The new Samsung Series 9 takes a
further step into the unbelievably slim
The new Samsung Series 9 is NOT an
Ultrabook. The lot of you might be tilting your head in confusion, but we think
it's proper for us to point out that the original Samsung Series 9 ushered in
most of the many Ultrabook standards into the commercial market. Samsung
maintained that it's their flagship premium ultra-slim notebook, and with the
recent refresh, we think it's good for them to keep it that way.
Samsung
Series 9 Notebook
The redesign sees a matte finish over its
(100%) aluminium body, which does give it a more elegant, mystified look. This
classy-cool aesthetics translates well onto its nicely-spaced keyboard and
touchpad. It's not very much slimmer than its predecessor, but the Series 9 is
still insanely thin and light. Everything culminates here into a notebook that
exhumes elegance wherever it stands.
As a premium notebook, the Series 9
definitely keeps its side of the bargain - most of it, at least. The screen,
for one, is fantastic, managing a 1,600 x 900 resolution and offering a bright,
sharp and vibrant display Audio is passable, featuring loud-enough down-firing
speakers. The crazy-slim design does come with some sacrifices, though. The
keyboard, while spaced well, have shallow keys that offer a not-very-responsive
tactile feedback. You'll also be missing quite a few I/O ports, though a LAN
dongle and USB3.0 support is good to have. Lastly, the touchpad is a little
finnicky, sometimes confusing the right click as the left.
Running a 3rd-gen Intel Core ¡5 processor,
the Series 9 offers some good performances, which is more than sufficient for
HD videos and slightly more demanding software. While not an Ultrabook, the
Series 9 does provide a speedy boot system, which is welcoming. The battery
life is also good; our video loop test gave us a hearty 7 hours and a half,
much better than some Ultrabooks.
The
keyboard has rather shallow keys, and the trackpad could do better
Pros and cons
Pros
Impressively slim
Sharp screen
Good performance
Fast booting
Cons
Keyboard and touchpad could be better
Rather pricey
Benchmark results
PCMark 7: 3,684 points
PCMark 7 (Productivity): 3,184 points
PCMark 7 (Entertainment): 3,003 points
PCMark 7 (Computation): 8,679 points
Chip conclude
While the Samsung Series 9's refresh might
not be that draft of fresh air, it's an undeniably premium notebook that's not
only impressively thin, but also elegant and stylish to boot. Several aspects
of it could be better, but in the whole, the speedy performance, admirable fast
boot times and solid battery life makes the Series 9 one step beyond the
standards its predecessor set.
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Specifications
Price: $1,600
Website: www.samsung.com
CPU: Intel Core Í5-3317U @ 1.7GHz
RAM: 4GB
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Display: 13.3-inch Super Bright 400nit
HD+ LED Display (1600x 900)
Storage: 128GB SSD
Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Ethernet
(with dongle), 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.0, mini HDMI
Extras: Webcam, Card Reader
Dimensions: 313.8 x 218.5 x 12.9mm
Weight: 1.16kg
Ratings
Performance: 4/5
Features: 4/5
Design: 5/5
Value: 3/5
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