Samsung 900X4C 15-inch Ultrabook Hands-On, Quick Test

Posted on 06 March 2012, Last updated on 06 March 2012 by

 

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Thin and beautiful but big and usable. The Series 9 15” is an exciting laptop to see, an exciting laptop to hold and and exciting laptop to use. The finishing on the Series 9 2012 is slightly less ‘out there’ compared to the 2011 Series 9, still a fantastic ultralight but loses nothing in terms of style. 1.4KG, 1600×900 screen, full SD card slot, Centrino  6230 Wi-Fi module and it looks like some great power consumption figures. We don’t have official figures but we think the battery capacity is a very usable 68Wh. [6200mah is given on specs and a (3×3) 6-Cell battery makes 68Wh] It would match Samsung’s claims of 10hr battery life. We measured some respectable minimum drain figures too…

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The keyboard feels great and the screen quality is up there with some of the best.

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We hearing that the price will be above €1500 and we suspect it could touch €2000 with a full 256GB SSD and Core i7. Availability is likely to be April in Germany with the 13.3” slightly ahead of the 15” at the moment. Details could change but we’re in contact with Samsung and will bring you details of any changes.

Here’s the hands-on video.

20 Comments For This Post

  1. Robert says:

    WTG Chippy:) Now i know a time round about for the samsung series 9 in Germany:)i am getting excited:)
    i expected 1399 for the 13 inch and 1499 for the 15
    looks like maybe they will offer even more expensive models but maybe if that entails 256 ssd and i7 instead of i5 i will just have to dash out the extra bucks feel decadent for a week lol but ultimately happier in the long run. I was almost resigned to a 128 ssd i5 model of the new series 9 but i might be tempted to go for higher specs now although approaching 2000 sounds a bit scary lol

  2. Etha says:

    Very nice review ! Thanks for the video !
    However I’m quite worried about the performance indicator of 5.9. It’s the same than my XPS 16 which has 4 years now…

  3. Chippy says:

    I wouldn’t take any notice of that just yet. Might have been done in battery mode for example.

  4. Thor says:

    The 5.9 is from the Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU. This is a Sandy Bridge machine. The CPU score is likely 7.0. The SSD is probably 7.7

  5. Robert says:

    The thing i really would like to know now if there were any improvements made in terms of webcam or sound quality compared to the 2011 samsung 9. I understand it had good cam and sound but does the new model improve on it ?

  6. Robert says:

    The specs for the new 15 inch model say 300 nit brightness, not the 400 from the 13 inch or old model?
    maybe thats how they achieve there better battery life for the 15 inch ?

  7. Thor says:

    300 nits should be plenty for indoor use. 400 will burn your retina. :-)

    Regarding no stickers on the bottom, that’s because that isn’t a shipped machine. You will have a Windows COA stuck to it (unlike the Dell XPS 13 with the COA compartment).

  8. Chippy says:

    …or stuck on the power supply as was approved for the ASUS models.

  9. Robert says:

    will the 300 nits still make for fine outdoor use as was promised with the old models? i like the idea of being able to use it out doors as a matter of fact thats why i go for the samsung matt screen in the first place:-)

  10. Voni says:

    Hey – Unless something bad comes out about it, this is going to be my next laptop!!! Is the 300 nits going to affect outdoor use??

    Also, any ideas when it will be available in the US???

    Thanks!

  11. Robert says:

    interestingly enough i saw a video from CeBit 2012 in which the sales rep from samsung in germany mentioned that the new series 9 had 400 nits .. so what is going on ?
    (or does the 13 inch model have 400 while the 15 inch has 300 ?)

  12. Chippy says:

    Whatever Samsung say, we’ll still have to wait for independent screen brigthness tests I think.

  13. Robert says:

    Let´s see how much the S 9 will cost

    The HP Envy 14 Spectre is now available from amazon in Germany shipment within a few days at the cost of
    EUR 1.602,92 the german hp website offers 1 399.00 €
    what´s going on.

  14. bloodfox says:

    Backlit keyboard ??

  15. Robert says:

    yes bloodfox it has a backlit keyboard

  16. techfan says:

    Is there an 11.6″ version?

  17. Pato Milan says:

    Is there any information about the Series 9 in terms of release date and prices for Europe (excluding UK ofcourse)?
    I hope its around 1300 or less for the 13″ because,
    in the US its 1400 Dollars which is about 1057 Euros
    in the UK its 1200 Pounds which is about 1430 Euros.
    Oh and the colours, I heard there is silver, dark grey and now blue. The question is, which colour will be available for which model and countries.

  18. sven says:

    Unfortunately, if the 2012 Series 7 is any indication, the screens have horrible vertical viewing angles. Try sitting in a crammed space, like a bus, train, or airplane, and being unable to flip the screen to the right angle, you get a terribly washed out screen.

  19. Basv says:

    Something intresting: samsung 9 series 15″ i7 with 256 gb ssd. Only price a little bit high:

    Samsung Sens NT900X4B-A78 Series 9 Laptop 15″ i7 2637M 1.7GHz 8GB 256GB SSD

    http://www.gooddigitalshop.com/samsung-sens-nt900x4b-a78-series-9-laptop-15-i7-2637m-1.7ghz-8gb-256gb-ssd.html

  20. Immigration Lawyer in Ashford says:

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