14 DAY TRIAL // Intel deemed 2012 as being “the year of the Ultrabook” and judging by all the ultra-thin notebooks that are announced at CES 2012, from makers such as Acer, Lenovo, LG and now Samsung with its new Series 9 designs, it seems like the chip maker couldn’t be more right.
Two models were unveiled today by Samsung, one featuring a 15-inch display and the other a 13.3-inch screen, both of these using the same "single shell" aluminum body that is no more than half an inch thick.
Thanks to this chassis the 13.3-inch model weighs a mere 2.5lbs (1.13Kg), while its larger brother tips the scale at an also impressive 3.5lbs (1.58kg).
Despite the different bodies, on the inside the two Series 9 Ultrabooks get their power from the same 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor (the 2467M), which is paired with a 128GB SSD, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.
In the 13.3-inch model, the CPU is seconded by 4GB of system memory, while the 15-inch Series 9 doubles this size to reach a total of 8GB of RAM.
Moving to the LCD panels installed by Samsung, we are happy to report that both Ultrabooks are equipped with a 1600x900 resolution screen rated to deliver 400 nits of brightness.
In the 15-inch Series 9, this is also paired with a more compact chassis that enables the ultra-thin to reach the size of a regular 14-inch notebook.
"When designing the new Series 9, we focused on improving key elements that our customers loved in the original award winning Series 9, including the sophisticated, lightweight design," said Todd Bouman, vice president of product marketing at Samsung Enterprise Business Division
"Our engineers worked very hard to develop the amazingly thin form factor and one of the most compact chassis in the world, which allowed us to house a 15-inch display in a 14-inch chassis," concluded the company’s rep.
The 13- and 15-inch Series 9 Ultrabooks are priced at $1,399 and $1,499 (1,093 and 1,171 EUR) respectively and will be available for order on February 27.