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

[KPOM]

Laptop Magazine did an unboxing of the 9 Series.

Then they tested the boot against the Air.

Twenty-four seconds for the 9 Series.

Twenty seven seconds for the Air.

The Air shut down in 2/3 of the time as the 9 series, and woke from sleep twice as fast.

Spin aside, though, both notebooks are pretty speedy.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

If it trips your trigger, buy it,and don't troll . We love the MBA, don't want WINDOZE,, whatever it has, it doesnt have OSX, and frankly, we have no interest

 

[2IS]

What's this "we" business? There are MBA users that think the Samsung is rather nice and think Windows 7 > OSX

 

[AppleScruff1]

Samsung has poor customer support. They forget their customers once they have sold the product. See what is happening to the poor 7-inch Galaxy Tab users - not even Android 2.3 upgrade for them.

I'd like to hear some of your customer support stories concerning Samsung. Which products did you have problems with and what response did you get from customer service?

Samsung Series 9 could be the best non-Apple laptop out there. Not better than Air for many people, though. People like me.

The software side is obvious. Let's go to hardware. Air's industrial design is still unmatched. The Samsung may have a better material, but that's no MacBook unibody. Spec-wise, I'd choose Core 2 Duo + NVIDIA 320M over Sandy Bridge + Intel intergrated.

And again, price.

What happens when the MBA gets Intel graphics on the next upgrade like the 13" Macbook Pro just did?

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.

So you've had problems with your Samsung products too? As I asked the poster in the first quote in this reply, what products did you own and what were the problems you encountered?

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

it's *****

Have you checked on out yet and played around with it? What is the build quality compared to the MBA? How do the trackpads compare? What about it did you find to be inferior? Thanks.

Samsung has been and always been a pretty damn good company. They have really stepped it up in their new product lineup for PC owners...

Either you are a Apple diehard fanatic or not - you have to appreciate quality when you see it.

Most arguments are one liners - "it's not a Mac." or "it has windows." who cares. If it works for those that want it and does what it needs to do - don't go knock'n on a product just cause you are a sheep.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'd like to know how many of those who posted negative comments have actually seen and used the Samsung.

Apple loves Samsung as it's its number one supplier. We should all hope that finally the MBA is really challenged. Competition will bring much better MBAs to us, as Apple does respond to competition even though it has OS X to rely on.

I want Samsung's new line of notebooks to challenge MacBooks at all levels, and once the price matches the competition can begin. I would love to see Samsung challenge with high resolution retina-like displays in notebooks, lightweight materials and thin form factors, cutting edge technologies, and finally compatibility between devices and services.

I don't get all of the ridiculous trash talk against Samsung, as this isn't grade school and neither Samsung nor Apple benefits from the name calling. Competition WILL drive better Macs, and every time Samsung wins a small battle Apple will take notice. Whether it's a 400-nit bright display, a cool forward thinking design, or even just USB 3.0 making its way into the competition it will drive Apple to improve the MBA where it needs to.

I hope Apple rethinks the backlit keyboard, goes ahead with USB 3.0, adopts even better LCDs, and even goes with duralumin or some similar black design. The MBA is great, but IT CAN BE BETTER! And competition can twist Apple's hand faster than we can!

There you go, being logical, rational and open minded. What good is USB 3? Isn't it better to have only USB 2?

If it trips your trigger, buy it,and don't troll . We love the MBA, don't want WINDOZE,, whatever it has, it doesnt have OSX, and frankly, we have no interest

What do you mean we? Do you have a mouse in your pocket? The MBA is a great product. Perhaps the Samsung will be too, perhaps not. I hope it is a good one to raise the bar a level so that the next MBA is even better.

 

[drbf]

But its $100 more than the 13 ultimate.
It only has a 1.4 ghz processor, has pretty much the same resolution as the 11 IN AIR, and has less storage.

And the icing on the cake.......
Windows.

So, is it really "better"?
no


I agree......

 

[noripwr]

I would love to see Samsung challenge with high resolution retina-like displays in notebooks, lightweight materials and thin form factors, cutting edge technologies, and finally compatibility between devices and services.

I don't get all of the ridiculous trash talk against Samsung, as this isn't grade school and neither Samsung nor Apple benefits from the name calling. Competition WILL drive better Macs, and every time Samsung wins a small battle Apple will take notice. Whether it's a 400-nit bright display, a cool forward thinking design, or even just USB 3.0 making its way into the competition it will drive Apple to improve the MBA where it needs to.

I hope Apple rethinks the backlit keyboard, goes ahead with USB 3.0, adopts even better LCDs, and even goes with duralumin or some similar black design. The MBA is great, but IT CAN BE BETTER! And competition can twist Apple's hand faster than we can!

I like Samsung (when it comes to TVs) but I hate to break it to you there. Samsung challenge with high-resolution displays? The series 9 doesn't even have a comparable display to the Air. 400-nit display is neat, but IMHO I feel the MBA is plenty bright.

USB3.0 was great, but with such slow adoption rate compared to USB2.0, I think we should just hope for Thunderbolt instead. Heck I even read that Sony is thinking of putting Thunderbolt in their next few laptops. That surely is a quick response.

And duralumin. I hate how that's complete marketing gimmick bs to sell a product. And though a black macbook would be neat, I feel that the aluminum look is [now] iconic to Apple, and the only way they can shift to a different color is to bring the transition to the [next] MBP like they did with the shift to unibody.

And about the Series-9. Won't Samsung get into trouble with those kind of ports? I thought Apple had a patent on movable I/O ports. And the specs? Do people not realize that the current MBA was released back in October 2010? Sandy Bridge [of today] wasn't available then! Also, what about the argument that Apple macbooks were retarded because they didn't have user-replaceable batteries? Hey! I'm just saying.

 

[Hellhammer]

USB3.0 was great, but with such slow adoption rate compared to USB2.0, I think we should just hope for Thunderbolt instead. Heck I even read that Sony is thinking of putting Thunderbolt in their next few laptops. That surely is a quick response.

And what about the adoption rate of Thunderbolt? Currently Apple is the only company that uses Thunderbolt. The only use for it at the moment is Mini DisplayPort adapters. USB 3.0 is already widely available and an externals HD with USB 3.0 doesn't cost much more than one with USB 2.0. Sure, some TB externals have been announced but they are still months away and the price is unknown.

 

[Faux Carnival]

Won't you Apple fanboys appreciate stuff that is good?

This clearly crushes MBA.

- Much better display
- Thinner, lighter
- Arguably better looking
- Again arguably: No slanted design
- Very powerful Sandy Bridge processors
- Boots faster (an argument used widely by Mac users for decades)
- USB 3.0
- HDMI

When it comes to graphics, GT 320M is a tiny bit faster than Intel HD 3000. But it runs so much hotter. (Obviously because it's not integrated) And MBA will lose the external graphics when it's updated. (Look at Macbook Pro 13")

When it comes to Windows, I have nothing to say. It's just personal preference but admit this: Windows 7 is the best Windows ever, it is super stable, fast and reliable. Looks pretty damn good too. Plus, Mac OS X doesn't even have SSD Trim feature. At least not yet. (It'll come with Lion)

 

[Hellhammer]

- Much better display

Depends what you find better. Yes, it is brighter but the resolution is awful compared to 13" MBA's. Personally, I prefer the better resolution because I never use the screen at maximum brightness anyway.

- Thinner, lighter

It has already been said several times that it is not really thinner. Yes, it is thinner at the thickest point but MBA is significantly thinner at the thinnest point. It's very marginally lighter too.

- Arguably better looking
- Again arguably: No slanted design

Both are just your opinions, so you can't say it is generally better because you find it better looking. I like the slanted design

When it comes to graphics, GT 320M is a tiny bit faster than Intel HD 3000. But it runs so much hotter. (Obviously because it's not integrated)

320M is integrated as well. You can't say it runs hotter unless you have actually used both machines. My 13" MBA runs very cool.

Plus, Mac OS X doesn't even have SSD Trim feature. At least not yet. (It'll come with Lion)

Can be enabled in 10.6.7 with TRIM Enabler, I have done that with my MBA.

I'm not saying the Samsung is not good but I'm just correcting your arguments of it being better. Both have their pros and cons, like always.

 

[Faux Carnival]

Of course both have their pros and cons. I'm just saying Samsung 9 Series isn't crap like some people say. They should admit that competition is heating up. It is definitely a strong competitor to MBA and being one of the first Windows laptops, which actually looks good and elite, it will steal lots of customers.

 

[Dr McKay]

There you go, being logical, rational and open minded. What good is USB 3? Isn't it better to have only USB 2

If you were going to have USB, I'd say it'd be better to have USB 3, all USB 2 devices will work fine on it. And if you get a USB device, like an external hard drive, you'll see the speed benefits of 10x faster transfer.

Not as fast as Thunderbolt, but I'm just going on is it better to have USB 3 or 2.

 

[Akira1980]

In the end, get Samsung if you want Windows. And get Apple if you want OSX. I don't think you can go wrong with either one. But I think MBA looks nicer.

 

[KohPhiPhi]

I personally find this Samsung such a good deal actually: other than the processor, this is inferior than the MBA, and the low screen resolution would be a deal-breaker for me. Besides, this thing is not thinner and certainly not better looking than the MBA. Top that off with the fact that it's more expensive and... well, like I said it's not such a great deal.

Plus it's Windows...

 

[votdfak]

Parallel worlds.

In every segment of market you can always get much higher speced out Windows laptop, but it's not Apple.

I think that majority of people working in IT will end up with Apple at the end. It's evolutionary process.

 

[LarryC]

http://nexus404.com/Blog/2011/03/27...-confirmed-to-bear-an-impressive-price-tag-1/

11.6-inch Samsung Series 9 Notebook to Cost $1,199, to Rival the MacBook Air in Pricing Too? [Samsung’s Series 9 Ultra-Portable Windows 7 Notebook Confirmed to Bear an Impressive Price Tag: $1,199]

Read: 11.6-inch Samsung Series 9 Notebook to Cost $1,199, to Rival the MacBook Air in Pricing Too? [Samsung’s Series 9 Ultra-Portable Windows 7 Notebook Confirmed to Bear an Impressive Price Tag: $1,199]

 

[KPOM]

The pricing of the 11" Samsung pretty much validates the MacBook Air pricing. The Samsung has a nicer processor, slightly lesser graphics, the same screen resolution, an extra USB port, HDMI, and Ethernet, and the same size SSD, and costs $200 more. It's expensive to make something of the same caliber as an Apple.

I think the main limitation of the 11" Samsung (besides the OS) is the 64GB SSD. Apple offers a 128GB model of the 11", and I think Samsung will need to, as well. Windows takes up more space than OS X, so 64GB is extra tight.

 

[noripwr]

- Arguably better looking
- Very powerful Sandy Bridge processors
- Boots faster (an argument used widely by Mac users for decades)

It doesn't boot faster. If anything, that video performance test was biased. I have loads more apps installed and a bunch of things on my menu bar yet my MBA boots in seconds. Again, unfair to say it crushes anything when you're comparing a newly released product to something that is 5 months old, which in the tech geeky world is ooooold.

Although it looks really nice, I don't dig the sides. The profile view of the machine isn't sexy at all.


I've used sammy laptops/netbooks before and although great-looking craftsmanship, their quality on the other hand begs to differ. Who knows. Maybe they've upped the ante on quality too.

And what about the adoption rate of Thunderbolt? Currently Apple is the only company that uses Thunderbolt. The only use for it at the moment is Mini DisplayPort adapters. USB 3.0 is already widely available and an externals HD with USB 3.0 doesn't cost much more than one with USB 2.0. Sure, some TB externals have been announced but they are still months away and the price is unknown.

Of course we don't know the adoption rate of TB but with Sony jumping onto it so quick and with Intel backing it, I'm inclined to believe that TB will become industry acceptance. I see a lot of USB3 externals out there. My GoFlex is a USB3 ext. drive and although my MBA can't utilize the speeds, my pc desktop can. Still, with TB offering greater bandwidth than usb3, shouldn't we be encouraging its growth? It's not like our usb2.0 drives will suddenly become usb3.0 capable without 'any' changes.

 

[AppleScruff1]

If you were going to have USB, I'd say it'd be better to have USB 3, all USB 2 devices will work fine on it. And if you get a USB device, like an external hard drive, you'll see the speed benefits of 10x faster transfer.

Not as fast as Thunderbolt, but I'm just going on is it better to have USB 3 or 2.

I was being sarcastic. Of course USB 3 is better to have than USB 2 since it's backwards compatible. I just think it's bone headed for Apple not to include it, that's all.

I personally find this Samsung such a good deal actually: other than the processor, this is inferior than the MBA, and the low screen resolution would be a deal-breaker for me. Besides, this thing is not thinner and certainly not better looking than the MBA. Top that off with the fact that it's more expensive and... well, like I said it's not such a great deal.

Plus it's Windows...

Don't forget that the Samsung has a 3 year warranty too. Have you ever used the Samsung? I'd like to hear about your experience with it. Is the screen really bad? How bad is Windows 7? Did you have a lot of problems with it crashing? Thanks.

 

[LarryC]

The pricing of the 11" Samsung pretty much validates the MacBook Air pricing. The Samsung has a nicer processor, slightly lesser graphics, the same screen resolution, an extra USB port, HDMI, and Ethernet, and the same size SSD, and costs $200 more. It's expensive to make something of the same caliber as an Apple.

I think the main limitation of the 11" Samsung (besides the OS) is the 64GB SSD. Apple offers a 128GB model of the 11", and I think Samsung will need to, as well. Windows takes up more space than OS X, so 64GB is extra tight.

It just seems kind of odd that Samsung would offer a product that is such a copy of the Air and try to go head to head with Apple when Samsung and Apple are kind of business partners? I may be wrong about that, but I thought I had read somewhere that Apple has invested with Samsung to manufacture LCD panels? It might have been something else and it might have not even been Samsung If so, then please forgive my mindless ranting. I have one more thing to say about the Mac Book Air vs the Samsung something. I really don't think that any company is gonna out-apple Apple. I hope that makes sense. It does to me, but then again I'm medicated.

 

[bmat]

I only have macs, and I have a ton of them. And this notebook looks very nice to me. It doesn't matter to me if Windows users get a nice form factor. The more competition the better.

 

[LarryC]

I only have macs, and I have a ton of them. And this notebook looks very nice to me. It doesn't matter to me if Windows users get a nice form factor. The more competition the better.

That is an excellent point. More competition means we get better products and better prices. Sounds like the best of both worlds.

 

[munkery]

I think I read somewhere that Samsung is one of Apples main suppliers for OEM parts; specifically, the OEM SSDs often come from Samsung.

I guess Samsung looked at the MBAs and saw a market to make similar machines that run Windows. Many individuals in the Business sector may like the form factor of the MBAs but really only need dedicated Windows PCs.

I believe that Samsung is the largest supplier of OEM SSDs to all PC manufacturers (not sure about this). So, Apple does not really have any means to react against Samsung making this type of machine given the situation.

 

[AppleScruff1]

I only have macs, and I have a ton of them. And this notebook looks very nice to me. It doesn't matter to me if Windows users get a nice form factor. The more competition the better.

Competition is generally good for consumers, we get better products at fair prices, as long as it doesn't lead to cut throat prices so that quality and service suffer.

 

[LarryC]

I think I read somewhere that Samsung is one of Apples main suppliers for OEM parts; specifically, the OEM SSDs often come from Samsung.

I guess Samsung looked at the MBAs and saw a market to make similar machines that run Windows. Many individuals in the Business sector may like the form factor of the MBAs but really only need dedicated Windows PCs.

I believe that Samsung is the largest supplier of OEM SSDs to all PC manufacturers (not sure about this). So, Apple does not really have any means to react against Samsung making this type of machine given the situation.

Thank you. I knew that I had read something that said they do business with each other. I just couldn't remember what it was.

 

[Mr Slippy IV]

I dunno, when you look at it form the side, it doesnt look so great anymore.

+1. The angle of the product shots makes all the difference. Sadly, everything we see isn't quite what it's cracked up to be.