Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus - NP940X3G

Here are the specs for the new ATIV Book 9 Plus:

• 13.3" 3200x1800 qHD+ MultiTouch (275 ppi)
• Haswell i5/i7 ULT
• 8GB RAM
• 256 SSD
• Intel HD4400
• Intel 7260 WiFi adapter (802.11n 2x2)
• 12 Hour Battery
• Cold Boot < 6 secs
• 1.39 kg (3 lbs)
• 13.6mm
• Locking Hinge

 

My first impression was whoa! Then I started thinking, how does this resoution work out exactly?
If I install Windows 7, open windows explorer, i will need to bring out the microscope? just wondering.
Also right now I'm not to fond of the glossy screen, but the 8 gigs of ram is finally here!

 

Samsung is touting the anti-reflective nature of this glossy screen stating it's "sunshine friendly" - to what extent remains to be seen of course.

As for resolution handling, I'm skeptical as well, but apparently Windows 8.1 (Blue) will improve the scaling issue.

As for now, this will be the flagship Windows Ultrabook on the market.

 

Why are they calling it qHD+ instead of WQXGA+ ?? Too long? lol

Sent from my SGNote2 using Tapatalk

 

Things better look surreal with all those pixels...

 

Any firm date of release? August or september ?

 

too heavy (+260g, more than 20% heavier than its predecessor)
too glossy
too high resolution

 

agree, 1080p matte non touchscreen would be better. Anyone knows why Intel 7260 WiFi adapter so special that starting at $60 on Egay?

 

Search for NP940X3G. It is already getting listed by some etailers (example here) so I expect weeks rather than months (for some countries). However, an over-abundance of pixels is no compensation for 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD.

John

 

Early August release.

8GB RAM/256GB SD is available.

The Intel 7260 has received excellent reviews for its 5GHz performance.

 

Is there a 15 inch model available?
What is the part number for that?

 

yep where is that info?!?

And what about prices?!? I saw this guy on engadget saying some prices... Samsung intros ATIV Book 9 Plus flagship Ultrabook, ATIV Book 9 Lite

 

Much like Apple I'd imagine - 200% scaling will get you a sharp 1600 x 900 screen, which is more productive than the current 'Retina' Barbiebook (13" = 1200 x 800, 15" = 1440 x 900 respectively).

I'm still holding out for a virtual 1920 x 1080 screen to be truly productive in high-dpi screens - i.e. 3840 x 2160. If not I'm pretty happy with FHD as people have said above.

But the Q and this is intriguing enough that I'll give it a go.

 

+1

If there's a matte non touch version I'll be all over it.

 

Man, I'm having the hardest time deciding which laptop to get now.

At first I thought I wanted to get the Asus Zenbook Infinity.

Then I said, no, I think I want a gaming laptop so I can play BF4 when it comes out. So I'll go for the new 14" Razer Blade.

Then I see this new sexy ATIV Book 9 Plus, and now I'm saying to myself, "How often are you going to game on your laptop?? You already got a suped up gaming desktop! What you really need is a laptop with a beautiful hi-res screen and a battery life that can get you through the day!"

Aaaah! Why can't I stop arguing with myself!? Decisions, decisions...

 

+1

And what's this talk of inability to connect your 27" QHD (2560x1440) screen? I don't want to use HDMI with reduced refresh rate and custom modes to be able to get it to be my desktop as well.

 

After a night of sleep and some thinking I'm still very tempted to go for the previous model.
Looking at the pics of the screen of the new model, I can safely say that thing is glossy (as hell), whatever Samsung claims.
Here are the reasons why I'm tempted to go for the old model:

- The FHD screen is an high enough resolution, it's matte, so I can put the laptop wherever I want and still work on it. I also think the quality of the screen in the previous model is better than the new one. It's actually the best I've ever seen.
- I can still install Windows 7 on the old one. I'm afraid the new one with that insane resolution (and touch screen) demands Windows 8.
- My first thought was that 4gb ram was not enough, but I now think it's enough to do everything I want to do on it.
- Ok the battery life is "only" 6+ hours, but then again how many times will I be using it for 6 hours without a charge?... not alot.
- It weighs 20% less compared to the new model.
- I know the 900X model is quiet.... very quiet, I don't know yet how loud the fans on the new model are going to be.

 

On a Norwegian site they said that there will be models with touch AND matte screens.. Dont know were they got that info??

 

Do you have a link ?

 

http://www.itavisen.no/nyheter/alt-om-samsungs-stor-lansering-77011

 

It didnt say matte screen, but they said Ativ 9 plus with and without touch screen. And i guess without touch is matte

 

Yes, Thanks for this! It's very encouraging

 

Any reason why the 7260 can't be used in place of the 6235 on an older model?

Let's hope they do have a matte option. It's quite possible they wouldn't trot one out at the show, practical is not always sexy.

 

7260 will work fine, assuming you're not running Windows 7 (no drivers).

Sent from my SGNote2 using Tapatalk

 

Disappointed with the HD 4400 graphics. Whilst still a step up from IB's HD 4000 it's still not particularly amazing.

 

If it is a quad-core with at least 8+ hours of battery life it will be for me but not my wallet .

 

are you asking if you can swap out the old one with a 7260? if so, i'm not sure.

 

It would've been perfect if the 9 Plus would've used the Iris 5100 like the new Asus Zenbook Infinity.

 

Yes that's the question. Seems like it should, both are half-mini pcie right?

 

I would be surprised to see Samsung not using M.2 expansion cards in their haswell line up. The 7260 comes in both M.2 and half mini card, the latter should work in older models.

 

According to anandtech, The SSD is using M.2

 

I was thinking today about Samsung's naming scheme - now we have Book 9 Plus and Book 9 Lite, perhaps we can get a Book 9 that's in the middle:

Book 9 Plus - top model, touch
Book 9 - middle model, no touch
Book 9 Lite - budget model

Do you guys think that's possible? Perhaps it's wishful thinking but maybe we can get a lighter matte non touch version...

 

Or a Pro model?

 

Yes, please let there be a matted 8gb version.

 

Sensibly, they will continue with the current model with a few tweaks (Haswell, mini DisplayPort and security slot). That's the one that is likely to sell most. Putting a low-res screen on the Lite may indicate that they don't want it poaching sales from the middle model (Lite with good 1600 x 900 panel and attractive pricing would probably sell in big numbers).

John

 

Only the AMD version has touch as an option. It is included with Intel (as it must be..it's Haswell)

 

There won't be matte with touch and you will only be able to get the AMD without touch. Gorilla glass will be the only way the plus comes.

 

Any source to that or are you just speculating?

To officially comply with Ultrabook requirements, yes. But this doesn't seem to be enforced. See Vaio Pro with their non touch Haswell ultrabooks.

 

I found it interesting that the Plus model is 940, so maybe there's room left for a 900 update (X3G as well?). I also can't believe they would cast off the 15", but stupider moves have been made (e.g. the sandisk ssd). I think they had pretty good success with both models though, they seem to be in high demand and were well-reviewed. Almost certain these are not their only haswell machines, as the Series 7 wasn't even mentioned, but they may be the first ones out the gate. I'm not sure what the supply of haswell chips is, I'm guessing tight and it makes sense they would put them in the flashy models first.

 

Almost perfect.
I would really like manufacturers of high def laptops to get logical and equip them with displayports.
Ethernet ports and 16 GB of RAM would be great but 8 GB is ok.
And of course better integrated graphic would be great but I'm not sure it is realistic in an Ultrabook without very problematic heating issues and cpu/gpu throttling.

 

Just going with what they announced, a touch Plus and both touch and non-touch Lites. Besides It would be a nightmare to keep clean...why nobody has ever tried to do it to date, maybe a year down the road if somebody figures out hot to make a matte screen that won't show fingerprints that could change but not now.

If you can find any Haswell ultrabook without touch let us know. I haven';t seen the new Sony Pro in non-touch versions here, both the 11 and 13s are touch. And I would guess that it is the entire reason Samsung produced an AMD version of the 9.

 

The Lite is a budget version, hence the inclusion of AMD's kabini SoC, and 1366x768 res panel.

According to Anandtech, the Lite will come in touch and non-touch versions.

I for one would love to see Samsung release the new Ativ Book 9 Plus (I get the naming scheme, but what a horrible name!) with a matte non-touch option. That said, Samsung has to calibrate the screen properly. The current Series 9 has a muted colour gamut when compared to Apples rMBP

 

Which, I suspect, is reflected by the numbering showing NP905xxx and NP915xxx versions. These models are already in the SW Update database. Some countries, such as UK, seem to be getting only the NP905 while others have the choice.

John

 

There is no room for a full size plug but gigabit is available through an included dongle which is nice, so many ultrabooks eschew ethernet entirely. The inclusion of both micro hdmi and a (not included) vga dongle solution is wasteful, mini dp would provide a much better solution and probably allow for a third usb port on the 13". It is possible they have updated the mhdmi port to provide higher resolutions, but probably unlikely. The series 9 is not really geared towards gaming, that is what the series 7 line is for.

 

The drop-down type of port may be feasible. The one advantage of the dongles (provided they are included) is that they move the more bulky and stiffer main cables away from the edge of the computer.

The 1080p limit of the micro HDMI connector is part of the official specification. It was envisaged that the interface would be used on less power devices such as tablets, not on notebooks.

John

 

Ah, I wasn't sure it was part of the spec or not...
"it packs all the power and functionality of an HDMI link into a tiny form factor...can handle video signals up to 1080p"
not ALL the functionality I guess. Unlike DP, I think royalties are needed for HDMI, so it's strange they would stick to it. Especially since the screen is 1800p and 4k is right around the corner. Heck, they should've gone to thunderbolt and made a dock if they wanted a truly revolutionary product. Might mention Sony's Pro 13 has a full-size hdmi and is much lighter, although you would need a usb ethernet dongle. If my S9 can't be repaired I might be tempted to jump ship, provided battery life is decent.

 

When has Samsung ever called/marketed the Series 9 / ATIV Book an ultrabook?

 

Lenovo X1 Carbon Touch, Panasonic CF-AX?

Anyway I wasn't speaking about touch. There are people out there who don't agree what Intel and Microsoft think is good for us. The Series 9 so far were awesome devices always improving little by little. What they presented now is big, heavy and disturbingly glossy. A huge step backwards.

Samsung is free to built whatever they want and they certainly have the power. I can't see any reason to add the Lite - to what they call their high end line up. It's not even light.

Vaio Pro 13 non-touch available in Japan and Europe
Vaio Pro 11 non-touch available in Japan

 

I don't believe Samsung has, but Intel does: Intel - Shop for Ultrabooks

 

It's lighter on the pocket. It's a shame they used the lower resolution display but, even so, it's a subtle message to Intel that they should concentrate on what they do best. I recall Intel setting some implausibly low target cost for Ultrabooks. Samsung is pointing out that one way to get the price down is to leave out the Intel bits.

John