Samsung 9 Series laptop (ZX310 / 900X3A) unveiled

As you caught me before on this, my guess is that these hotfixes are simply patches made by Samsung for their own software. Perhaps one of the patch may have been responsible for adding the Silent Mode option that I was looking for (don't know for sure as it may be due to the correct version of the software). Samsung calls these hotfixes as Windows 7 hotfix just to differentiate their software targeting platform. Like Samsung will call Microsoft XP hotfix simply to say that these hotfixes are meant for Windows XP versions of their software. They may have nothing to do with Microsoft patches we get under Windows Update. This is my guess. There may be something else going on?

I don't have the laptop with me currently. Give me around 5 hours and I will confirm what got installed via these hotfixes. This is what I remember (may have slight error but I will correct it when I get a hand on the laptop again). I chose the following while doing the installation using Recovery:
1 - Easy Speed up manager
2 - Samsung Recovery Solution 5
3 - Samsung Update Plus
4 - Windws 7 common patch (something in those terms... will confirm)
5 - Windows 7 critical (something in those terms... will confirm)

For option 4 it installed about 56 patches and for option 5 it installed about 16 patches. While installing it just says installing hotfix "m/n".

I was not able to see any of these installed patches in the "Control Panel - Uninstall Programs section". I haven't checked the "Software Updates" & "Windows Update History" section. I will do that in a few hours when I get hands to my laptop and update you about it. If I don't see them anywhere then we can have more weight on my guess that these are simply patches to the Samsung softwares and have nothing to do with Microsoft patches.

 

From the moment I got this laptop, the thing I disliked most was the cheap excuse for a power adapter. First, the connection was so loose that it essentially fell free from the laptop. Now, after about a month of use, it stopped charging the laptop completely. Hopefully the problem is the adapter rather than the laptop itself, but no way to be certain yet.

Based on the fact that others have already had their adapters fall apart, somehow I don't think this is an isolated issue.

I am in Singapore now, but I have a US version, so hopefully I can get it resolved at the Samsung service center. I have no receipt since none was provided by the vendor, so we'll see how the process goes here.

Very disappointing lack of quality. The laptop is completely unusable until this is resolved, but fortunately I have a back-up computer. I would expect many others will eventually have this same problem, so best be prepared.

 

I'm sorry to hear that! Any one else having similiar loose connection issue ?

 

Display problems here - this is an Australian purchased Samsung and it is perfect for work but two months later, the middle third of the screen is becoming pixellated. Occurs on the screen, not as a consequence of a programme. So, on a webpage, the letters are missing pixels, same in word; and it has a greenish hue to it. It first started in a video file but it is on the display. Wireless is good though.....

 

OK. These are the names of the two hotfixes that I installed from Recovery:
- Windows 7 Critical Updates (about 54 in number)
- Windows 7 Common Patches (about 16 in number).
I guess their number will vary depending on the current status of the laptop.

I looked for the patches on my laptop and cannot find them in "Windows Update History" under Windows Update or "Installed Updates" under Programs and Features. My guess is that these hotfixes simply update or add dll's for the installed Samsung softwares. I tried to locate one but its tough to identify if that dll came from the software or via the hotfix as I did all the installations simultaneously. Try getting in touch with the Samsung representation and they can tell you what exactly these hotfixes are and what do they do.

 

Returning laptop.

Touch pad is not behaving properly. Not able to move around properly sometimes. Sometimes unable to click if i have both fingers on touchpad..ie index finger and finger next to it- happens a lot when trying to scroll down pages.
Also I am not able to get used to the left and right click- the gap between left and right click is too much-I can probably get used to it but returning because of first reason. Not worth $1600 esp..
At first when i got the laptop, the issues were really bad, I did update the latest touch pad drivers from samsung website and there was a big difference but the minor issues still persist.

Everything else seems good..didnt even bother checking wirless because of trackpad issue.

If they are not able to fix 2 simple issues like this, I am just wondering how much thought went into other areas of the laptop. Wondering what this laptop has in store for me in the future...I am not willing to take a chance.

 

jobin, try reassigning the "corner click" in the touchpad's settings to be just a regular, primary click. Then only assign the right-click functionality to the two-finger click. That way, the whole touchpad is a left-click button, with two fingers for right-click.

 

Please keep us updated on this.

Most power supply problems come form the tip or the socket, which is why manufacturers shifted to right angle plugs and more robust designs. This is an instance of Samsung opting for a dubious sense of style over functionality - I'd put the drop down doors for the ports in the same category, and for that matter the glossy black plastic around the screen.

Re the service, in Hong Kong they seemed quite willing to look at my US model, and were willing to take a receipt printed out from an internet purchase.

 

I had the same "problem" with power connection until I understood that the plug has to be pushed a little bit deeper with some force. Then it clicks and stays very well in place.

Anyone having problems with the audio jack? I keep loosing the right channel occasionally. Tried with several headphones.

 

It appears that this first generation is quite rough around the edges.

 

new software updates reported via the samsung update plus.

Samsung Support Center add-on Critical Patches
This add-on is to improve the program functionality.

Easy Display Manager
This update is to improve the program functionality.

 

Return the system. My first sammy had this issue and it got worse. my 2nd sammy has worked without any issues.

 

Thanks becme, I printed my online order as well, so hopefully that will work. Fortunately the service center is near my apartment, so I will visit tomorrow and report back.

-----------------------

That is NOT the same issue, I could pound the plug in with a hammer and it still wouldn't make a solid connection or charge. Initially, I bent the mini-jack with pliers to get a proper connection, but that stopped working after a few weeks.

Apple has a far superior charger solution on the MBA, no questioning that.

This is actually the first time I have ever needed servicing on one of my laptops (previously owned mostly Vaios and HP's) other than battery replacement, so not a good start for Samsung.

---------------------------------------
UPDATE:

I went to the Samsung service center, but they did no testing, simply asked for the laptop and charger to be sent to the repair depot. Since the process will take at least a week, and believing the problem with the charger, I asked that only the charger be sent, not the entire laptop.

On the walk home, I happened by a big Samsung Series 9 promotion at the local Courts retailer, and decided to check the charger connection. The display model charger made virtually no connection with my laptop, so now I believe I may actually have a defective laptop rather than charger.

Rather than deal with this, I will most likely return the laptop (if I can manage to get the old charger back), even if it probably means sending it back to the US

 

As someone asked.. ordered a Vostro 3450 yesterday in the Bronze colour as their present sale made it impossible not to jump. I know its twice as heavy as the Series 9 but it equals out on all specs and then some. Being able to throw in my 512GB M4 Crucial is a huge bonus and am checking into whether I can throw in a mSATA SSD for boot and also hard drive as am expecting Samsungs new 1Tb notebook hard drive soon.

That would be sweet! Price was right at $700 bucks for the system though.

Heres the video:

YouTube - ‪Dell Vostro 3450 N34503 HD Video-Preview‬‏

 

The update for Easy Display Manager has broken it on my computer. I tried to remove it and reinstall it. No joy. Hope I don't need this for anything.

Support wasn't much help. Sigh....

 

for upgrading RAM in the near fulture wait for few months as Samsung releasing new 30nm RAM. check this link
Samsung's 30nm DDR3 DRAM boosts speeds, cuts power consumption -- Engadget

 

you won't notice the speed increase from using the new memory. i mean unless you benchmark all day i really doubt you'll see any real world increase in productivity using this laptop.

 

I hope somebody will respond to you in regards to speed increase but definitely you will extra battery juice

 

I can't believe I am posting about series9 wireless again but here goes. In all of the reports about losing wireless speed are the checks being made with the wireless network connection status or other broedband checks like speaseasy? My reason for asking is in checking my sammy it shows 130mbps on the "wireless network connection status" and speakeasy of 2,8mbps in the same room as the router. When I go to my attached garage about 45 ft from the router it show about 60 mbps on wncs but still shows 2.8mbps on speakeasy. In the "wireless network connection" what is the lowest speed be & still surf the web or really does it matter? I guess where I am the most confused is to how the two relate or compare to each other and which is the most important. As you can readily tell my knowledge on wireless is limited & I still want to learn. Also by the way I have a Cisco speed check with my router & it always so far has shown the same speed values as speakeasy. jimjoh

 

anybody know if any retailer has a sample somewhere in new york manhattan, brooklyn area?

 

I would compare this to a satellite signal in that you have both signal and quality when setting up a satellite. The signal can be very strong such as that of the Series 9 where you will have 4 or 5 bars but the quality very weak where you cannot download because the quality is only at 2Mbps.

I have posts that show exactly this a few pages back where I was getting excellent signal in the Hong Kong airport but the quality was so poor I could not send or receive e-mails much less surf the web. The signal is very strong but the quality is terrible because of the duraluminum barrier.

ATTACHED IMAGE

 

Thanks. Nice explanation.

I'm finding that the signal, compared to other devices, is such a problem that I haven't been able to focus on the quality! I can't even connect (or maintain a connection) to the access points

 

It's really hard to believe that the wireless situation is this bad. Such a shame.

 

Series9 guy, no way am I saying that you are wrong but I have to ask is how can you be so certain that your bad signal is due to the duraluminum barrier. when as I have shown it is not happening to my sammy ( that I can find) & I have the same back cover & have never opened it. Also I still cannot find a answer as to the relationship between the speed shown in the wireless network connection status and broadband speed tests show such as speakeasy. Also why one shows 130Mbps and the other 2.58Mbps at the same time. Also what is the lowest speed in the wireless network connection status and still be able to send emain & surf the net. jimjoh

 

If you've never opened it you don't know how much better it might be without the back.

Series 9 Guy has tried 3 notebooks and found them all the same and poor; AndroidDeer has tried 3 notebooks and found significant differences between them.

The answer appears to be both: some units are actually defective, but even with a perfect one the wifi will be weaker than a non-metal notebook. I doubt that Samsung will be replacing the base plate.

On the other hand, on AndroidDeer's current notebook the wifi got worse when he got the WEI processor score to go up. This seems to indicate something else, which I hope the Samsung engineers are looking into.

In any case, if your system works for your usage there's not much reason to worry about it. You can open web pages and send email with a (much slower) dial-up connection. Mine works for me, but I'd certainly like it to be faster.

I think most people here use SpeedTest.net to check the speed.

 

try datavision in manhattan

 

Samsung has a show room in the Time Warner building in Columbus Circle.

 

For an experiment, I disabled the internal Broadcom adapter in my laptop and installed an inexpensive ($10) USB Wi-Fi adapter. Wow! The difference in speed and signal strength everywhere in my house is remarkable. The Broadcom wi-fi has about 1/10th the speed or signal strength.

I'm convinced. There is an extremely serious problem with the native Wi-Fi adapter in this laptop.

I do hope that Samsung is monitoring this. You all have a bad problem here. We shouldn't be forced to carry around an external adapter to get a decent Wi-Fi connection -- not for this price.

 

Adds customization to keyboard backlit.

 

Agreed. But it doesn't look like Samsung is doing anything about it, unfortunately.

 

All of those with WiFi issues (i.e. pretty much anybody that has done a comparison to other laptops or is not next to a router), please tweet @Samsungservice with #Series9 about wanting to see a WiFi resolution. Maybe we'll be able to get Samsung's attention that way.

Thanks

 

Done. Tweet sent.

 

I know this is no solution to the wi-fi problem, but i picked up an Airlink mini usb adapter and it's almost invisible sticking out of the side. The door obviously has to be down but it sticks out maybe a 1/4 inch.
Oddly, I'm one of those without a wifi problem but saw how small (and cheap at $10) this was and had to try it. So I can't say how much improvement those of you with trouble would have, but my reception (14mbs at 40 feet through a wall) improved about 50%. The best part is it's so tiny. Poor excuse for a solution, but a good workaround.

 

Not a bad idea.

If it's that easy to fix you'd think Samsung would just solve this already.

 

You might want to take that adapter out when it's not in use, even though it is so small. If the adapter snags on something, the hinge could break. That side panel is not terribly robust. Just a thought....

 

I've been following this thread pretty consistently and I don't see much talk about swapping out the Boradcom adapter and replacing it with the Intel. Is this because people who have done this have seen no improvement?

 

Black,

From what I've read, the improvement is minimal.

 

Yes, I can confirm the improvement is minimal. I now have a Alfa USB Wireless adapter that I need to travel with

 

I am having some serious trouble with my laptop. It seems that every time the power runs low the SSD gets horribly corrupted. Thankfully I did a full Acronis backup when I deleted the recovery partition, but probably about 4 times now I have had the SSD get so corrupted that Windows won't boot and I've had to do a restore.

I'm guessing it has something to do with hibernation as this seems to happen when I either close the lid and leave it overnight, then find it corrupted the next morning, or last night I got the low power warning and I think it was trying to hibernate when I got a BSOD and then it wouldn't boot. Very strange behavior. Just wanted to ask for advice before I send this thing back for a SECOND replacement unit ... ugh.

 

TrueDis... why not a refund? Is it too late for that?

 

I have been a avid reader of this thread for a number of weeks now and I am sure rightfully or wrongly it has had some effect on people trying to decide to purchase. I have read posts where people are changing the wireless card or removing the back cover even though it appears doing so might void the warranty. So I suggest in all fairness to Samsung we conduct a poll to see how many owners have a wireless problem. I would be the first to vote no problem so far for me and am very happy with my sammy. jimjoh

 

Really? Your wi-fi actually acts as if it is an n-type adapter? You are very fortunate. I wish that I could say the same. Is your laptop equiped with the original BroadCom wi-fi adapter?

Mine certainly works after a fashion if the laptop is within 3 or 4 feet of my router. And, if the adapter were a b-type adapter, rather than an n-type, I'd be extremely pleased with the performance. However, even 10-20 feet away, the signal drops off rapidly and the page load time on my browser slows to a crawl. In fact, the page load can downright stall.

On the other hand, I can disable the internal adapter and use an inexpensive usb wi-fi adapter to restore the wi-fi performance. Using this external usb n-type adapter, I can be at the opposite end of the house without any problem. The signal is 5 bars and the speed is excellent when loading web pages.

I can only conclude that something is wrong with native adapter of this laptop. Maybe the adapter is flawed. Maybe the software is flawed. Maybe the metal case is at fault. I don't know.

 

Is it possible to have some kind of Kensington lock attached to this computer? I can't see the normal kensington opening on the sides but I do have two small round holes on the right side opposite to the powerplug entrance. Maybe this is for some specific lock mechanism?

Thanks

 

I was just looking into this lock capability. This is what Samsung has said on Facebook.

This an extract:
We apologize for the confusion with the manual. The SERIES 9 does not support the Kensington Lock.

The security port on the Samsung SERIES 9 is to secure it for in-store display. Unfortunately, there are not any locks on sale for the Samsung SERIES 9 at this time.

Currently there are not any plans to make a lock available that is compatible with the SERIES 9 and unfortuantely the in-store lock is not available.

 

Quick but disappointing answer. Thanks.

 

I can state without a doubt, that the Samsung 900X3A that I just bought from BestBuy four days ago has a very poor inboard wifi adapter. Usually I don't pay too much attention to complaints and admonitions about consumer electronics on message boards, but, after reading peripherally about the issue before my purchase, then trying to Sling at home with this $1600 notebook, that indeed, something is terribly wrong. A trip to WalMart solved the problem, a Belkin N300 USB adapter is now protruding from the right side of the device, providing superlative streaming and wifi performance.

This leads me to agree that, while an outstanding notebook in every other regard: Performance, Display, Ergonomics, Weight...the oversight with the WiFi may be a showstopper. I'll decide that as I inch closer to the deadline for a return, because, I can virtually guarantee...Samsung doesn't care about a fix, isn't working on a fix, and never will come up with a fix.

It's just up to us to decide if this is an appropriate trade-off for all of the great things in the package.

And...the new Sandy Bridge MacBook Air's are supposed to be on sale by the end of June. Using their supported BootCamp mode, running Windows should be a breeze, and my bet is that the WiFi performance will be outstanding. And, of course, while the Sammy is good...the MacBook Air displays are the best in their class, and in the world.

We'll see.

 

I had been reading reviews of all the ultraportables and had decided to buy a 900X3A. Fortunately I came here first to get some real world experience data. I won't buy one until they fix the wireless problem - which they'll likely do only in the next gen. Since there's nothing else that wows me now I'll just wait. Hopefully they can get this fixed for those of you with a problem. I'll key an eye on this thread

And, btw, no lock port for a piece of eye candy like this?!

 

WiFi tests, the final verdict.

Had originally the Broadcom on board, bought the Intel 6230. Results are in the pic below.

Obviously these results are on my laptop and in my house only. Who knows what others may find but I think my test results will be pretty common.

 

I see no justification for the expectation that Wifi performance will be outstanding on the new MBA's. I bought a current generation Macbook Air for my wife one week before my Series 9 arrived, and I can say with certainty that the wifi performance on the MBA is NO BETTER than the Series 9. I have directly compared the two in number of environments, and I would conclude in fact that the MBA is marginally WORSE.

Regarding the wifi issues that so many have had, I can again confirm that I have experienced none. Perhaps this is because I primarily operate on the b/g network. I haven't purchased an N router to date because I simply haven't needed it. I can easily stream HD video anywhere I have tried (no, not just within 3 feet of the router), and speeds are similar to my HP HDX desktop replacement, while reliability is much better. I am not interested in doing large file transfers that would require significantly higher bandwidth, and I am definitely not alone in this.

I am not questioning that many are experiencing wifi issues. But PLEASE, I don't want to hear that EVERYONE is experiencing these issues, and that those that say they aren't are just ignorant. Perhaps the issue really does impact primarily the N band, and the reality is that the N standard is still not widely used in most hotspot locations and hotels.

Also, regarding the screen, I absolutely do not agree that the MBA's have best in class and in the world. Again, and I can compare directly, I find the MBA to have better contrast, but overall usability of the Series 9 is better in a variety of environments (particularly outdoors). Overall, I would rate them as being equal, depending on personal preferences.

Perhaps the NEW MBA will be clearly superior in wifi and screen, but that is only speculation since the current version certainly is not.

All that said, my Series9 is currently in the shop here in Singapore because of inability to charge (either adapter or laptop connector is faulty), so I can confirm with high degree of confidence that the MBA build quality remains significantly better than the Samsung.

As an aside, the Series 9 was almost nowhere to be found a month ago here in Singapore, but now it is being heavily promoted everywhere, with banners and even sidewalk displays on Orchard Rd. I confirmed that local models also have the broadcom wifi card, although of course the Samsung reps eyes glazed over when I mentioned the reports of very poor wifi.

 

Can what explain what you mean by "overall usability"? A bit of detail would be appreciated.

Thanks.