Following up on a "very positive reception" to its initial Series 9 notebooks, Samsung has expanded the ultraportable line with five more models. Unveiled ahead of the back-to-school season, the new additions include three 13.3-inch and two 11-inch models spanning in price from $1,049 to $2,049. Like the original Series 9 systems, the latest iterations emphasize extreme mobility while remaining quick enough for heavy work sessions. We've slapped the core specs of each system in a table below:
Model | Size | Processor | Memory | Storage | Price |
NP900X1B-A02US | 11" | Intel Core i3-2357M | 2GB DDR3 | 64GB SSD | $1,049 |
NP900X1B-A01US | 11" | Intel Core i3-2357M | 4GB DDR3 | 128GB SSD | $1,249 |
NP900X3A-B01US | 13.3" | Intel Core i5-2467M | 4GB DDR3 | 128GB SSD | $1,349 |
NP900X3A-B02US | 13.3" | Intel Core i5-2467M | 4GB DDR3 | 128GB SSD | $1,649 |
NP900X3A-A05US | 13.3" | Intel Core i7-2617M | 6GB DDR3 | 256GB SSD | $2,049 |
All five models sport an LED-backlit 1366x768 "SuperBright" display, a spiffy duralumin chassis, Windows 7 Home Premium and get seven hours of battery life. Samsung didn't offer a full rundown on connectivity, but the systems have at least one USB 3.0 port that can charge devices while the laptop is off. Samsung also ships the Series 9 with its FastStart technology, which allows the notebooks to wake from sleep in three seconds flat. The 13.3-inchers measure 0.62 inches thick and weigh 2.89lbs.
The new Series 9 models are expected to reach electronics retailers over the next month. During that same timeframe, Apple is expected to refresh is popular MacBook Air. According to scattered reports, the revamped ultraportable will emerge sometime in the middle of July and will finally shed Intel's dated Core 2 Duo processors in favor of the second-generation Core i3, i5 and i7 chips (aka Sandy Bridge). Most folks are also convinced that the new Macbook Air will have Thunderbolt connectivity.