The 2012 Samsung Series 9 13.3" (NP900X3B)

Totally what I mean when I say the PC laptops are a lottery - you never know what you'r getting from most manufacturers.

I hope I get luck and receive a good one...

 

I'm seriously thinking of getting a series 9 and have been following this and the 15 inch thread daily! One thing I wasn't aware of is that the processor is a lower powered one. Can any one provide more insight into this? Everything about this laptop is perfect for me, however this small point is niggling me, If only to make it seem that much more overpriced than before! Thoughts?

 

Super overpriced - honestly if I didn't need a windows laptop right now that was light, with good resolution and a small footprint, I'd pass on it (especially because of the price and battery life). If you don't need it - better to wait.

 

I don't understand why you say it's "super overpriced." This is one of the lightest, thinnest ultrabook with good resolution and great design. if you are simply comparing the performance, yes, it is super overpriced. But considering the engineering that would've gone in to make the laptop this light and thin with good resolution, I think it is pricey, but fairly priced.

 

It sounds like awesome news for you! Go to your Account or Order page. You can check the status there. You also should be able to check the "Track Package"

Keep us updated!

 

When I first received it, the touchpad was acting up. I did a complete restore using the samsung software preinstalled and it works great now.

It is priced at the upper end of the spectrum for ultrabooks, but you get a better screen, thinner laptop and sexy design, all worth the price in my opinion. Of course, if you wait you can probably get it for $1,000 towards the end of the year as Ivy bridge laptops start popping out. But really, the same can be said for anything tech related; you can always get it cheaper if you wait.

 

Im not trying to knock it ... I did buy one. But fully aware that by the end of the summer it'll be around the 1000 point. It's a SB just before IB is due, ASUS is getting ready to put out a new UX31 around mid to end of Q2, MacBooks will probably be refreshed in April or May ...

All of that means that will put downward pressure on the price very fast. The screen is great, the size is perfect but I think that spec-wise, at this price point, I'd expect upgradable ram or ssd, if not both and a slightly better battery. That may well not be possible while keeping the weight and size. But I doesn't make it better value for money, IMO.

The S9 IMO is simply the best available windows ultra book (I know it's not officially one) but I think manufacturers could produce better and provide it at the same price point. The coming months will tell.

 

Anyone know if the NT900X3B, or any other model with 256GB SSD space will be available in the US?

 

It's my fault. I cancelled my order. That expedited everyone else.

Cancel reason: 128GB SSD. I need more and I decided not to deal with a return. I'll wait for the 256GB model, but I would not be surprised if that means June or later for the IB models.

 

I am speechless with admiration over your restraint. I feel like I have been waiting for such a sliver of computer for over two years, and I can't stand even four more days.

 

Very curious to know your thoughts, I'm still happy with the XP13, but I looked/waited on the Samsung first. You never know.

 

I have several computers so it's not like I'm high and dry.

 

Cheers!

 

Well to be fair, it is $300 more than a similar zenbook. The only real difference is that the 9 series has a backlight keyboard. Although on the other hand, the zenbook has a slightly faster i5 processor, a brighter screen. So I can see why some people would think it is a bit inflated in terms of price.

 

+1 to this.
The main reason I didn't want a zen book was because I think I stand a better chance at getting decent hardware with Samsung. Asus is notoriously inconsistent with their parts.

 

The only thing stopping me from getting a Zenbook is the terrible screen. That's the main reason I got the Samsung.

 

I received my SS9 today.
Wish I could say I am happy.
But the truth is not so much.
I have been reading about this notebook for months.
Checking daily for updates and what not.
It's going back.
The cons just outweigh the pros too greatly in my option.

Pros:

GREAT screen.
Very lightweight, with a tiny footprint.
Very quick to boot up and shut down.
Great build quality ( from what I can see )

Cons:

It's minor, but the notebook is too "Blueish " a color for me.
Back light keyboard is too faint in my option.
Battery life could be better, with it on Balanced with screen lowered and WiFi on I got about 4.15 mins.
I DON'T like the "Chrome" accent around the touchpad in the wrong light it
can be very distracting and reflective.
And my number one complaint, even with removing norton and a couple of other bloatware program I am left with 60GB of storage.

What the heck am I gonna do with 60GB of storage???

My iPad has more storage than that.

In a couple of months when Samsung refreshes this line with
Ivy Bridge, at the least the option of 256 SSD and 8GB of ram,
I wil give it another shot
Shame I really wanted to like it.

 

I'm getting a little worried about buying one of these. It seems to be more complaints than good reviews. I don't know if it's because you guys are very picky or if you just have high expectations because of the high price. Since I'm torn between this and the MBA, it seems like I should go with the mac, since it's renown for good build quality.
Are these issues actually that big? I know a blue-ish tint isn't, but storage? My desktop uses about 25-30 gb for OS, drivers and standard programs such as Adobe, Microsoft Office, and protection. According to the guy above this is more than double that.

On a second thought it won't be a problem at all, since my programs take less space than 60gb and all movies and such I will keep externally anyway.

 

@oldghost

Sorry to hear about that mate. I agree that the battery life should be longer and that the chrome on the touch pad is a bad addition.

Wait for the 15". You get more screen real estate and its suppose to have better battery life as well.

@alevere

what specifically did you not like about the laptop?

 

seems the new purchasers are dropping theirs like flies, think i'll be awaiting the IB refresh as well and if theres no 8Gb RAM and 256Gb SSD option some serious questions will crop up as to Samsungs claims of premium notebook superiority will arise as frankly its disappointing in this iteration, if they fail again, then thats just a shocker at this price point imo

 

Dell XPS 13, anyone?

 

too heavy imo ;-)

 

Yes. Most members of this board are, to put it mildly, enthusiasts, and will have both a high skill set and a high set of expectations. It's why I spend time here whenever buying a new computer or fixing a broken old one. And this particular computer is outside of the pricing sweet spot that Intel correctly deduced would convince people to part with their hard-earned dollars. So it really has to hit that mark. I don't care how light or pretty it is, if I can't type, or if it's noisy, it's going back.

 

Damn - mine is on the UPS truck for delivery today. You guys got busy over night, making me nervous. Thing is -- even with all of the complaints, and the price if mine works I have to keep it because at the moment there is NOTHING better on the whole

 

Huh? I really hope you are wrong about that one. One of the reasons I'm excited about this computer is it has a more subdued design than the previous iteration. All photos I have seen look like this. Are you saying yours is different?

@narcemea-- I'm with you on all points. If this one does work, there isn't a better one out there, for what I want-- weight, screen quality, size, back lit keyboard. I am very anxious to hear how yours works out-- I figure you have a moral obligation to report asap since you somehow jumped ahead of me in the Amazon queue.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/att...12-samsung-series-9-13-3-samsung-np900x3b.jpg

this pic of the UK model shows a chrome bezel to the touchpad

 

Do you mean the display has a blue tint (easily adjusted in the graphics control panel) or the overall grey finish has a hint of blue.

Have you tried using Fn+F9 / F10 to change the brightness?

Windows may still be doing househeeping for the first day or two. What is the battery capacity in Watt-hours? (HWiNFO will give this).

I agree this isn't generous. Ultrabook users are not expected to have big computing requirements. Will an SD card stay in the SD card slot without popping out?

I would spend another day in seeing how things work out.

John

 

Agh. First gotcha.

 

I'm also sick of waiting for Series 9 with 256GB SSD and i7..
I was surprised that I didn't know it was already released, at least in Korea: Model# NT900X3B-A74.

Samsung NT900X3B-A74 13.3-inch Laptop
Samsung NT900X3B-A74 13.3-Inch Laptop | Eee PC
NT900X3B-A74 - ?? | SAMSUNG

They're actually already on sale in GMarket:
G¸¶ÄÏ - [NT900X3B-A74] Core i7 Á¤Ç° Çʼö¿É¼ÇÙí (°¡Á×ÆÄ¿ìÄ¡+Á¤...
They're selling at £1463, or $2,309..

Will these models eventually come to Europe and US as well?
128GB is surely plenty of space for a laptop, ONLY if it was 3 years ago..
Eagerly waiting for 256GB, i7 model..

 

Abt.com has NP900X3B-A01US in stock with $1369. Any one knows about Abt.com?
The link is NP900X3B-A01US - Samsung Series 9 Titan Silver Laptop Computer at Abt.

 

that A74 looks more like it..............but still only 4Gb RAM, so by by virtualisation :-(

 

If you erase the hibernation partition and recovery partition, you will get about 25GB more (turn off intel rapid start first). I have no problem with the storage space. After installing all my apps and data, I usually have about 40% left. A lot of data are in the cloud too.

 

Aftermarket RAM is cheaper anyway

 

I ordered a TV from them a few years ago. No problems.

 

The ram is soldered to the MB.

 

I placed my order for NP900X3B-A01US now. The said they would ship it in a few hours. The price is $1339, no tax, free shipping.

 

Did I mention that I'm still waiting for the TV to arrive?


Kidding. Congrats.

 

Good deal. That's about 200 less than I paid with Amazon.

 

@laidback

It's a great laptop, I mean I really like it, it's just I probably can't keep it and feel not guilty financially

Lowered the price on it though. Link again for anyone who wants to buy it:

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

 

Am I missing something? Are you saying you paid 1539 on amazon?

Edit: NVM. I figured it out. Think you meant to say $20.00 less.

 

Hi.

Just to answer a few questions.

When I said it was too " Blueish " I was referring to the outer shell.
I thought based on the pics and video I had seen before that it would look more darker gray. But in-fact it looks more of a darker navy blue color.

I understand I can remove Hibernation and the recovery to free up more
space, but I didn't wish to do that in case of a return
( restore it back to original )

I like cloud based storage, but I much prefer to store my data locally.
with the cloud as back up.
With such a small available SSD, I cant comfortably do that with the Samsung series 9 .

in regards to the weak keyboard backlighting, even on " highest " setting It was dim, In-fact there are some times I had to really look at the keys to make
sure it was on, even in darker settings.

Just to make clear, I have NO STAKE in either Apple or Samsung but the MacBook Air is a much better machine in MY option.

I paid $ 150.00 more for the Air than the Samsung, But in return I have an i7 processor
and a 256 SSD.

With a better " Feeling " keyboard, with better backlighting and a much more
responsive trackpad.

AND I get ONE HOUR more battery life on my Macbook Air( running Windows 8 on it )

Look up my past posts with photos of the Macbook air running Windows 8.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/638253-new-2012-samsung-series-9-13-3-a-30.html

And just to add, I'm a tech junkie I LOVE new toys, and I really really did want to love this SS9, But with 4GB of Ram, a 128 SSD that disappears to 60GB unless you delete major portions and applications, and with Ivy Bridge battery and proformance improvements a couple of months away, I would be foolish to keep it or recommend it.

 

Abt doesn't charge tax, with tax from Amazon it was going to cost me about 1550 too, from ABT it was 1339. I can see where the 200 in savings came from. I bit the bullet, little worried about all the negative reviews but I need a good quality thin and light for work and school asap. And I cant find another with as good specs, At the moment. Lets hope I get a good one.

 

Yeah 1538. That's the 1399 plus ny state tax
like I don't pay enough of that already.

 

I ordered from ABT with $1339 this morning. They emailed me and said my order has been shipped.

 

Oh my goodness. I no longer feel bad about how fast you got it. You should have had it delivered by hand! How come you guys pay tax with Amazon? I thought nobody did....

Btw, have you gotten yours? And...?

@Oldghost: I'm not so much in need of speed and space, but in desperate need of thin, light, with good keyboard. If this one doesn't work, I suspect I will be pm'ing you about that windows/mba setup (although I dread doing all the workarounds.….).

 

First of all, thanks for the information. I had the MacBook Air until early January so I am very familiar with it and how it operates on bootcamp with Windows 7.

Regarding your keyboard backlight observations, was this in a completely dark room or what? I only really care about the backlight when the room is dark and I have some recent scenarios where it's important.

You didn't compare the SS9 screen to the MBA. How would you compare the two? I know the MBA 13" 1440x900 screen is top notch. What about the Sammy in your view? [updated] I see where you said the Sammy screen is great on an earlier post. Could you expand on that? Screen quality is one of my top criteria. Thanks.

 

crap -- i have the chrome border around my track pad ... hope i don't have a uk version.

Edit and first impressions:
Screen is fabulous. I can't say it's better than my 2010 MBP (got the res and matte upgrade) but definitely quality and brighter than I'll ever need it to be
Keyboard: a little klackier than I like, but not at all difficult to type with. I'm typing on it now and not make any more mistakes than normal. Keys are well spaced and firm. Travel is perfect for me. My function key seems to be screwy though. I have to use function lock to get access to the function on the F-row.
Trackpad: a little sensitive, but I haven't played with settings yet. I'm not too particular as long as it works. It is a bit jumpy and will take some getting use to but works well enought to adapt to.
Weight: Freeeeeeeking awesome! Nothing like it - I know its not but it actually feels lighter than my iPad.
Wifi: I'm sitting about 2m from my router and getting 4-5 bars - it goes up and down. Not encouraging but we'll see how that goes.
WEI: Processor: 6.3; RAM: 5.9; Graphics: 5.6; Gaming Graphics: 6.2; SSD: 7.9 (really happy I maxed out n the SSD side, that made my night).

I'll post up more as it goes.

Regrets: Battery life expectency is still urking me considering a MBA gets better with bootcamp on Win7; but then I'd have to buy Win7 since this is used for business and I'm a software engineer. I'll see how battery life works out as things go on. I just hope it does better than my MBP - currently getting 4.5 hours on a 2 year old battery with 700 cycles on it.

 

USA has chrome boarder too... you can tell UK vs USA by keyboard layout (and of course, the model number).

 

I'm sorry, I don't have it yet, so it seems premature to gripe, but-- what were they thinking?? I thought the whole point of this design was subdued? And it seems like in the early pre-release models they DIDn't have the chrome border?

 

Easy come, easy go.