Samsung 9 Series laptop (ZX310 / 900X3A) unveiled

According to engadget, the Samsung 900X3A just passed through FCC.
Which may mean that we'll see february launch afterall!




Source: Samsung Series 9 slides its rail-thin body through the FCC -- Engadget

 

Probably mention already in this thread, but Russian review:
YouTube - ????? Samsung 9 series

 

Here's two good readable reviews (both in russian):


Samsung 9 Series: Sandy Bridge ? ?????????????? ???????? - ??????, ?????? ? ????? - ITC.UA


?????????? ??????. ????? ?????????? 13-????????? ???????? Samsung 9 Series | gagadget.com

 

Is it true that there is no touchpad buttons (left and right click)?

 

Integrated left and right buttons... i believe

Can anyone translate the russian video? first i've seen of them thanks @vico100 and constantbad\

3DMark06 = 3447 vs 4222 points (MBA)

Battery Eater = 2:19:47

WEI 5.4, 7.1, 5.5, 6.0, 7.6 vs 5.3, 5.5, 5.3, 6.1, 6.9 (MBA)

Not much of a difference if you ask me... but idk Any thoughts?

Disappointed about the review not really positive?

 

Anyone know the model number for this? I thought it was zx310 but that german site had it listed as 900X3A?

 

The russian reviewer says 5 hours and 39 minutes of his normal "office use" which included image processing/playing music - seems more intensive than what I would consider office use. I will enjoy this.

As a comparison this site used Battery Eater Classic on the MBA and it rated it at 2 hours and 6 minutes. Of course this was done under Windows 7, and OSX is more battery efficient:
Review Apple MacBook Air 13 "Subnotebook 2010 - Notebook Review Fresh Collection

this would not be a problem to me as I would load it up with some linux distro anyway

now to wonder whether or not the clickpad really functions the way the review stated. would much rather like it if it had synaptics 3.0 in it ... and the pricing of the fully loaded model.

EDIT: Other site says "As a result, the autonomy was 2 hours and 20 minutes at maximum load and 6 hours and 40 minutes of reading, which is pretty good for a device with a similar performance."

If you can achieve that under Windows in that form factor, wow. Anyway, just wondering if the heat issue can be avoided/fixed.

and also whether or not the heat/noise problem really is that big of an issue.

 

I agree.

Over 6 and half hours is a really good result for such a small laptop.

I will most certainly buy one of these if the heat issues aren't too bad.

 

I'm loving the 6+ hours of battery life and the solid performance. This is now the laptop to beat.

I'm also really pleased with the 3Dmark06 scores. It's not a gamers laptop by any stretch, but the GPU performance is very impressive and not terribly far off of the 320M. Wonderful.

It is costly, but I have not seen anything that compares.

 

well if 6+ hour battery is true... its amazing but what I dont get is how a Intel Core i7-2610UM can only score 5.4 compared to the 5.3 C2D of the MBA on WEI? Is it not that much quicker or wut?

 

http://www.provantage.com/scripts/search.dll?QUERY=samsung+laptop&Submit.x=0&Submit.y=0

Preorders from Provantage are up w/ prices. Interestingly there is a 11.6 model offered as well.

Two models of the 13.3 inch, A03 and A02, I can't tell the difference, but the difference is only about $50, maybe one has bluetooth or some little extra.

 

meh, provantage says "Stock expected on Thursday, March 31, 2011 (in 43 days)." in it's availability section.

I wonder if all retailers are getting it then.

 

$1608 and $1657

 

$1600 for the 13.3 seems a bit... much.

 

I agree, the MacBook Air doesnt cost this much, but then again it doesnt have SB. Prices will probably drop a few months after release...

 

it certainly puts me in a dilemma as the MBA is cheaper but I like the design (black finish look) of the 9 series more

Edit - is this some sort of review in german? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8xVkr7oEuM

 

Looks like it, I wonder if anyone could translate his opinion to us.

From the way they do close ups on it with the white lighting, it sure looks sexy. Should I be thanking Samsung for that or the camera man?

 

So is the release date end of february or did it change because intel screwed up?

 

There is really nothing new in this German review ... Says it will be available Feb.21 at 1,599 Euro including a leather bag, a mouse in the same design and an external optical drive ...

 

Has anyone worked out yet what the difference is between the A02 and A03 Models? I am seeing (as reported above) about a $50usd difference between the two - but I can't tell what's different.

Examples:

PROVANTAGE: Samsung NP900X3A-A02US 900X3A-A02 I5-2537M 1.4G 4GB 128GB 13.3 inch WL W7HP 64-Bit

PROVANTAGE: Samsung NP900X3A-A03US 900X3A-A03 I5-2537M 1.4G 4GB 128GB 13.3 inch WL W7HP 64-Bit

 

The difference is the Windows tax: A02 is Win 7 Pro and A03 is Win 7 Home Premium.

John

 

The A02 - WiMax & Windows Pro
The A03 - *No Wimax* & Windows Home Premium

So the A02 for the extra $50 is the one to get.

But at $1580.94 for the A03 and $1628.87 for the A02, they are priced to high to compete with the Mac Book Air.

The same story I guess with other companies that come late to the party to try and compete with Apple products (ie. Tablets and now Slim Laptops) but always come to the market more expensive then Apple. Bad move Samsung considering you have a product that could take some market share from Apple had you priced it more aggresively IMO.

 

a quick question me and a few friends have been curious about is the hard drive. Do you think it will be replaceable. I really want to replace it with a larger one if i could

 

True but the diffrence is they are not the same at all. whether the market says it or not the hardware used in the series 9 is much more advanced than the macbooks are Gen1 to Gen2 i5 proccessor HD GT2 graphics and a 1.5in subwoofer?!?! i mean cmon and if you couple that with the screen it heavily outweighs the pricing margin compared to the air.
Edit: Wow ok graphics wise i think the nvidia chipset integrated might take the cake but i realized that the macbook air doesnt use even the older intel platform its still on core 2 duo

 

Given the slim chassis then the SSD is probably not a standard unit but one of the slim SSDs that is a bit like an oversize RAM module. Someone, somewhere probably sells these as parts.

John

 

Has anyone heard of any new ETA?

 

Heres another review
http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptops/review/2011/01/11/Samsung-ZX310-9-Series-Hands-On/p1

 

I pre-ordered the 11.6" 9 Series. I hope the hard drive and memory will be easily upgradeable.

 

Who did you pre-order with and do they have any eta?

 

Curious, why are you looking to upgrade the hard drive? Performance or capacity? Any idea what make/model SSD this comes with by default?

 

Don't know what you can get out of the model, but the Russian reviews say the 256GB make/model is a 'Samsung MZ8PA256HMDR'.

EDIT: Actually found a Samsung 2.5 inch 470 series SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147064

judging by the naming scheme/model number, the ones in this notebook ... most likely a 1.8 inch variation of the 470 series samsung SSD's? If so these are fastttt....

 

Paindoo, yeah on the 11.6 would love to upgrade the ssd from 64gb to at least 128gb or even 256gb, just for storage, and the memory to about 4gb (my sweet spot). I am more woried about opening it up since it is so thin!

Latinracer, I pre-ordered from Dynamism in Chicago (they always have the premium portable laptops). They are the cheapest I can see online right now, and no tax to CA. NO ETA yet, but post here when they email me.

 

Does anyone here have any idea when the 9 series is due for the release in the UK?

 

At CES this year the rep told me that it would be ready by end of february. I have yet to see any updates since intel screwed up.

I know intel screwed up but tell us about the release date.

 

In January a March launch in UK was indicated. While March starts next week, it doesn't finish until a month later. At the moment the etailers are listing nothing.

However, the Samsung global download site is now listing both a ZX-310i and a ZX-311i (and also a ZX-110) but have no downloads available for these models. Past experience indicates that the downloads get posted at about the same time as production commences.

John

 

I hope I can upgrade the ram on this laptop.

 

Thanks for this. Here's hoping retailers offer it for a little less than £1399.

 

Notebook - Amor

 

Apparently its already out in Korea and reports say that it should be available everywhere else next month. Dam, i really like this laptop but the price is just way too high for me. Any idea if the price will drop soon. In the summer maybe?

 

Sounds expensive

 

I am really liking what I see with the Samsung 9 Series. I remember seeing somewhere that it would have a backlit keyboard. Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks!

- Bluepixel

 

A lot of websites that had the specs said it would have a backlit keyboard...so that would be a good indication.

 

So does anyone know the new USA release date. I can't find any information.

 

Still waiting just as eagerly as you.

 

is expensive

 

Yes it is but now we have a choice between MBA and Samsung 9. I'll be going with the samsung 9 because at CES I got to play with it and really like what I saw.

Is dynamism.com a trusted company to pre-order from? This will be the first time I buy anything from them.

 

CDW is reporting March 26.

SAMSUNG 900X3A-A03 I5-2537M 128GB 4G - Notebook Computers - NP900X3A-A03US - CDW.com)

 

Dynamism shows March 25.
Dynamism - Samsung 9 Series

Maybe around then is the right date.

 

Interesting because they didn't have any dates a few minutes ago and the e-mail they sent me earlier today is below.

 

Hello,

Thank you for your recent order of the Samsung 9 Series
laptop.

We are working with the manufacturer and the updated ship
date is now March 25th. We will continue to send updates as we
know more, but please let us know if you need anything in the meantime.

Best regards,
-Jeff