Last generation's Samsung Series 9 was a great example of Intel's Ultrabook initiative. The revamped Series 9, new for 2012, is even better. Forget about Apple's MacBook Air. Samsung's latest effort stands on its own merits as a great notebook.
Samsung doesn't use the term Ultrabook anywhere on its Series 9 product page. Instead, the company repeatedly evangelizes the quality of its display, the performance of its hardware, and the speed with which it's able to boot up. It's thinner than its predecessor, it's lighter than its predecessor, and it's faster than its predecessor. The 13.3" Series 9, refreshed in 2012, is everything an Ultrabook should be, and yet Intel's branding isn't shoved up in your face with a, "Look, we can do it too, Apple," indignance.
Maybe that's because Samsung figured out that calling something an Ultrabook isn't as specific as Intel might have once envisioned. With a range of specs covering different-sized screens, it's getting harder to see the brand's cachet.

What we do know is that the Series 9's .5" thickness is less than the MacBook Air's .68", and its 2.55 pounds is less than Apple's 2.96. A higher-res 1600x900 display favors Samsung, as does the inclusion of a wired gigabit Ethernet dongle. Those specs mean something. Unfortunately, so does the 13.3" Series 9's $1700 price tag, which is a couple hundred bucks higher than the system that really established this segment (albeit with a 1.8 GHz Core i7, rather than Samsung's 1.9 GHz chip).
Price gap aside, after one week of constant use, we can confidently state that Samsung has, for the most part, nailed its design. We like the enclosure's matte finish, which doesn't attract that greasy film you see on more polished chassis.
Further attention to detail is seen in the Series 9's SD card slot, which is covered by a door that tucks in when you have flash media inserted. The door closes neatly with nothing inserted, maintaining the notebook's clean lines. Beats the heck out of some of the systems we've seen with easily-lost dummy cards plugging up media access interfaces.


Although the rest of Samsung's physical implementation is great, we aren't as bullish on the keyboard or touchpad. The chiclet-style keys are nice-looking, but they don't convey the feeling of authority you get from banging away on a desktop keyboard. Very little pressure is needed to activate a keystroke, so it's easy to mistype with more frequency. If you make this your primary system (rather than switching back and forth between a desktop), you might find it easier to adapt.

The touchpad, on the other hand, is more difficult to excuse. Its right and left mouse buttons are built into the surface of the pad, which is supposed to give you more room for cursor movement and multi-finger gestures. The mechanism is confusing, though, because the bottom 80% of the touchpad depresses. However, only the lower 20% generates a right- or left-click action. We've seen this from Apple's MacBook Pro, but in OS X, you're really only dealing with a single right-click. Windows, on the other hand, involves regular use of both mouse buttons. It doesn't help that the click is pretty shallow, making the touchpad even more ornery.
| Samsung Series 9 (2012) Ultrabook Model Comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
| 13.3" | 15" | |
| Display | 13.3" | 15" |
| Speakers | 3 W (1.5 W x 2) | 4 W (2 W x 2) |
| Battery | 44 Wh (four-cell) | 63 Wh (eight-cell) |
| Weight | 2.55 pounds | 3.63 pounds |
| Size | 12.3" (W) x 8.6" (D) x 0.50" (H) | 14.0" (W) x 9.3" (D) x 0.58" (H) |
Today's review focuses on the 13.3" Series 9 NP900X3C-A04US. The larger 15" model shares the same keyboard and touchpad. As far as appearances go, the larger system boasts bigger speakers on each side of the keyboard, while the 13.3" model relocates them to the bottom of notebook.
A larger chassis and beefier battery contribute to the 15" versions higher weight. However, its dimensions still qualify it as an Ultrabook, according to Intel's spec.

| Samsung 13.3" Series 9 NP900X3C-A04US | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Core i7-3517U (Ivy Bridge), 1.9 GHz, 4 MB Shared L3 Cache, 2C/4T, 17 W TDP, 22 nm |
| Screen | 13.3" SuperBright Plus (1600x900) |
| Memory | 4 GB DDR3-800 SO-DIMM |
| System Drive | Lite-On LMT256M3M SSD |
| Graphics | Intel HD 4000 Graphics, 350 MHz Base Frequency, 1.15 MHz Max. Dynamic Frequency |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Professional |
| Wireless | 802.11b/g/n |
- Samsung 13.3" Series 9: Now With Ivy Bridge-Based CPUs
- Series 9 Processor Performance: Mobile Ivy Bridge Delivers
- Benchmark Results: PCMark 7 And Battlefield 3
- Transcoding Performance: Second-Gen Quick Sync
- Display Performance: SuperBright Plus, Indeed
- Battery Performance: Four Hours Of Real-World Use
- Samsung 13.3" Series 9: Better In 2012


Because this samsung notebook takes more time than other i7's in 'quality' setting, but lesser time in 'performance' settings.
What..? No. That's the dell's and I'm not even joking.
I was watching a demo and their Dell XPS ultrabooks with GT640's in them continuously overheated during the demos and lowered the FPS catastrophically low.
They have these ultrabooks at my local Jb HiFi (Well.. the i5 version at least) and it was cool to the touch and very solid (I've noticed even Acer's ultrabooks don't feel flimsy as sh*t like their notebooks).
1)Is the touchpad annoying? Compared to Apple's touchpads, for example.
2)Can you keep it in your lap, sitting or lying down slightly (you know, with the notebook against your knees)? Or does it get too warm?
These two are deal breakers for me, personally. So is the keyboard, but you've clearly stated what's wrong with that (touchpad too, but just wanted to know if it's a noticeable annoyance).
I haven't gone out to buy one yet
I have it here in the lab, and it'll be the next Ultrabook we look at (I have something special planned for it ;-)
I can't speak to the Samsung, but on the X1, the touchpad (which everyone seems to rave about) is sooo not good compared to the MBA's. It does not get too warm, though. Again, this is specific to the X1.
I haven't gone out to buy one of those, either
Usually, that's the case. I think Andrew highlighted all one column to indicate it's the Samsung. I just went back and made sure that the *winning* numbers are in bold!
I did not find the "right click" confusing at all. It's not that hard to keep in mind that to activate the right click I need to move to the lower end of the touchpad. All you need to do is dedicate 2 minutes to test, practice and familiarize yourself with the boundaries of the touchpad. I love Macbook touchpads, and this is the closest any Windows PC touchpad has ever come as far as I have tried. I loved it.
@ ojas.. No, it never got too warm while I used it for 48 hours. However, I did not use it to encode videos nor did I do something silly like play "Battlefield 3" on it. So I can't say it will remain cool while doing that. But during regular use (including many software installations), it stayed cool!
This is my favorite Ultrabook and my only recommendation to clients and friends.
Oh, and it really does feel incredibly light and it has a very high quality premium feel overall, justifying the price tag.
i thought Apple would have sent a review sample to you. A positive review from Toms is a big thing...
My office I use an HP EliteBook Mobile Workstation and some of us use others including ASUS, but for home, travel or even work it's still tough to ignore the MBA or MBP which is one of Samsung's major competitors in this category. None of these notebooks are really any good for gaming.
Now if all you're doing is smurfing the web, checking your email, Facebook, documents, and a slew of other typical tasks then any of the notebooks or tablets are 'good enough.'
Normally, I'd agree with you...but my two exceptions are 1600x900 (why wouldn't you take that over 1440x900) and 1920x1080 as a replacement for 1680x1050 (though it's bull$#!+ that manufacturers are using it in place of 1920x1200).