Samsung's Core i5 Laptop Is Lighter, Thinner Than Air

[n1tut]

Windows 7 is not crap. It is a damn good stable operating system at last, and I have only just acquired my first Mac, 11.6" Basic which I would not now change for anything. Apart from being an object of beauty, it is as light as a feather, has great resolution, and is as fast as my fingers and eyes can keep up with.

I am all for comparing it to other notebooks, but I really dislike this blinkered image that nothing else can compare with it, or that OS X is the holy Grail. Most members on here are rational in their posts, but as in every Forum there will be the retards.

tut

 

[tom vilsack]

i don't really like the "heavy" brushed look of it...and for that price,best not be loaded with crapware.

 

[lshirase]

i'm glad other companies are releasing macbook air rivals. sandy bridge air in june, please!

 

[Gaso]

For me one of the selling points for MBA was the usability of the multi-touch trackpad. I was considering PC counterparts (well, a month ago there was not many or at all), but decided not to wait because the the integration of multi-touch gestures with OS wouldn't happen on the same level with a windows machine (not bashing windows or PC's in general).

 

[Veinticinco]

The day one of these 'me too' laptops can natively run OS X is the day we can have a relevant and meaningful discussion about comparative specs and design in relation to an MBA.

As for this latest pretender, it's a Samsung. Ugh. QC issues every week of ownership you can bet. Plus I'd be taking a blade to that awful ugly typographic logo on the lid if I was unfortunate or deluded enough to buy one of these.

 

[Hellhammer]

The day one of these 'me too' laptops can natively run OS X is the day we can have a relevant and meaningful discussion about comparative specs and design in relation to an MBA.

That day will never happen. Hacks will get better and easier but you will very unlikely be able to pop in the OS X disc and install it normally and have everything working right away.

 

[Veinticinco]

That day will never happen. Hacks will get better and easier but you will very unlikely be able to pop in the OS X disc and install it normally and have everything working right away.

I agree, which was kind of my point. These spec-comparing/willy-waving discussions are pointless.

 

[stockscalper]

Windows 7 is not crap. It is a damn good stable operating system at last, and I have only just acquired my first Mac, 11.6" Basic which I would not now change for anything. Apart from being an object of beauty, it is as light as a feather, has great resolution, and is as fast as my fingers and eyes can keep up with.

I am all for comparing it to other notebooks, but I really dislike this blinkered image that nothing else can compare with it, or that OS X is the holy Grail. Most members on here are rational in their posts, but as in every Forum there will be the retards.

tut

OS X is the Holy Grail and Windows is just a stinky plate of haggis.

 

[noripwr]

I really like the finish; otherwise this thing is just uggs. The Dell Adamo, while still pricier than the current MBA, seemed like a closer replacement (even if it wasn't 0.01 lbs lighter than the MBA.)

I had an Asus that had the appearance of that finish but the paint started fading away over time. If Samsung is charging that much for that laptop, that finish better be real metal and not paint over plastic. They can always say they use Duralumin, but where exactly?

 

[scottgroovez]

Nice, but damn expensive!!

 

[josh2007]

+1. Gotta admit. Looks great!

Now with Linux that could be a great toy.

on second thought, nahh.........

 

[munkees]

good to see the big boys stepping up their game. this is good for us, the consumer.

yep competition, we need it so the envelope of technology can be pushed

 

[josh1231]

And is now on sale.

Areas besides chip, weight and thinness where the Series 9 has the Air beat:

-HD LED-backlit SuperBright Plus display (400 nit)
-1.5 watt sub-woofer
-WiMax
-It's made of Duralumin which is supposedly ”twice the strength of aluminum”

And this last point is personal preference, but I actually think it looks better than Air.

Having said all this, it obviously runs Windows. Hopefully if nothing else it will help motivate Apple to iterate the next Air update sooner.

More info here:

http://mashable.com/2011/03/16/samsung-laptop/

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/computers/samsungs-sleek-series-9-is-now-available/5281

Looks great, however I think its too expensive.

 

[iRun26.2]

Price

Nice, but damn expensive!!

To be honest, I wish the price of the MBA was higher. Not that I want to pay a higher price for the current 11.6" MBA, but I would have liked to have had the option to pay more for additional advanced BTO options:

1) 256G SSD (11.6" MBA)
2) Higher resolution screen ('Retina' display)
3) Backlit keyboard

I realize that the 11.6" model is partily geared to be cheaper but I think that there are fair number of us out there that would be willing to pay quite a bit more for a more advanced version.

 

[ja12ke]

MBA > VAIO-Z > Samsung i5 (good try though)
Samsung dropped the ball on screen resolution.
What is Samsung's battery life? I'm getting 8-10 on a UMBA, light duty.

Please...The MBA is not even in the same league as the Z. In addition, how many of you have actually used a windows 7 machine recently to think that the OS X is so much better? My MBA has crashed more times than my Windows 7 machine at work...I also have a lot of crap software on my windows box too. That thing is on 24x7 since I remote desktop into the box from my MBA to get work done. The days of bashing Windows as a crappy OS is over...You can still have your preferences...But in terms of reliability, i might even say that Win 7 is more reliable than the OS X.

 

[iRun26.2]

Please...The MBA is not even in the same league as the Z. In addition, how many of you have actually used a windows 7 machine recently to think that the OS X is so much better? My MBA has crashed more times than my Windows 7 machine at work...I also have a lot of crap software on my windows box too. That thing is on 24x7 since I remote desktop into the box from my MBA to get work done. The days of bashing Windows as a crappy OS is over...You can still have your preferences...But in terms of reliability, i might even say that Win 7 is more reliable than the OS X.

Yes, Windows 7 is pretty good. But, for me, however, Vista is still firmly fixed in my mind. That was the worst OS I have ever used.

 

[BENJMNS]

please...the mba is not even in the same league as the z. In addition, how many of you have actually used a windows 7 machine recently to think that the os x is so much better? My mba has crashed more times than my windows 7 machine at work...i also have a lot of crap software on my windows box too. That thing is on 24x7 since i remote desktop into the box from my mba to get work done. The days of bashing windows as a crappy os is over...you can still have your preferences...but in terms of reliability, i might even say that win 7 is more reliable than the os x.

agreed

 

[BENJMNS]

Yes, Windows 7 is pretty good. But, for me, however, Vista is still firmly fixed in my mind. That was the worst OS I have ever used.

another embellishment... vista ran pretty much the same as 7 so long as you keep the OS updated... just like OSX.

vista worked just fine for me. win7 works just fine as well.

 

[BENJMNS]

To be honest, I wish the price of the MBA was higher. Not that I want to pay a higher price for the current 11.6" MBA, but I would have liked to have had the option to pay more for additional advanced BTO options:

1) 256G SSD (11.6" MBA)
2) Higher resolution screen ('Retina' display)
3) Backlit keyboard

I realize that the 11.6" model is partily geared to be cheaper but I think that there are fair number of us out there that would be willing to pay quite a bit more for a more advanced version.

you're gonna need a new retina for any higher res on the small arse 11" screen

 

[KPOM]

another embellishment... vista ran pretty much the same as 7 so long as you keep the OS updated... just like OSX.

vista worked just fine for me. win7 works just fine as well.

Vista is on my work PC and I have Win 7 on my Mac's Boot Camp partition. Win 7 is far better and more stable. Vista isn't as bad as its reputation (at least since SP1), but there's a reason most people waited until Windows 7 came out. Win 7 has some nice UI improvements over Vista, as well as tighter code.

 

[fs454]

It's .05 of an inch thinner than the back part of an MBA.

And stays that way the whole way around, and it's not tapered.

It will feel much thicker than the MBA.

 

[Gaelic2]

come on folks! This guy is just pushing another line of computers for reasons of his own. It has nothing to do with anything other than business.

 

[iRun26.2]

you're gonna need a new retina for any higher res on the small arse 11" screen

I take it that you don't own an iPhone 4 then. Text is the same size but it is ultra crisp (no rabid edges). Images are crisp as well. You can not see the pixels (which is what the retina display is referring to). It is not hard to see the individual pixels on the current 11.6" MBA screen).

There will be a time when ALL laptop screens will have pixel densities as high as the iPhone 4. I want that now in my 11.6" MBA. I will pay an extra $1000 for that screen.

 

[iRun26.2]

It's .05 of an inch thinner than the back part of an MBA.

And stays that way the whole way around, and it's not tapered.

It will feel much thicker than the MBA.

It sure seems like a more relevant metric would be volume (or average thickness). I think the MBA would win that hands down. There are other slanted things in my backpack besides my MBA. If it's volume is lower, that is a real advantage.

(which, of course, is one of the reasons I love my 11.6" MBA even more).

 

[Scottsdale]

To be honest, I wish the price of the MBA was higher. Not that I want to pay a higher price for the current 11.6" MBA, but I would have liked to have had the option to pay more for additional advanced BTO options:

1) 256G SSD (11.6" MBA)
2) Higher resolution screen ('Retina' display)
3) Backlit keyboard

I realize that the 11.6" model is partily geared to be cheaper but I think that there are fair number of us out there that would be willing to pay quite a bit more for a more advanced version.

I agree fully and know exactly what you mean... I want the possibility to spend much more and get the MBA of my dreams.

For example:
IPS Hi Res Display all the way to x1050 resolution or higher (really possible in the future with resolution independence)
Discrete GPU option on all of Apple's 13" notebooks and the Mac mini.
Larger and faster SSD options
More RAM options to 8GB and on SB/IB 16GB
Aluminum capped keys as I don't like the feel of the plastic keys (glass might be even better)
Backlit keyboard
black aluminum
HD webcam
USB 3.0
some sort of WiDi solution
docking station with built in blu ray and discrete GPU
docking cable
and I am sure there's more I am not thinking of right this second

I mean why doesn't Apple truly capitalize on us nutjobs who will blow our wads on these MBAs. I would add it all, as this is my addiction.