Hands-on with the Samsung Series 9
by Jason Inofuentes on January 10, 2012 6:47 PM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
- Samsung
- CES
- CES 2012
- Series 9
- Series 5 Ultra
- Ultrabook
The Samsung Series 9 update was announced Monday and we got a peek at Samsung's thinnest notebook ever while at PepCom's Digital Experience, just ahead of CES. The latest refresh brings these non-Ultrabooks to just half an inch at their thickest point, in both 13.3" and 15" display configurations. The 15" model we handled weighs in at 3.5 lbs, while the 13.3" model shaves a pound off the weight. The components mimic the earlier Series 9 laptops, while battery life is quoted as 10 hours for the larger device and 7 hours for the smaller. The only configuration on offer for each size includes a 128 GB, an Intel Core i5-2467M processor and 4GB of soldered on RAM. Both will be available at the end of February for $1399.99 for the 13.3" model and $1499.99 for the 15" model.
Structural rigidity across the body was good with no flex after applying a hefty amount of torsion, and no flex noted in the keyboard. The display was typical laptop fare, with limited viewing angles, but is quoted at 400 nits of brightness. In practice, it looked good, but won't wow you on a long flight while watching a movie. Speaking of movies, no optical drive is available, though Samsung has applied some of their thin knowhow to make room in their actual Ultrabook line, the Series 5 Ultras, for an optical drive and a hybrid NAND/HDD storage solution. We'll grab some hands-on time with the Series 5 Ultras and report in once we hit the show floor.
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Paulman - Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - link
"The display was typical laptop fare, with limited viewing angles, but is quoted at 400 nits of brightness. In practice, it looked good, but won't wow you on a long flight while watching a movie."So are you telling me that this competitor to the Macbook Air doesn't have as good of a screen? That would be pretty sad, since it's priced above a Macbook Air?
ananduser - Wednesday, January 11, 2012 - link
This revamped 9 has a better higher res screen than the Air. It is matte, has better viewing angles, it is more luminous. It is what TheVerge said of it as it did a proper "hands-on".gevorg - Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - link
Look at those prices! I thought Windows is suppose to be cheaper! Might as well get MBA and use bootcamp. Plus the resale value would be much better.mevans336 - Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - link
In practice, pricing will be a bit less, if it follows the current Series 9 line. Samsung quoted $1699 for the current Series 9 model, but in practice it is readily available for $1299 and has even dipped as low as $999 at one point.That said, I just researched and comparison shopped the current generation Series 9 vs. the current generation 13" Macbook Air ... and chose the Macbook. While the Samsung was undeniably sexy (and it would have been nice to have something different, as Macbooks are becoming extremely blasé), the screen on the Macbook Air was what sealed the deal for me.
Watwatwat - Tuesday, January 10, 2012 - link
yea i know it isn't exactly a regular source of reviews, but kevin pereira nailed it on this laptop, over priced and inferior to the air, after all this extra r&d time this is the best samsung could come up with against the air? not good. http://www.hulu.com/watch/300414/attack-of-the-sho...ph00ny - Monday, January 16, 2012 - link
Way to use last year's modelhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlzRLwRESto
RussianSensation - Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - link
That review is looking at the 11 inch model which is now discontinued.The new Series 9 laptops address all of the issues discussed in that review...