The entire concept of an Ultrabook is centered on portability. To the average consumer, that pretty much means thin and light. Previously, thin and light also meant compromise in one way or another. What Samsung had in mind with their Series 9 laptop was something else altogether.
It doesn’t get any thinner and sexier than the 12.9mm Samsung Series 9, for now at least. Interestingly, Samsung isn’t marketing the Series 9 as an Ultrabook, as that space is occupied by their Series 5. However, the Series 9 has all the hallmarks of an excellent, high-end
Ultrabook: It’s slim and light, and not to mention powerful, thanks to a combination of speedy Intel Core i7 processor and a very fast SSD.
The Series 9 laptop included in this shootout is actually a second-generation design. Tipping the scales at just 1.16kg, Samsung has only one color for you to choose from - a very dark shade of blue - which covers just about the entire machine. For a bit of contrast, the machine has metal trimmings that run along the edges on the front and sides. This gives the Series 9 a classy look, and easily differentiates itself from the competition in terms of aesthetics. Better still, Samsung opted to go with an all-aluminum chassis that’s very strong and sturdy, and it features a matte-textured surface that easily fends of fingerprints.
To further cement its status as a high-end ultraportable, Samsung fits the Series 9 with a high resolution 1600x900 pixel screen. That’s not the highest resolution screen seen in this shootout, but it’s a massive upgrade over the offerings from Lenovo, Sony, HP and Acer. And if that isn’t enough, you can crank up the brightness to a blinding 400 nits, perfect for working in bright environments.
Then there’s the backlit keyboard. Being backlit is good, as this lets users continue working in the dark. Of course, keeping the machine this thin meant some compromises had to be made. Unfortunately, the chiclet-style keys are extremely shallow and wobbly, and thus extended typing isn’t as comfortable as it could be.
It’s a good thing then that the giant clickable glass trackpad is very well-made. It’s responsive, and has that satisfying click throughout; an understated feature that users will come to appreciate.
Ultimately, the Series 9 is an ultraportable that all Ultrabooks should aspire to be. Its size and weight are superb, and it certainly looks good. There are some other caveats aside from the keyboard though, such as the fact that Samsung only throws in a 128GB SSD, as well as there being only one USB3.0 port. It’s not perfect, but it’s certainly pretty darn good.
SPECS
DISPLAY 13.3-inch HD LED (l600x768 pixels)
WEIGHT 1.16kg
PROCESSOR Intel Core i7-3517U 1.9GHz
MEMORY 4GB
It doesn’t get any thinner and sexier than the 12.9mm Samsung Series 9, for now at least. Interestingly, Samsung isn’t marketing the Series 9 as an Ultrabook, as that space is occupied by their Series 5. However, the Series 9 has all the hallmarks of an excellent, high-end
Ultrabook: It’s slim and light, and not to mention powerful, thanks to a combination of speedy Intel Core i7 processor and a very fast SSD.
The Series 9 laptop included in this shootout is actually a second-generation design. Tipping the scales at just 1.16kg, Samsung has only one color for you to choose from - a very dark shade of blue - which covers just about the entire machine. For a bit of contrast, the machine has metal trimmings that run along the edges on the front and sides. This gives the Series 9 a classy look, and easily differentiates itself from the competition in terms of aesthetics. Better still, Samsung opted to go with an all-aluminum chassis that’s very strong and sturdy, and it features a matte-textured surface that easily fends of fingerprints.
Then there’s the backlit keyboard. Being backlit is good, as this lets users continue working in the dark. Of course, keeping the machine this thin meant some compromises had to be made. Unfortunately, the chiclet-style keys are extremely shallow and wobbly, and thus extended typing isn’t as comfortable as it could be.
It’s a good thing then that the giant clickable glass trackpad is very well-made. It’s responsive, and has that satisfying click throughout; an understated feature that users will come to appreciate.
Ultimately, the Series 9 is an ultraportable that all Ultrabooks should aspire to be. Its size and weight are superb, and it certainly looks good. There are some other caveats aside from the keyboard though, such as the fact that Samsung only throws in a 128GB SSD, as well as there being only one USB3.0 port. It’s not perfect, but it’s certainly pretty darn good.
SPECS
DISPLAY 13.3-inch HD LED (l600x768 pixels)
WEIGHT 1.16kg
PROCESSOR Intel Core i7-3517U 1.9GHz
MEMORY 4GB