery life of 2 hours is clearly not enough for this class of laptop computers.
Now work from the mains power supply.
Unfortunately, the Bliss 501C passed the SysMark 2002 test halfway. He is the leader in this half. The Samsung X10 is confidently, although not by much, ahead of the ASUS M2N with integrated graphics.
Quite an unexpected result: in Business Winstone, the Samsung X10 lost to the ASUS M2N. The GeForce 440Go doesn't seem to like this test very much.
Now 3D graphics. Based on experience and common sense, we can assume that the ASUS M2N will remain far behind, and the Bliss 501C will slightly outperform the Samsung X10. Let's see if we've got any head scratchers. So, MadOnion 3DMark 2001 SE (32 bit color, 32 bit Texture Format, 24 bit Z-buffer depth, Frame Buffer Double buffering)
No, they didn't start. The results are quite expected.
Grand total. conclusions
Contrary to the well-known proverb, Samsung's first laptop-making success was not at all lumpy. Samsung X10 is a very worthy model. A light and thin computer that leaves a feeling of friendliness is suitable for both women and men, students and businessmen. True, a student is unlikely to be willing to buy it; after all, $2910 from Oldie for a model in the configuration that was tested is a lot. And $2050 for the “junior” model (processor 1.3GHz, RAM 256MB, hard drive 30GB) is also not cheap. To promote the brand, prices could be lower. Apparently, Samsung believes that there is no need to promote their brand. Well, at least this model turned out to be very successful. The only drawback is the unclear choice between scrolling and fingerprint scanning.
In every house, in every apartment, in every hand there was, is or will be a piece of Samsung branded equipment. However, not every user is familiar with the history of the origin and development of the brand. The company was conceived with the aim of producing electronics, which, without taking a step aside, it specializes in to this day. Success can be judged by the prevalence of the product produced. Perhaps, Samsung electronics rightfully occupies a leading position in the popularity lists.
Few can compete with the brand in terms of quality. Samsung cameras are distinguished by excellent image clarity - up to a full 57 megapixels. Depending on the purpose, there are three types of video finder: electronic, optical, mirror. The design is characterized by smooth lines, which give the devices a sophisticated style.
Anyone can buy a good Samsung camera and use it. The company produces professional and amateur models. You can read more about the description of each next to the picture. An advanced search on the site in Moscow will help you save time and immediately enter the required technical characteristics. The price on our website is better than the store price. Various payment method options. Convenient delivery available.