New MacBook Air Killer, Samsung S9 Notebook, Is Powered by Sandy Bridge

It really seems that the group of notebooks battling it out for the title of “MacBook Air killer” has just gotten bigger with the CES 2011 release of the Samsung S9, a 13.3-inch super-slim notebook that comes packed with Intel's 2'nd Generation Core CPUs, also known as Sandy Bridge.

And, in fact, the S9 really has what it takes in order to challenges its Apple counterpart, given the fact that it has an ultra-thin 0.64 inch profile, while also weighing a mere 3 pounds, also partly due to the fact that it's built from a material known as Duralumin, typically found in advanced aircrafts.

According to Samsung, the 13.3-inch 9 Series features a LED-backlit screen with 1366x768 pixels resolution, 400-nit brightness, a 100,000:1 contrast ratio with 16 million colors, wide 160-degree viewing angle and an ambient light sensor that adjusts the display brightness based on surrounding lighting conditions and reduces user eye strain.

Moving on to the hardware configuration, it's interesting to mention that the S9 is powered by the Second Generation Intel Core i5 Processor 2537M (1.40 GHz, 3MB; turbo up to 2.3 GHz), accompanied by 4GB DDR3 memory and a up to 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD).

The device relies on Intel HD GT2 Integrated Graphics, and also packs 3 watt (1.5W x 2) stereo speakers and 1.5 watt sub-woofer in its slim body, while the new power-efficient lithium polymer batteries help it achieve up to 6.5 hours of battery life on average.

“Weighing less than 3 lbs., Samsung has designed the 9 Series to stand out, completely reimagining the notion of the traditional laptop,” said Scott Ledterman, director of mobile PC marketing at Samsung Enterprise Business Division.

“When designing a premium laptop like the 9 Series, Samsung wanted to offer an unforgettable experience without limitations. The 9 Series laptop successfully combines elegant styling, performance and ease of use in an ultra thin and lightweight package,” Mr. Ledterman added.

Quite obviously, this thing is far from affordable, as the Samsung 9 Series is scheduled to be available in February 2011, starting at $1,599.