The live review and Q&A with the Samsung 900X1B went well on Saturday and we got through the 2 hours without any major issues or showstoppers cropping up. Battery life during the 2 hours was good at a projected 6hrs which included constant Wi-Fi and even some high-performance mode gaming. Wi-Fi, something that’s been highlighted by others as an issue on the 900X1B was stable but in a test across a couple of walls to a remote hotspot we confirmed that the throughput was poor. That’s the only potential issue on the 900X1B, the rest of the device was perfect, as long as you don’t mind those mini and micro ports and adaptors.

The live review and Q&A with the Samsung 900X1B went well on Saturday and we got through the 2 hours without any major issues or showstoppers cropping up. Battery life during the 2 hours was good at a projected 6hrs which included constant Wi-Fi and even some high-performance mode gaming. Wi-Fi, something that’s been highlighted by others as an issue on the 900X1B was stable but in a test across a couple of walls to a remote hotspot we confirmed that the throughput was poor. That’s the only potential issue on the 900X1B, the rest of the device was perfect, as long as you don’t mind those mini and micro ports and adaptors.

The 900X1B looks great, feels solid, performs well, is surprisingly efficient, light, quiet, has an amazing screen and keyboard and with no moving parts is a real contender for an ultra-portable. Only the power adaptor annoys. At 300gm it’s heavier and bigger than it needs to be. You might find a lighter power pack that would be more useful on a day away from the mains power.

The 900X1B is also available with a Core i5 1.6Ghz CPU and 128GB storage for a more carefree user experience and the prices have come down recently although it remains a premium product.

As usual, the live review was captured on video. Quality isn’t exactly HD but if you’re close to buying a Series 9 or considering a UX21, I really recommend watching. In fact, in my opinion, the 900X1B beats the Asus UX21 and is a good contender in the ultra-portable space.

I’m loving it! The Samsung 900X1B is an 11.6 inch notebook running an Intel Core processor with a battery life of 5-6hrs in web-working scenarios. Sounds big and heavy right? It’s not. The price matches the productivity potential and it’s working well as a partner to  my 7 inch Galaxy Tab Android Tablet.

The Samsung 900X1B is part of the Series 9 range that includes a 13 inch version and it’s designed around the ‘Ultrabook’ principle of efficient, light and stylish. It’s been available for a few months now but in my opinion it’s one of the best 11.6 inch notebooks out there. It weighs 1.06KG, 2.33Lbs and has a dynamic range that excites me. From 2.8W screen-off idle to 31W video processing. This stylish bit of kit can handle a huge range of tasks.

Yes it’s a desktop device (although I’ve done some one-handed action with it in the last 48hrs) and it’s not in the same category as an Ultra-Mobile, handheld PC device but given the lack of solutions in that area and the improvement in 7 inch tablet devices recently, this fits in as a perfect portable PC companion.

I want one. Although having said that I think the Core i3 version I have here is unnecessarily constrained. Core i5 at 1.6Ghz with Intel Turbo Boost action would extend the dynamic range even further without major battery life penalties but, here in Europe, the 900X1B with Core i3 and 4GB RAM, 64GB storage is dropping in price quickly. It’s €880 right now. Very attractive and a lot of PC and quality engineering for the price. Matt screen, back-lit and high-quality keyboard, fast SSD, Gigabit Ethernet (via wobbly adaptor) and more.

OK let me stop now. If you’re interested, check out my first impressions, battery life test at Ultrabooknews.com and then join me on Sat 3rd Dec 2011 at 2100 CET (Your timezone details here.) for a live Q&A and review [I’ll be live here]. Those of you that were interested in high-end netbooks are going to love this. If the price is too high for you, just wait. This is the sort of 1KG laptop that will be $500 in a few years. Mark my words! Devices like this will totally displace the high-end netbook market.

I’ve posted a detailed review of the ASUS UX21 over at Ultrabooknews and even if you think the device is too big, I encourage you to read the article to learn about the platform and it’s differences to Oaktrail, Cedar Trail and other low-power platforms. The UX21 idles down well and gets things done so fast that the total battery used for tasks is, in many cases, less than on a low-power platform. The effect is known as ‘HUGI’ by Intel – Hurry Up Get Idle – and it seems to work.

The platform provides a high dynamic range of operating modes from simple web-based work in a netbook-like 8W power to gaming and video editing to a quality that you would never achieve on an Atom-based platform.

It’s interesting to think of where this could lead to. Will Atom-based devices just dissolve into a low-cost category? Will there be an interesting option for ‘Ultraslates’ in the future? Could Intel create an even more efficient, smaller and small platform based on their leading technologies. My feeling is ‘Yes’ and I talked about it in an article earlier this year.

I suggest reading the UX21 article though for more details and proof that there are some Ultra Mobile possibilities with the high-end mobile computing platforms.

ASUS UX21 Full Review

Update: Full review including live session is now available.

It’s all too quiet over here at UMPCPortal. I’ve been working on a Samsung Series 7 Tablet (XE700) live review but it looks like it has been delayed for some reason. I’ll keep you posted on that but in the meantime, you might be interested in something that is built on the same platform. The 11.6″ ASUS UX21 is heading my way so of course I’ll be setting up a live review.

As a reminder, it’s netbook size and weight with a whole load more power. Up to 10x more CPU power than UMPCs we’re used to. It weighs 1.1KG and brings in 3-5 hour in-use battery life. Don’t forget that you’ll be able to use external power packs to boost that at minimal weight gain. It has a lightning-fast SSD too which helps you get things done quicker

The UX21 will be with me on Monday but the live session is likely to be on Thursday or Friday. I’ll update this post with the details and send info out on Twitter.

As we entered IDF in San Francisco this morning the first booth that greeted US was the Ultrabook both. Front and Center.
I little look round the booth reveals that there will be 6 new models shown. While 5 ate likely to be ODM devices looking.for a brand, one of them isn’t. LG/Compal Ultrabook Anyone?

The Dell Adamo is also shown on a poster.

Stay tuned because that booth opens in just 2 hours.

A few minutes after the Acer Aspire S3 demo devices were brought to the stand I managed to get some hands on. Check out the number of people crowded round the devices! This is important for Acer as they bellieve its the next generation of PC device growth and it was clear from the press conference that they are betting a lot of this category.

The Acer S3 will launch this month in key countries. US was mentioned as one of those countries. Core i3, i5 and i7 variants will be available and prices range €799 to €1999

As we move forward with Ultrabooks, its obviously going to be harder for manufacturers to be different. It might mean that the price becomes the most important factor, at least at the low-end of the price scale.

Just to give you an early feel for the Acer Aspire Series 3 Ultrabook, here’s a quick `n dirty video from the launch event today.

I’m also uploading a Hands-On video that will be up soon on Ultrabooknews.
The Hands-On video is now available.
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