Series 7 Ultra NP730U3E / NP740U3E with AMD HD 8570M and optional 4G LTE

If you can avoid opening/using the laptop you can sell it in brand new and continue waiting for Haswell. For this particular situation I would buy/sell the Macbook since it's much more popular and has better resale value anyways.

 

Thanks for the advice. Due to the credit expire circumstances I went in the store and looked at the Samsung, then when back to the MBP 13 RT, back a forward a few more times, really wanting to play with the Samsung at home, but knowing once opened, even closed there would be no way I could sale it for the same relative price, as I will be jumping to Haswell being only a matter of weeks away now.
The Samsung looked damm nice, amazing screen. Then spotted on sale an HP DV7 with Quad, 16GB RAM, 2TB, 650M, 1080p, for the same price as the Samsung, and almost ended up with the over grown monster, found it harder to justify the Samsung, one power house to other ultrabook.
Could not decide between the 3, then was able to get the MBP 13 RT with the slightly bumped 2.6GHz Ivy and 256MB for not much more dollars. Figured I would spend the same amount upgrading the Samsung, and really should need to upgrade straight out of the box so early.

btw. You are right, don't open the box. I couldn't help myself and needed to claw my way into the MBP 13 RT, even thought that is due for a fresh too. Will sale the MBP 13 RT and see what Samsung does with Haswell in the same chassis. Out of all the ultrabook I have been looking at, the Samsung looks the most appealing, like that the dGPU model appears to have a dual cooling system.

 

I had a number of Internet tabs opened and then when I put Skype on, the video call was running for a bit and then a "low memory" box appeared and the laptop black-screened. I could still move the cursor but could not retrieve my windows session.

Does this mean I should think about upgrading the stock 4GB memory? If I put another 4gb of the same spec then I presume it will run in dual channel, will that be sufficient? I could always put an 8GB slot in to equal 12GB but it won't be dual channel, so which will be faster?

 

If you think the 7 Ultra is amazing then you haven't seen out their 1.3 cm thin Series 9 Ultrabook cooling system!



Review Update Samsung Series 9 900X3C-A04DE Subnotebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

 

Yeah I did see that in the store today. Although the one I was looking at was only the base model, which is much lower specs. It was 20% cheaper than the series 7 that I was looking at.

http://www.samsung.com/nz/business/...m-notebook/NP900X3C-AB1AU?subsubtype=series-9

Really nice, although I could not justify buying it.

 

Have you got IntelliMemory installed? It's a caching program which is a memory hog although in theory it should release RAM for other programs.

Unless you are running multiple virtual machines or some of the few programs which are RAM guzzlers you will find 8GB to be plenty. That's what I've got on my X4C and have never ran out of RAM. In terms of the RAM specification, any 1600MHz DDR3 SODIMM will work. Full dual channel will give a slight boost to the performance (see my table here). The critical factor is to have enough RAM. More RAM than you need won't give further improvement (unless it enables IntelliMemory to work as designed).

John

 

Thank you John. I removed IntelliMemory some days back and it did improve the situation but when I ran Skype with the existing tabs opened it went again, so still perhaps not sufficient for my needs (even with intellimemory gone).

So the highest you tested on that table is 8GB? If another 4GB stick will do the trick and is plentiful then I guess there is no point spending more on a 8GB stick (to make 12GB) or even a 6GB stick (to make it 10GB).

 

8GB modules were somewhat expensive when I made that table in Nov 2011. They are much cheaper now. 6GB modules don't exist.

I'm surprised that a web browser and Skype is causing you to fill the 4GB. I've got Firefox with 40+ tabs, Google Earth, Acrobat and a few others open and Task Manager says that my physical memory is 51% used (and that includes Skype which I opened to see how much it uses (108k)). But note that is with Windows 7. Go into Task Manager > Processes, click on the View menu and select Working Memory to see how much memory your programs are using (all those tabs in my Firefox means it is at 1,180,000k) Select Show processes from all users and click on the column heading to sort by size.

As a second check I've opened my NP900X3B (Windows 7 + 4GB) With Firefox and a few tabs open Task Manager reports 40% Physical Memory usage. If IntelliMemory has been shown the door (check that it didn't sneak back in) than you've got another memory hog.

John

 

First I thought 8570M is miss typed and meant to be 8750M! Wonder who will buy this model when the cheaper and similar looking Series 5 Ultra equipped with 8750M? The 8570M do not even make sense, Haswell GT3 graphics will overkill it!

 

Will it? See my post here. Plus, we might find that under conditions which load both CPU and GPU then Haswell's GPU and CPU get throttled to stay within the overall package power rating.

John

 

GT2 scores around 1400 3DMark 11 and that is just GT2. GT3 and GT3e will make lot more points, maybe 8750M also in danger. Meanwhile if Series 5 Ultra include 8750M, this higher class should be powered by 8790M and GDDR5!

 

I agree strongly with this: For most normal use, it is very difficult to use all of 4GB. My main work PC is an old HP HDX18 with 4GB and two high res monitors (1080p and 1200p, consuming some memory too) which I use with a fairly intensive charting and trading platform. Even with dozens of charts updating in real-time (most displayed as tiny, but still data heavy) and a dozen Chrome tabs with Flash ads, and Excel in the background, I've never hit that 4GB ceiling. Let alone the 8GB on my little 14 inch Sammy.

But once you process HD video, or multiple large RGB/CMYK images in Photoshop with many layers and undo levels, that's when you start using up RAM. Of course virtual machines too.

As John wrote, if you're running out of RAM, and it's NOT IntelliMemory and you're NOT doing something particularly data heavy -- some other hog must be running in the background. Probably one that you don't want there at all.

 

[Note: apologies for the length of this post - got a little carried away! Promise I'll cut it way back or take it down if it doesn't stimulate any conversation. Thanks, Jeff]

I'm surprised to be the first to post this here, but Notebookcheck.net has published (two days ago!) their review of the Samsung Series 7 Ultra 730U3E-S04DE, which is the version with the i5-3337U cpu, 8570 gpu, 6GB RAM, 256GB SSD, FHD IPS matte Non-touch screen. As a provincial Yankee, I don't know where you can buy this version and as far as I know in the US at present you can only buy the Series 7 Ultra 740U3E-A01 exclusively at Best Buy with glossy touch screen, the same i5-3337U cpu, no d-gpu - just Intel IGP HD 4000 - 4GB RAM (user-expandable to 16GB dual channel) and a 128GB mSATA SSD ("infinitely" expandable in the mSATA format and form factor). Thus the performance of the model tested by Notebookcheck should be similar in all respects, except graphics, to the version tested by Lisa Gade in her as always superb written and video review, plus a " smackdown" with the Asus UX31A touch in mobiletechreview.com.

Display spec. junkies (like me!) may find the following paragraph interesting and rather curious as I did; others may want to skip it and just take away the impression that this Samsung's screen performed well enough, but a good deal worse than in the allegedly identical Asus UX32VD measurements done by NBC in the same lab. Screen nerds read on for details, others please skip the next paragraph!

Curiously, the measurements of display performance for this Samsung Series 7 Ultra differ greatly from those reported by Notebookcheck ("NBC") in their July 2012 review of the Asus UX320VD, despite their own (and others') statement that the non-touch screen in this Series 7 is the same 1080p IPS matte screen from the same manufacturer (Chi Mei Innolux, model number CMN1343) as is used to this day in the Asus UX32-VD. To wit: the Samsung's screen measured average brightness of 313 nit vs. 355 for the Asus, black levels of .52 on the Samsung vs. .34 for the Asus, resulting in dramatic contrast differences of 617:1 on the Sammy and a whopping 1053:1 on the Asus Zenbook! The color gamut delivered by the two units' screens was closer, though here again the Samsung came out a bit short of the full sRGB spectrum whereas the Asus covered pretty much 100% of sRGB. (Color gamut was not published numerically but my interpretation of the graphs in the Samsung review, which included a comparison to the Asus' twin, the UX31A, suggests that the Samsung covers perhaps 85% of sRGB, not too shabby and clearly indistinguishably different to the naked eye. Near perfect viewing angle range was equally demonstrated by both. The only clue given to account for the very significant differences in all brightness/contrast measures was NBC's statement in the Samsung review that it's screen came from a "different batch" than the one used in the Asus measurements. Sometimes "batch" differences pertain to segregation of components into "classes" based on the performance variations within the same production run or component lot but I think NBC's reference was simply to point out that the Samsung in the review was produced in early 2013 while the Asus reviewed a unit produced likely in Spring of 2012.

It's tempting to speculate that Samsung knowingly purchased/specified a lower performing variant of Chi Mei's screen to leave sufficient room to differentiate the Series 7 Ultra from its "premium" Ultrabook sibling, the Series 900X3E, which features its own variation on the FHD/IPS matte screen with performance similar to the ones used by Asus in essentially all of the high end 13" Zenbook models. Without trying to adjust for currency fluctuations and VATs it's safe to generalize that spec'd out similarly the Zenbooks and Series 9Es sell for the equivalent of $300-$400 more than the new Series 7 Ultra. Actually, none of the above would seem strange as it does had Samsung/Chi Mei not designated the same part number for the Zenbook and 7Ultra models. Then again, unit variation does occur and if that is the case here, it would not be the first time NBC has attained results that differed greatly from their own or other highly respected labs measuring similar or identical products; their 2013 review of the Sony SVZ13 (a.k.a "Z3") comes to mind. What baffles me is that they often go ahead and publish the review without obtaining a second unit to test or even, as in the case of this Samsung 7 review, state that certain measurements appear to be anomalous - or the information about configurations and component numbers is suspect. Or....read the next paragraph to learn both a terrible, but defeatable, light sensing scheme for the display which may turn out to be the entire reason for the incongruous display measurements!

I should mention that I have been using the US touchscreen version of the 7 Ultra for the past month and I concur with most of NBC's review though I think Lisa Gade's in mobiletechreview.com nailed it better by pointing out problems with the keyboard and Samsung's byzantine and altogether awful set of ambient light sensing display adjustments, each of which must be located and disabled for the screen to perform as it should. [Aha! After all my silly speculations, this may in fact explain the "mysteriously" poor brightness and contrast measured by NBC for the Series 7 Ultra!] My sense is that once Haswell components are available for Ultrabooks, Samsung will further fiddle with specs and pricing to keep the Series 9 viable as something more than a gussied-up "rich man's" Series 7. In part they could differentiate the 9 and 7 by improving the discrete gpu in the 7 and targeting it as the "gamer/spec nerd's Ultrabook."

Hmm, maybe "rich man's Ultrabook is the right strategy. With Haswell's better IGP and overall performance, Samsung could make the 9 the true "Executive" Ultrabook: deliver an 8GB (soldered, of course!), Haswell i7U-only model, (kind of what Sony did with the last Z, but they managed a std voltage quad-core) version and capture the high end of the "power Ultrabook" ( oxymoron?) segment, kind of the right execution of what the Thinkpad X1Carbon is trying to achieve, and even the new Toshiba Kirabook, and a filling the hole in the market left by the extinction of the Sony Z, (which was always more about being the Porsche of laptops than a 2.5 lb machine that could do video editing!). It could easily justify a $500 price premium over the competing Zenbooks, up-market Acers (in sore need of a "Lexus-like" branding transplant) and, well, Samsung 7 Ultras. Given its incomparable sleekness, 0.5 lb weight advantage, vault-solid build and, well, other marketing (and real) upscale treatments they could include, such as exclusive tech support lines, on-site/extended/ADH warranties, leather folios, etc. Some of these could even be extra cost options, but would be exclusive to the S9 line, which could span price points depending on "options" of $1,500 - $2,000. I can't say how large (or small, likely) the total market for such a luxury laptop might be, but as a brand marquee and very high margin product, it might well both improve the "plastic Galaxy" perception in the market of the Samsung brand and earn its keep as well!

You all know that I'm really more into exotic cars than computers, but it's just not practical to own 5-7 of them at one time, nor to buy and try one for 60 days (Best Buy Silver Premium!) and return it for a full refund.

Anyway, thanks for letting me indulge! I promise I'll shorten or take this post down if it doesn't stimulate any conversation and appears primarily to irritate people. I did start out to add knowledge but got carried away as an unappointed notebook marketing strategy guru!

 

I've noticed in several recent reviews that Notebookcheck complains about display brightness, and the reviewer obviously hasn't changed the default terrible auto-brightness that plagues Windows 8 laptops (the Samsung is of course even worse because you have to disable it in a few places, but Sony is also guilty of that). They do excellent and detailed reviews, so I've been surprised at this obvious gaff of not playing with settings. With the Samsung, there are also several different color modes, much like their Galaxy phones, and one must test all these modes when evaluating the display.

Also note that our US version has a glossy treatment vs the non-touch matte display they reviewed, and that can affect contrast levels.

 

Can someone with a dgpu model confirm that the HDMI port (and mini-VGA) works even when the dgpu is disabled in the BIOS. I know from experience that in some laptops the digital video ports are only connected to the dgpu and cannot be accessed by the integrated gpu.

 

On my older Series 7, that was never an issue: HDMI and Mini-VGA work flawlessly regardless of which GPU is being used. I also have not heard members in the Samsung forum report that as an issue with other models.

Hopefully some will be able to confirm this for the new Series 7 Ultra as well.

 

That's good to hear. I have to say that I've had this problem only with DisplayPort outputs on thinkpads.

 

Samsung is really taking its time releasing this model in the Netherlands. Both Belgium and Germany have had them for quite a while now. I've just seen on their website a 'business' model NP730U3E-K02NL without the radeon (yaay 2x8GB memory) and 128GB SSD.

 

Maybe the issue is unique to DisplayPort (which I don't have on mine). But even for DP, I haven't heard it mentioned here. We had a discussion just yesterday ( here) where a Series 7 Gamer owner uses three external monitors at the same time (including DP). He didn't mention any issues about the discrete GPU limiting this. I don't think there is an issue on the Samsungs.

But again, it'd be great if someone here can confirm.

 

Just upgraded to 10GB ram. WEI ram score went from 5.9 to 7.3.

Passmark performance test showed worse results:

Memory Write from 8048 to 5563
Memory threaded from 20290 to 12284

Full results here:

Before (2X2 GB ram)


After (2X8 GB ram)

 

It is possible that Passmark tests the whole RAM range which will be, I think, 1st 4GB = dual channel (as previous), remaining 6GB = single channel. The latter should be compared with using the virtual memory.

I would get a couple more opinions from
(i) SiSoftware Sandra memory bandwidth benchmark
(ii) PCMark Vantage (all-round performance test)
(iii) Your own subjective test of loading up RAM-hungry programs that cumulative use more than 4GB and then switching between them.

John

 

First time poking around in the Sammy subforum.

I skimmed back a few pages, but didn't see an answer: is there any solid indication of when Samsung plans on offering a Haswell version of the Series 7 Ultra/Ativ 7 (god I hate that name)? Should we expect them to hit shelves relatively soon after Haswell is released, or will there be a notable lag? The Series 7 Ultra is currently the closest laptop to fulfilling my hopes and dreams for a summer (July to mid-August) purchase on my annual US trip, but I won't pick up an IB version unless the price reflects the older tech and significantly weaker IGP as compared to Haswell.

 

Our speculation about Haswell is here. There is no solid indication of when the models you want will be available with Haswell inside at a price you are willing to pay. Low availability of some current models may be an indication that the Haswell replacement may not be too far away and neither Samsung nor retailers want to have old stock which they then have to discount.

John

 

Hmm, the speculation in that thread seems to be all over the map. The biggest ways the Series 7 Ultra falls short of my desired notebook are battery life (my desired battery life is FOREVER) and the lack of an APU option. Haswell is my justification if I go Intel, since it's going to have much better IGP than IB. Asus has some really nice looking 13 inchers as well, but they all seem to be limited to one soldered DIMM, which kills IGP performance and limits the useful lifespan of the notebook by preventing future upgrades. They seem to have given up on offering decent battery life as well.

 

Yes, there are a lot of confusing signals about Haswell. regarding battery life, Haswell will improve it, but not transform it. A 50% improvement in CPU power efficiency under light usage may translate to no more than 20% longer run time due to other power demands, particularly the display.

I would add that there are versions of the Series 7 Ultra (now called the ATIV Book 7) with either Intel graphics and two SODIMM slots or a separate GPU, one SODIMM slot and some soldered RAM.

John

 

Interesting, I was under the impression that they both had one soldered stick and one upgradeable slot. Two SODIMM slots in the IGP-only version is even more motivation for me to aim for that one. I imagine the dGPU adds weight, reduces cooling efficiency, requires use of still-troublesome switchable graphics technology, and requires a larger AC adapter. Considering that I don't want it in the first place, it looks like I should actively try to avoid those models.

 

If you work through this thread then you will find links to this and this with internal photos. Both versions ship with a 60W PSU although there's no good reason that I can think of why a 40W PSU wouldn't work with the IGP version because that's what is supplied with the Series 9. In fact, you may want to look at the 15" Series 9 as a possible alternative. It has two SODIMM slots, it's thinness offsets the bigger footprint and the battery is 63WHr. Samsung mentioned briefly about an FHD panel at CES although most of us are more interested in better viewing angles than FHD.

John

 

Samsung ATIV Book 7 730U3E S07 - ÜBERSICHT

 

Ouch, that's steep...

 

Well... It has the dGPU, i7, 6GB ram and 256GB SSD... "Only" 100€ more than the version I have that comes with 4 GB ram and 128GB ssd.
AND it's black. Damn... I would go for that.

 

USB 3.0 problem!

Hey guys, i have a problem with USB 3.0. I have external HDD box (USB 3.0) with 3,5" 1 TB HDD in it. Power supply is separated from USB 3.0 sync cable. The problem is, while i connect it to USB 3.0 port and copying large size files, it always reconnect while copying, but when i connect disc to USB 2.0, everything is OK.

HDD is OK, i tested it many times. HDD box is brand new. So i am worried about 7 Ultra, if it is the core of a problem. Anybody experiencing the same problem? I already switch off usb disconecting for power saving in W8 setting, but it doesnt help.

 

I am afraid I don't have a concrete answer for you, but I do remember discussions of similar issues that you can check out for relevant answers:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/711947-usb-3-0-issue-help.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/715959-np700z5b-usb-3-0-problems.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/691251-win7-system-image-backup-usb3-drive-fails.html

I located these threads by Googling site:notebookreview.com/samsung usb3 disconnect. If these links don't provide answers for you, maybe some of the other hits will.

Keep us posted on your progress

Update: Added another link to a thread that may be relevant

Update2: Also, just came across this post in an entirely different thread.

 

Make sure that you have disabled power management for the USB 3.0 hub in Device Manager.

John

 

Don't know if here is the best topic to post this but has anyone found that the norton AV loads faster on this laptop than AVG or Avast?
I'm getting near to the end of the trial period and I'm thinking on buying a 1 year license for the Norton AV...

Any thoughts?

 

I'm not that sure but I think that the built-in Windows AV is good enough..
Well, I didn't install another AV over that one.
Correct me if I'm wrong..

 

Looking into getting the NP740U3E (bestbuy). How is the wifi? Any complaints? I noticed a couple of reviews saying that the intel wifi card has a bunch of issues, just wanted to be sure before pulling the trigger.

 

I have googled and done everything I can find to disable to adaptive brightness on my laptop. This is driving me nuts! Other than that I love the laptop! I upgraded the memory to 16gb of Crucial and installed a Intel 240gb mSata drive.

 

The "only" problem I have with wifi on this is that each time it wakes from sleep the wifi is disconnected and you have to manually connect it. I believe there is a fix for this - if not now, no doubt soon one will be added. I don't think it's a reason not to get this device if you otherwise love it. Though it's crazy to get it if you believe you will always have to reconnect wifi (it does connect instantly once you do this) but I sincerely doubt it will be a long term problem, if in fact it's a problem today and just one I have been too lazy to figure out how to fix. Connectivity is great and speeds are blistering.

I can tell you that I did succeed disabling all those stupid adaptive brightness (more like adaptive darkness!) but I can no longer tell you how! Read/watch this video in its entirety and you will get it done. If you still can't, PM "pdgal" (Lisa Gade, the chief honcho at mobiletechreview.com, who did the aforementioned review and video and she will, I know, be glad to step you through it. Perservere: it's worth it!

 

In that case the thread linked below is definitely for you

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...ness-driving-me-nuts-unable-disable-help.html

We have questions and discussion about this subject almost every single day. But it's spread across different threads. Try Googling site:notebookreview.com/samsung adaptive brightness to locate relevant discussions.

Update: I see lovelaptops already posted an answer too. Very good!

 

Really Important Advice Sought:

I may just start this thread in WNSIB but before I do, I want to know what you all think.

In a nutshell, I've come to love this computer more and more. It does everything I need and has everything I need and even has expansion of RAM and SSD that are the only changes I can imagine needing. At first I just got it from BB to try it out for my wife (who has since settled on something else) and then I just decided to put it through its paces as I have 60 day return privileges at BB.

I think I want to keep this computer and use it as my daily driver, taking over from my Sony Z13, which has served me incredibly well, but is missing some updates I really value.

What bothers me the most: There are so few who are talking about, writing about or, apparently, buying this computer, at least in the US. It runs circles in terms of value around all competitors including the Series 9, aesthetics and weight aside - but this isn't exactly an ugly duckling, nor is it what I would call heavy.

If an Ivy Bridge i5 ultrabook with lots of ports and expansion options and a bright IPS screen and, to a much lesser extent, a touch screen, are things I want/need, and I don't have any need for a dgpu, Why Wouldn't This Marvel, at $999, be the obvious choice? That's the question, and I seek your advice.

The only corralary to the question is, should I hold off for the Haswell version? I can easily wait, and waiting seems to always benefit tech buyers, but from what I've read of Haswell and past experience with Intel over promising and under delivering, I'm not sure it would add that much benefit. Besides, I'm a bit concerned that this is priced as a "loss leader" at Best Buy and the Haswell model will come out in June/July and may well cost an extra $200 to be competitive with equivalent models, and I don't think I'd be as happy with this at that price point.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Regarding the point about not many people buying this product I would ask whether supplies are abundant and is the product being widely advertised?

I share your concern about whether the current product has an introductory pricing (although I wouldn't go as far as call it a "loss leader"). If you don't need any graphics boost then Haswell's potential offering is on battery time where, as we have already discussed, reduced CPU power consumption won't create a proportional reduction in the total system reduction. Does the current product give you the battery run time you want or do you need another 20% (my best guess at the moment but could be +/-10%)? The other unknown with Haswell is the timing of widespread availability.

John

 

Thanks for your always thoughtful input, John. This is one case in which I have become so comfortable and content with this machine as my traveling daily driver that I wouldn't really want to gamble on changes that might be made to a refresh in July screwing up a lot of the natural goodness of this machine. I know I have blown hot and cold on it, but I have made it a point to use it whenever possible (at home/home office I have a tasty selection of some 7 laptops [!] that it's hard not to enjoy the variety for the sake of living with this the way I would on a 2 week trip overseas!) The only thing left that I really wish Samsung will take up in the next refresh is the abysmal keyboard lettering and backlighting but it's far from a deal-breaker.

I believe you are quite a fan of the 900xXX series. Other than aesthetics and weight - and screen size in terms of the NP900X4C - would you still choose 9s over 7s had the latter been on the market when you acquired yours?

I need 3 in all - 2 for my associates - so I may get one more of these from Best Buy and hedge the last one for a refresh and, if it has more goodness than expected, we can always find a home for these, truly endearing notebooks.

Thanks again.

 

I really don't think we'll see Ultrabooks with Haswell next month or even July. Intel's usual schedule is desktops first, t Ultrabooks last.

 

I think it might be different this time. A lot of the benefits of Haswell are most beneficial to ultrabooks. Given how much marketing Intel put into the whole Ultrabook movement, I have to believe Haswell ultrabooks will come out sooner rather than later.

All speculation of course...

 

It isn't always a marketing decision with Intel; the engineering for mobile systems is more challenging.

 

You're probably right, but I'm hoping it's not so this time around. My window to buy Stateside goes to mid-August. They've been touting Haswell as a laptop game-changer for at least three years, while it's a low-end incremental upgrade for desktops...

 

Do you think the 730U3E will get an haswell upgrade as well or discontinued? I'm asking because the lack of touch screen means it can no longer be labeled ultrabook.

 

If I were shopping now for a 13" machine I would definitely look hard at the Series 7 Ultra as an alternative to the Series 9 since the >4GB RAM is a key factor. However, for me the 15" Series 9 is the sweet spot because of the bigger display without the bulk and weight of a full 15.5" notebook.

I hope that Samsung are big enough to not be worried by Intel's Ultrabook marketing money. We have exactly the same concern with the Series 9. In addition to extra weight and thickness, matte displays + touchscreen create a big cleaning challenge. It's only last year that Samsung gave their entire notebook range matte screens in response to customers dislike of reflections. Glossy screens are creeping back in because of the touchscreen fashion.

John

 

Your points are well taken, but mitigated somewhat by:

1) Though the 4 has a larger screen, the 7 Ultra has a 1080p screen, so should have similar real estate, if smaller characters. That said, I've been using exclusively 13" notebooks for some time and the small screen is a bit tiring.

2) The only time you notice fingerprints on the glossy touch screen is when it is off. They have no impact whatsoever with backlight on. I'm still not a big fan of them - would probably have chosen a non-touch matte if offered - but I think the tradeoff is a net neutral, as more software is written optimized for touch it may come in handy.

 

Besides all those valid points, I also didn't like the s9 15" screen version, not because the HD+ resolution instead FHD but the viewing angles and brightness. It's just not the same. When you turn up the brightness the screen image looses contrast / everything "turns white"...

I also don't understand why this model isn't selling that much in my country, at least I don't find many people in "local forums"... Weird, it is such a nice machine... I'm loving it.

Regarding the 13,3" being small, I get around it by setting the color effects (screen properties) to none (the standard is bluish and was causing me premature fatigue), text to 125% and chrome to 150% zoom. No problems so far. Without those personal configurations it was very tiring.