KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
We're glad to see that many laptop manufacturers are getting over their obsession with glossy plastic and the impractical qualities. Kobalt is no exception, giving the G150 a soft-touch rubberised finish like that we've seen on gaming mice such as the SteelSeries Xai.
They have opted to use glossy plastic surrounding the screen, presumably to create the illusion of a borderless screen. This shouldn't pick up fingerprints and scratches too easily, though, as it's not an area that will be touched very often.
One aspect of the rubberised finish that you won't be able to glean from our photos is how great it feels. It should also prove practical in the long run as it isn't easily scratched and can be wiped clean very easily. Unfortunately, the rubberised finish extends to the touchpad where it isn't ideally suited because it provides far too much grip to move your fingers smoothly. This can cause inaccuracies as it is difficult to judge how much force to apply.
Once you get used to the surface, though, it's bearable to use when performing general tasks, but a mouse really is necessary for gaming. The touchpad does support multi-touch gestures like two finger scrolling and pinch to zoom which enhances the internet browsing experience. The buttons require significant pressure to press but this prevents you from activating them accidentally.
Between the two touchpad buttons there is a fingerprint reader which is easy to set up and stops you from having to put in your password every time you start up the machine.
The rubber finish doesn't extended to the keyboard, though, where it would probably better suited. The keyboard used on this laptop is Clevo's standard model that is used across their whole range of notebooks from £300 budget models to £3000 SLI machines.
It uses chiclet-style keys which are well spaced and have a responsive action, despite being a little noisy in operation. To reflect the gaming nature of this laptop, Clevo has added red arrows to the WASD keys. While there is nothing really wrong with the keyboard, it does feel a little cheap for a machine of this caliber and lags far behind the quality of Apple laptops.
Behind the keyboard there is a strip of of textured perforated plastic which contains two of the system's three speakers. The third is a subwoofer which is located on the underside of the machine. In the past we've tested a number of Clevo-based notebooks and none of them have impressed us with their sound quality. But they seem to have improved things quite significantly with this machine and we would easily say it is one of the best we have tested in recent years.
Unlike some laptops, the G150 isn't lacking in bass, producing a full sound throughout all registers. Obviously the sound isn't as going to be as good as a half-decent gaming headset or set of speakers but it is more than adequate for watching movies on the go or for some casual gaming.
Flanking the soundbar on the left hand side we find the power button which is well-sized and has a good action. Unfortunately there are no dedicated multimedia buttons to speak of which is a little surprising considering the price of the machine. Even the volume control buttons have only been added onto the keyboard as an afterthought as secondary functions. There are a number of other useful function buttons on the keyboard, including a touchpad on/off switch and toggles for the inbuilt webcam, the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Probably the most impressive physical aspect of the G150 is the LED-backlit display. Rather unusually for a 15.6″ notebook, the G150 has a full-HD screen which is perfect for watching Blu-Ray movies or high definition content from the internet.
Hopefully the nVidia GeForce GTX 485M will provide enough graphics grunt to game at high settings at native resolution. Both vertical and horizontal viewing angles are good and the display is perfectly bright enough for indoor use. When outside, the glossy coating on the screen does make it difficult to view when in direct sunlight.
The lid of the machine is completely plain in design with no logo to speak of at all. In fact, there is nothing about this machine that tells us that is it a Kobalt machine. Many people will admire the understated design which is attractive and much less ‘in your face' than other gaming laptops.
Kobalt informed us just before going to press that when the notebook ships to customers there will be a Kobalt logo on the lid. The designers of this machine have done well to disguise the thickness by incorporating a number of tapered edges and underbelly bulges into the machine.
