Samsung Series 9 13-Inch Notebook Review

Samsung's new 13 inch Series 9 notebook promises both portability and power with an LED display, Intel Core i5 processor, 4 GB or RAM and measures only a half an inch thick. Michael Kosta and Matt Mira take a closer look at the $1,300 notebook for Gadget Pr0n.

What You Need To Know

• The new 13-inch Samsung Series 9 Notebook shares a similar unibody aluminum construction as the MacBook Air.
• The footprint is 12.3" by 8.6" and weighs only 2.6 pounds, measuring 0.5" thick.
• The new design also doesn't have the hard edge that used to stick out, which we like.
• The screen is very good with a resolution of 1600x900 and a matte finish, which a lot of people prefer.
• There is also really good color saturation and top-notch brightness with great viewing angles.
• This is one of the best ultrabook screens we've seen.
• The trackpad has a great feel and is fairly responsive with a nice, tactile feedback.
• We did have problems towards the top of the trackpad.
• The keyboard is also very responsive, which is a nice change of pace for a lot of ultrabooks.
• The keys are nicely backlit with a subtle blue light.
• There are only two USB ports (one 3.0 and one 2.0), along with a SD card slot and microports for VGA and Ethernet.
• The number of ports isn't as extensive as most and having to use dongles is an added hassle.
• The performance was pretty good with third generation Intel i5 or i7 processors and 4 GB of RAM.
• I also comes with Windows Home Edition but that can be upgraded to Professional for another $100.
• If you're looking to play games, this notebook can handle it to a certain extent.
• This has Intel integrated 4000 graphics, so it will certainly be useable.

Price

• $1,299

Rating

• 4 Seals of Approval out of 5. (How do we rate gadgets?)
• The look of this thing is great.
• The build quality is excellent.
• This is one of the best ultrabook screens we've seen.
• The only thing holding this back is the price.

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