Last year Samsung proved that it was possible to make an ultraportable laptop that could match or exceed the MacBook Air on every front: design, performance, and coolness. The Series 9 became the template for the ultrabook wave we’re experiencing now with the exception of the price.

Samsung’s Series 5 Ultra laptops bear the ultrabook moniker, but there’s still room in the market for premium ultraportables that push the limits of how thin, light, and and impressive a notebook can be. Thus Samsung also announced the second generation Series 9 today, a machine so sweet you may be tempted to save up your pennies to afford the $1,399 asking price.

The new Series 9 has a smaller footprint than the first generation even though it has the same display. And I mean the exact same display — 400 nit SuperBright, 1600 x 900 resolution, matte — just with a smaller bezel.

The first generation Series 9 (left) and the new model (right)

Overall this model is 37% thinner and 0.4 pounds lighter resulting in a 2.5 pound weight and half an inch thickness. When I held it for the first time I was filled with envy. Even my netbook isn’t as light as this, and it’s certainly not as powerful.

Just as before the notebook will come with Intel’s Core i5 processor inside and a 128GB SSD. Samsung is leaving open the possibility of bringing out a more powerful Core i7 version, but right now there are no plans.

Despite being far thinner, the second gen Series 9 is better with port arrangement, ditching the pull-down drawers and just placing the two USB 3.0 ports and DisplayPort at the back edges where the notebook is a bit thicker. There’s also a full SD card slot instead of a microSD — much more useful.

This model isn’t made from Duralumin like the previous generation, though it does have an aluminum unibody design. It’s also a little less swoopy than before, but still keeps to the wave idea in design.

Full SD card slot

The 13.3-inch version will cost $1,399 and will be available in February.

Now id you’re looking at all this fancy thin and lightness and thinking it would be super awesome if you could have the same design but with a bigger display you’re in luck. Samsung is bringing out a 15-inch version of the Series 9 as well. It will also hit shelves in February and cost $1,499. This larger Ultrabook has a bigger screen, but it is wedged into a 14 inch frame to keep things nice and compact.

As a fan of the original Series 9 I will admit that I’m very excited about this new version. It balances weight and size well yet delivers plenty of power for any mainstream task and even some of the workhorse stuff I need. And I’ll reiterate: the 13-inch one is lighter than my netbook. That’s enough to make me consider saving all my pennies for this one.

Samsung’s Second Generation Series 9 Proves There’s Still Room For Premium Ultraportables is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

Today at CES Samsung unveiled their new ultrabook line, the Series 5 Ultra 13 inch and 14 inch laptops. Based on the design of the original Series 9 (itself a proto-ultrabook), these super slim and light machines strike more of a balance between portability, performance, and price, starting at $899.

Ultrabooks are fast becoming the new mainstream laptop and the design and overall impression of the Series 5 reflects that. Compared to the Series 9 these laptops aren’t quite as high grade fancy (no duraluminum this time around, just aluminum), though there’s plenty of visual flair.

As you can see from the pictures there are several aesthetic similarities including the swoop/wave design. The Series 5 Ultra is a simpler, more minimalist approach, though no less elegant.

Other notable differences include the touchpad — no longer a clickpad — and the display, which is a less bright 300 nits. That’s still plenty bright (Samsung calls the technology SuperBright appropriately) and in combination with matte coating instead of glossy the Series 5 should be just as visible outdoors as inside. The 1600 x 900 resolution is another nice perk.

The Series 5 next to the 2011 Series 9 (on the left)

Size-wise the 13.3-inch version is the same height and similar dimensions as last year’s Series 9. Despite being very thin you still get a full-size Ethernet port and HDMI plus a DisplayPort for VGA connectivity, USB 3.0, 2 USB 2.0 and an SD card slot.

The 14-inch version is just a hair thicker and lighter but manages to include an optical drive plus a full VGA port.

I was surprised at how light and carryable the 14-inch version feels. And the optical drive doesn’t make it bulky at all. Do people still need DVD drives? Apparently so. But even if you don’t the larger screen and expanded port selection will make this version appealing.

Optical Drive

Right now both only come with Intel Core i5 processors, though perhaps the company will bring out more powerful versions with Core i7 if they sell well (it happened with the Series 9). Integrated graphics only, I’m afraid. Thankfully Intel’s integrated solutions are much better than in previous years so you can watch full HD movies without a hitch, you just can’t go to town on World of Warcraft on the highest settings.

Here at CES we’ve been having a debate about whether a laptop can be dubbed an ultrabook if it has a traditional hard drive inside. All except one of the first wave of ultrabooks had SSDs, but the second wave is shaping up to look more like what Samsung is doing with the Series 5. Consumers can either get the version with a 128GB SSD or a 500GB hard drive and a 16GB SSD ExpressCache memory where the operating system lives so you still get fast booting and resuming from sleep.

The hard drive version keeps the price down under $1,000 — the 13-inch starts at $899 — while the SSD version bumps it up to $1099, again for the smaller notebook. Both notebooks will be available later this month.

Hands-On: Samsung Series 5 Ultra 13 and 14-inch Ultrabooks is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

Samsung unveiled a new collection of notebooks today as part of the powerful Samsung Series 7 collection. These notebooks come in both 14″ and 15.6″ sizes, but like many new notebooks, they use a slimmer bezel and enhancements in design that allow for the 14″ models to come in a size that is traditionally used for a 13″ notebook.

These notebooks are not ultraportables, but they do deliver a very portable package that includes plenty of power across the board. Impressively, the Series 7 notebooks start at $999.

Samsung Series 7 Notebook

The Samsung Series 7 comes in several distinct models, but all of them use the latest 2nd Gen Intel Core i processors. The 15.6″ models come with an Intel Core i7 quad core processor, while the 14″ model has an Intel Core i5 processor inside. The notebooks all come with AMD Radeon HD 6940 GPUs which pack a goo amount of power for gaming and graphically demanding applications, 6-8GB of RAM and 750GB Hard drives. Select models include a hybrid Hard Drive setup with 8GB of storage. The displays offer high resolutions, with 1600 x 900 as standard on both the 15.6″ and 14″ models. This is a nice touch for users that need more room to work while mobile.

Samsung promises up to 9 hours of battery life and batteries which can retain up to 80% of their original charge length through 1,500 charges. This will allow your battery to last through the workday, and it should hold up fairly well over the entire life of the notebook. Battery claims normally need to be discounted a few hours, but even then you should be able to get a full day of work out of the notebook.

Samsung Series 7 notebook with backlit keyboard.

The Samsung Series 7 notebooks will be available on October 2nd at participating retailers with prices starting at $999. This isn’t cheap, but it is pretty impressive for a notebook with these specs.

Samsung 7 Series Notebook Specs

Updated with new shots from Xavier Lanier at the Showstoppers event at IFA 2011

Samsung Series 7 Gallery

Samsung Series 7 Notebooks Offer Sleek Speed at Surprising Prices is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Samsung is launching a volley of back to school notebooks in the Series 9 collection of notebooks. The new Series 9 notebooks come in both 11.6″ and 13.3″ models, with five distinct models.

The Samsung Series 9 Notebooks Are Back With a Lower Price.

Samsung’s new Series 9 notebooks start at a much more palatable $1,049 for the 11.6″ model and $1,349 for the 13.3″ model. Samsung has taken lessons from the initial launch, though the prices are still $50 more than the comparable MacBook Air models. For more on the similarities, check out our MacBook Air vs. Series 9 showdown.

The Samsung Series 9 notebooks make use of the new Intel Sandy Bridge ULV processors, which deliver a speedy system without devastating battery life. These new processors are likely the same ones you will see in the new MacBook Air notebooks that are expected to launch as early as July 19th.

Hands On with the Samsung 9 Series at CES 2011

Starting in August you will be able to find the 11.6″ Series 9 models at Samsung and other retailers. You can purchase the 13.3″ Samsung Series 9 notebooks starting today.

Key 11” Specs (2 models):

• ·         NP900X1B-A02US: $1,049 MSRP (Windows 7 Home Premium, Intel® Core™ i3 Processor 2357M, 2GB DDR3 RAM, 64GB SSD)
• ·         NP900X1B-A01US: $1,249 MSRP (Windows 7 Home Premium, Intel® Core™ i3 Processor 2357M, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 128GB SSD)

Key 13.3” Specs (3 models):

• ·         NP900X3A-B01US: $1,349 MSRP (Windows 7 Home Premium, Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 2467M; 4GB DDR3 RAM, 128GB SSD)
• ·         NP900X3A-B02US: $1,649 MSRP (Windows 7 Home Premium, Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 2467M; 4GB DDR3 RAM, 256GB SSD)
• ·         NP900X3A-A05US: $2,049 MSRP (Windows 7 Home Premium, Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 2617M; 6GB DDR3 RAM, 256GB SSD)

The Samsung Series 9 notebooks won our Best Premium Thin & Light award at CES 2011, but high prices and stiff competition from Apple have limited the appeal. With the lower prices on these back to school models Samsung has a chance at attracting far more purchases.

Samsung Delivers More Affordable Series 9 Notebooks is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Most notebooks under $400 have specs so low-end that even the most basic users won’t be satisfied, but thanks to the latest cost effective AMD processors, consumers can pick up a new notebook from Best Buy or Staples that will deliver on all the standard needs of home users for just $350.

Instead of the sub-par single core processors and lackluster specs, these new AMD Fusion E-350 powered notebooks are packing a dual core processor, capable graphics card, 3-4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, built in webcam and Windows 7. These notebooks are available today from Best Buy and Staples for $350.

We recently reviewed the Gateway NV51B05u Fusion powered notebook which has the same specs and were impressed with the value it brought to the table under $500. The Samsung NP-RV515-A01 and Acer Aspire AS5253-BZ692 have the same specs and should provide the same performance for just $350. For just $30 more there is also a similarly spec’d HP 2000-219DX available at Best Buy.

If we were picking out a new notebook for the average home user today, these two notebooks would be at the top of the list thanks to the affordable price that doesn’t cut corners. In short, if we were picking out a new notebook for a PC using family member, we would be taking a close look at these two notebooks and at the collection of other AMD Fusion E-350 notebooks coming to the market soon.

Performance

What type of performance can you expect from a $300 notebook? If there’s an AMD Fusion E-350 APU in there with AMD Radeon HD 6130 GPU, then you can expect quite a bit of power for the price. When we went hands on with a similar AMD Fusion E-350 notebook from Gateway we had the following to say about the performance.

The first test, was to open up an array of apps that home users will find open at the same time. To do this we tried out Word Starter, Chrome with numerous tabs and a few other random apps open in the background. We played Pandora in one of the Chrome tabs. During this standard use scenario, we had no lag or issues with the performance of the Fusion processor.

We also tried doing some light movie editing with Windows Live Movie maker and edited some photos in Windows Live gallery and were pleased with the results. We wouldn’t want to use this machine to edit video professionally, or to edit video every day, but for a few random projects or for splicing and uploading a family reunion clip to YouTube, the NV51 will suffice.

We also tested HD video playback and if you can believe it gaming on a budget notebook,

Thanks to the AMD Radeon HD6130 graphics card, you can actually use this notebook to game and watch HD video content without giving up on too much quality. We tested out the NV51 with HD video and streaming Netflix and had no trouble at all. Normally, when you try to play HD content on a sub $500 system with integrated graphics the video will stutter or drop some frames, but we didn’t notice the issue on this system.

When we started gaming on this notebook we were also surprised. In loading up a demo of FIFA 2011 from late 2010, we were pleased to see that the system performed great with the medium setting which was still a great experience on the go. We could play on High, but there was a bit of lag that detracted from the fast pace of the game.

Value

When you compare these $350 notebooks to the Intel Celeron notebooks you typically find in $300 to $350 price range you’re looking at a noticeable jump in performance that is well worth the $50 price difference for home users.  Whether you’re looking for new notebook for your home office, to take to school this fall or just need a new affordable notebook that won’t leave you hanging, you should definitely check out these AMD Fusion notebooks.

For the average home user, these AMD Fusion E-350 powered notebooks offer much more value than many other sub $500 notebooks and will be a better fit than a netbook for the numerous buyers who look at netbooks for the lower cost, rather than portability. We’d also suggest that budget notebook buyers look at these notebooks over the new Google Chromebooks, which may look sexier, but are getting mixed reviews.

Black Friday Comes Early: $350 Dual Core Notebooks at Best Buy & Staples is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

May is over and we are spilling into the dog days of June, but we wanted to highlight a collection of notebook reviews from May that will help you find the best notebook or laptop for your summer and back to school purchases. In May we reviewed 7 notebooks and a collection of popular notebook accessories which are conveniently rounded up here for your convenience.

Some of our top notebook picks include the Editor’s Choice Winning ThinkPad X1 and the Toshiba Satellite E305 Blue Label Notebook available at Best Buy. Each of these reviews will give you everything you need to know about your next notebook purchase including a video review and performance details.

Notebook Reviews – Video Reviews – May 2011

Samsung RV511 Review – $500

The Samsung RV511 is a $500 mid range notebook which has a nice look and feel as well as a good collection of features for a $500 notebook. The retail price for the model we reviewed, the Samsung RV51 A01 is $549 at Best Buy, which may seem pricey given the use of last year’s Intel processor, but the overall package comes together nicely to provide a good value for the price

Acer Aspire 7552G-6436 Review – $669

The Acer Aspire 7552G-6436 is one of those systems that will impress the average computer buyer even if more advanced users will be disappointed with it. It has a big 17.3″ display and a full size keyboard making it really a good desktop replacement. You won’t be satisfied if you want a lightweight, portable system or want a world-class keyboard. But for people who just want a decent computer to put on a desk and then occasionally take with you, the 7552G is a good option.

ASUS Eee PC 1215B Hands On – $430

The ASUS Eee PC 1215B is a new AMD Fusion powered ultraportable that delivers an impressive performance in a small package, and delivers great battery life at the same time. The Eee PC 1215B is available from Amazon.com for around $430, which is in line with many other AMD Fusion mini notebooks. Unlike the other notebooks, the Eee PC 1215B has a 12.1″ display that gives you a bit more room to work.

Toshiba Satellite E305-S1990 Review – Editor’s Choice – $900

The Toshiba Satellite E305 Blue Label notebook delivers in all areas and is one of the few notebooks you can purchase that includes Wireless Display and the Adapter, WiMax, a metal case, solid design, a standard 2 year warranty, 3 years of anti-theft protection, a backlit keyboard, long battery life and the ability to play games like Portal 2 for around $900.

HP ProBook 6560 Review – $899

The HP ProBook 6560b is a welcome upgrade to the ProBook line and includes hardware and software improvements that end users will notice. The processor is more than capable and notebook has a great case that looks nice and provides durability. Inside, you will find one of the best keyboards we have used and a number pad which will come in handy more than you imagine. Combine the superb hardware with the software and it is clear that the ProBook 6560b is a notebook that IT managers need to consider before deploying notebooks to mobile professionals

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Review – Editor’s Choice – $1,305

The ThinkPad X1 is a surprising business notebook that brings many consumer features, like incredible sound and a backlit keyboard, to the enterprise. While other business notebooks come with similar features, the execution and typical high end keyboard from Lenovo continues to set the standard in how a notebook keyboard should look and feel. Dolby Home Theater v4 is impressively packed into this rugged enterprise notebook and quite literally will blow you away the first time you hear it.

The X1 comes in nearly a pound lighter than the ThinkPad T420, yet doesn’t need to sacrifice on power or ports with USB 3.0, HDMI and DisplayPort standard. Topping off the X1 is the notebook’s amazing RapidCharge battery technology that takes you from zero to 80 percent in 30 minutes. We were surprised just how fast the X1 charged, even while we used it. The feature set on the ThinkPad X1 comes together to deliver a business notebook you’ll actually want to use at home, even if you have a MacBook Pro nearby.

Dell Latitude E5420 Review – $1,228

The Dell Latitude E5420 may not have the same sleek lines and rugged features as the E6320 or E6420, but an incredibly solid build quality, good traditional keyboard, antiglare screen and low starting prices combine to offer a reliable business notebook that won’t break the bank. The ability to work with other Latitude E Family docks and batteries is a big plus, and hopefully your IT guy will spring for a dock and a set of external speakers for your desk.

Hot Notebooks and Laptops From May 2011 [Notebook Reviews] is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.