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.