Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus review

Posted on 30/09/2013 by Dana Wollman

When Samsung first released the Series 9 in 2011, it quickly became one of our favorite laptops of the year. Then, once Intel threw its marketing weight behind Ultrabooks, it became our favorite Ultra. But the Series 9 was born in the Windows 7 era, and it became harder and harder to recommend as touchscreens became the standard. Now, though, we have the ATIV Book 9 Plus, the first truly flagship-level Ultrabook Samsung has released since Windows 8 came out.

As you'd expect, it trades in the Series 9's matte, anti-glare display for a touchscreen. What's more, though, Samsung also cranked up the resolution, retiring that old 1,600 x 900 panel in favor of a 3,200 x 1,800 one. And, of course, it steps up to a newer Haswell processor, which promises not just faster performance, but also longer battery life (not that endurance was a problem on the original). So is it still our favorite Ultrabook? Pretty much.%Gallery-slideshow99388%

Filed under: Laptops, Samsung

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Samsung shipping ATIV Book 9 Plus and ATIV Tab 3 in the coming weeks, promises business-minded variants this fall

Posted on 09/08/2013 by Darren Murph

B&H may have jumped the gun a bit, but here's the word from the proverbial horse's mouth: Samsung's high-specced ATIV Book 9 Plus will be available for pre-order in the United States beginning August 18th, with shipments of the $1,399 laptop to commence shortly thereafter. For those in need of a brief recap, the 13.3-inch rig packs a QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800) touchpanel, a Core i5 4200U processor, 128GB SSD, a battery good for 7.5 hours and a copy of Windows 8.

Meanwhile, that ATIV Tab 3 that we handled back in June is getting a proper ship date of its own, with Sammy assuring Americans that they'll be able to snap one up starting on September 1st for $699.99 -- thankfully, that tally does include a Bluetooth keyboard / cover combo. It's said to be the planet's thinnest Windows 8 slate at 0.31-inches thick, with a proposed 7 hour battery, preloaded Office Home & Student and one of those always-lovable S Pens. For whatever it's worth, it appears that Samsung's distaste for Windows RT in the States hasn't carried over to tablets with Windows 8 onboard... yet, anyway.

Oh, and for the enterprising individuals in attendance? Samsung has promised "to introduce versions of both products specialized for business use in the fall." Nifty!

Filed under: Laptops, Tablets, Samsung

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Source: Samsung

Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite launching on July 28th for $800

Posted on 15/07/2013 by Sarah Silbert

Last month, Samsung gave us a look at two new ATIV Book 9 Ultrabooks, both of which will replace the company's famed Series 9 lineup. While the ATIV Book 9 Plus, with its QHD+ display and brand-new Haswell chip, may be a tad more exciting than the Book 9 Lite with its unspecified quad-core processor, it's the latter machine that's getting US pricing info today. At the end of the month, Samsung will offer the Book 9 Lite for $800. That relatively affordable sum gets you a 13.3-inch, 1,366 x 768 capacitive touchscreen, 128 gigs of SSD storage, AMD Radeon graphics and up to 5.5 hours of battery life.

In our brief hands-on time, we found both the Plus and Lite models to be comfortable; the main differences are the Plus' superior processor, higher-res display and slightly sleeker design. While both machines seem like solid options, we'd be remiss not to mention that the Plus will likely get a US launch date of its own very soon -- and its higher-end specs could make it worth the wait. If you're already set on the ATIV Book 9 Lite, though, you can get your pre-order on now at Samsung's site, or look for the machine in stores starting on July 28th.

Filed under: Laptops, Samsung

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Samsung intros ATIV Book 9 Plus flagship Ultrabook, ATIV Book 9 Lite

Posted on 20/06/2013 by Dana Wollman

We haven't heard much about Samsung's Series 9 Ultrabooks for a while, barring a resolution bump late last year. Today, though, the company announced the follow-on to that product. Two follow-on products, actually. The company just introduced the ATIV Book 9 Plus, a 13-inch flagship laptop that appears to be the direct replacement to the old Series 9. In addition, the company announced the ATIV Book 9 Lite, another 13-inch ultraportable that doesn't quite rise to the level of flagship status.

Starting with the Plus, it steps up to Haswell processors (Core i5 and i7), as well as a 3,200 x 1,800 touchscreen. Sammy also made improvements to the old Series 9's backlit keyboard and trackpad. (Think: the sort of excellent touchpad found on the recent ATIV Book 7). The new display, meanwhile, is coated in Gorilla Glass and has a 72 percent color gamut. The Plus offers two hinge positions -- one at about 105 degrees and another all the way down to 180 degrees. Additionally, the company's opted for OCR bonding this time around, which should offer an improved touch experience, say company reps. With the touchscreen, the weight is up to 1.39kg (3.06 pounds) -- definitely not the lightest 13-inch touchscreen Ultrabook we've seen, but still plenty portable. As for battery life, you're looking at 12 hours, according to Samsung. And given the performance of some other Haswell machines we've already had a chance to test, we're inclined to believe it.

Meanwhile, the ATIV Book 9 Lite has up to 256GB of solid-state storage and an unnamed quad-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz (it's an AMD chip, we hear). As a slightly lower-end device, it has a 1,366 x 768 display, and also comes in a more playful gamut of colors, including white, red and the usual black. Battery life is rated at 8.5 hours, compared with 12 for the Plus. Likewise, you get 4GB of RAM, versus eight gigs on the flagship model. Also, it will be available in both touch and non-touch versions, with the non-touch model weighing in at 1.44kg (3.17 pounds) and the touch one tipping the scales at 1.58kg (3.48 pounds). The Book 9 Plus and Lite will launch globally in Q3, but in the meantime we've got a hands-on post on ready for your perusal.

Gallery: Samsung Premiere 2013