DailyTech - Samsung Preps 13" 9 Series Ultra-portable Laptop

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Gadgets Samsung Preps 13" 9 Series Ultra-portable Laptop
Brandon Hill (Blog) - January 5, 2011 3:21 PM

16 comment(s) - last by Rasterman.. on Jan 9 at 10:49 AM

Samsung is gunning for the MacBook Air with its latest laptop offering.

It was inevitable -- Intel announced 29 new second-generation Core processors on Monday, so the new product announcements from desktop and notebooks manufacturers have been coming in fast. Today, Samsung is announcing its new 9-Series notebook that is aimed at the mobile professional.

The 9 Series comes equipped with an Intel Core i5 2537M processor that normally operates at 1.4GHz, but can use the Turbo function to achieve 2.3GHz. A generous 4GB of memory is included, while a 13.3" LED-backlit display (1366x768) is provided. The laptop comes equipped with a 128GB SSD.

Connectivity for the laptop includes USB 3.0, Bluetooth, and 802.11n Wi-Fi -- WiMAX is optional.

The 9 Series weighs in at a light 2.89 pounds and can operate for up to 6.5 hours with its standard lithium-polymer battery pack.

If you want to get your hands on Samsung's latest and greatest, it's going to cost you. Samsung says that the 9 Series will retail for $1,599 when it launches next month.

Samsung's pricing puts the 9 Series about $200 more expensive than a similarly equipped 13" MacBook Air (w/4GB of memory). The Samsung offering can boast USB 3.0 and optional WiMAX support – both of which are not even available on the MacBook Air. However, the MacBook does come with a higher resolution display (1440x900).

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I would consider it if...

By SocrPlyr on 1/5/2011 4:38:15 PM , Rating: 3

it had a higher resolution monitor. I would consider the mac mentioned if it had a second mouse button. Sometimes you just can't win.

RE: I would consider it if...

By Brandon Hill

(blog) on 1/5/2011 4:45:06 PM , Rating: 2

I personally have one of the new 13" MacBook Airs and I don't miss the second button at all due to multi-touch gestures/clicking.

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RE: I would consider it if...

By mkrech on 1/5/2011 5:23:24 PM , Rating: 2

Agreed.

Multi-touch went from annoyance to complete frustration to joy and has now settled on automatically intuitive.

I stopped carrying the spare mouse with my MBP because I am now more productive and more satisfied with the track pad.

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RE: I would consider it if...

By mkrech on 1/5/2011 5:25:28 PM , Rating: 3

Edit:

quote:
Multi-touch went from annoyance to complete frustration to joy and has now settled on automatically intuitive.

This statement is referring to my experience with multi-touch.

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RE: I would consider it if...

By ebakke on 1/5/2011 5:17:55 PM , Rating: 2

Are you aware that OSX supports multiple-button mice (and has since the beginning)? Also the current trackpads used on all Apple laptops can easily be changed to a two-button configuration.

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RE: I would consider it if...

By inighthawki on 1/5/2011 7:25:47 PM , Rating: 2

You do realize his post made ZERO mention of OSX or its support for 2-button mice but the fact that the laptop itself has a distinct lack of a physical second button. Regardless of whether it can be changed to act like one, I and many others find the lack of 2 physical buttons very annoying.

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RE: I would consider it if...

By ebakke on 1/7/2011 2:29:40 PM , Rating: 2

He also made zero mention of a distinction between physical buttons and 'virtual'/'soft/'effectual' buttons. He said, " if it had a second mouse button" which... it does.

So you want a space running down the middle of the trackpad. Fine. No need to be a douche about it.

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RE: I would consider it if...

By niva on 1/5/2011 5:24:10 PM , Rating: 2

Heh, so much for Macs being more expensive right?

That being said I don't think it's a fair comparison, the mac doesn't have this CPU nor motherboard/chipset capabilites of this device. And you get Windows (which is a plus for me at least.)

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RE: I would consider it if...

By Exodite on 1/5/2011 7:57:21 PM , Rating: 2

Also, severely lacking in connectivity in comparison.

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RE: I would consider it if...

By Aloonatic on 1/6/2011 8:29:35 AM , Rating: 2

The quality of the screen might be more important that the resolution, on a screen this size. Although 13" is about the limit for that resolution, IMHO. I used to think that people on here were going a bit over board when they moaned about screen resolutions before, but after using a 15.6" laptop that had a x768 screen, I can see why people moan.

It's an ok resolution on a 11.6" screen (an my netbook) but not enough for 15.6, so I imagine that on a 13" screen is could be just about OK.

What happened to the days when you could choose? I'm thinking more about Dell now though, but it seemed more common to be able to choose a higher res screen if you wanted one a few years ago, but now they seem much more limited?!

Screens seem to be one of the areas where Apple seem to really invest effort into. Have they bought out all the suppliers of panels that are higher rez than x768?

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"similarly equipped"?

By SimpleLance on 1/5/2011 5:20:47 PM , Rating: 3

The MB Air sports an ancient C2D.

RE: "similarly equipped"?

By Rasterman on 1/9/2011 10:49:10 AM , Rating: 2

LOL I know, this thing is going to blow the mac book air out of the sky! If it were a mac book air with a sandy it would be $3000.

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Bezel is too thick

By IvanAndreevich on 1/5/2011 5:21:16 PM , Rating: 2

...yet again. Whatever happened to having thin bezels like Thinkpad X60/X61 used to have?

RE: Bezel is too thick

By Samus on 1/6/2011 3:14:15 AM , Rating: 2

I agree. What the hell happened to the x40/x60 series form factors. They were ideal because they were the smallest a laptop could be while still including a decent 4:3 display and a keyboard with standard key spacing.

Got Lenovo has screwed the ThinkPad up so bad. Just look up the USB port defects on the T400/T500. It's a joke. And they're not even owning up to it. It should be a world-wide recall but the batches are small enough they can 'pretend' the problem doesn't exist.

Just like Dell 'pretended' the 700m didn't have audio defects and quietly replaced it with the 710m. That was 200,000 pissed off 700m owners that probably never bought a Dell again.

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sick!

By Luticus on 1/5/2011 4:16:26 PM , Rating: 3

Now this thing looks pretty slick to me. Just wish it Were not so pricey.

Only if you're obsessed with thinness

By Solandri on 1/5/2011 5:30:06 PM , Rating: 2

I picked up one of these last year on sale for $900:

http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/359803/sony...

2.4 GHz i5 processor
4GB RAM
128 GB SSD
Intel HD + nVidia GT330M w/ 1GB VRAM
1600x900 13.1" display
DVD-RW drive
3.04 lbs

It's been out for more than a half year (it's already been replaced by a refresh, the Z13, which can be bought for $1499 at the Microsoft Store right now), and its predecessor has been out for more than a year. The only thing this Samsung and the Macbook Air have over it are that they're thinner. The Sony is 1" thick all around with the battery popping the rear up 1.3" for airflow. The Macbook Air and new Samsung are 0.68" thick.

In this price range, that's a lot of features to be giving up just to have a slightly thinner laptop.

"Spreading the rumors, it's very easy because the people who write about Apple want that story, and you can claim its credible because you spoke to someone at Apple." -- Investment guru Jim Cramer