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Samsung Series 9 (NP900X3A) laptop review

Samsung unveils redesigned Series 9 laptops with 13- and 15-inch displays, starting at $1,399

Spotted: the elusive 15-inch Samsung Series 9

Before there were Ultrabooks, there was the Samsung Series 9. When it arrived on the scene last year, measuring .64 inches thick, weighing 2.8 pounds and packing a blazing SSD, it seemed to offer Windows users the closest thing to a no-compromise experience -- provided, of course, they were willing to pony up the requisite $1,649. As it turns out, the Series 9 was great -- memorable, even -- but not without flaws. It lacked an SD slot, the trackpad was jumpy and the display resolution topped out at a humdrum 1366 x 768.

A year later, Samsung is back with a second-generation laptop that promises to correct all of these shortcomings, and ushers in an even thinner, even lighter design. Make that two laptops: Sammy's selling a 15-inch Ultrabook, too. And truly, there's nothing quite like it: nothing quite this thin, with this large a screen. (Consider for a moment that it measures just .08 inches thicker than the new 13-inch Series 9, which is already thinner than most other Ultrabooks on the market.) As always, though, luxury doesn't come cheap. The 15-inch Series 9 will cost $1,500 when it ships at the end of this month (the 13-inch version is available for an also-pricey $1,400, though we haven't gotten to take that model for a spin yet.) Ultimately, then, are the Series 9's elegant aluminum design and 1600 x 900 matte display enough to justify the premium you'll pay over other Ultrabooks? And does the 15-inch version offer long enough battery life to match its larger size? Let's find out.

Gallery: 15-inch Samsung Series 9 review (2012)

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15-inch Samsung Series 9 review (2012) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Acer's Aspire Timeline Ultra notebooks made their first appearance at CES, these 14- and 15-inch laptops seemed like little more than the successors to Acer's TimelineX series. Thin-and-light laptops, complete with optical drive and some likely reasonable prices. While there's no mistaking that DVD burner and mainstream screen size, we now know a few things we didn't then: the 15-inch version you see up there packs NVIDIA's next-gen Kepler graphics... and Acer's calling it an Ultrabook.

Acer's branding that there Ultra M3 as an Ultrabook because it's less than 20mm (.8 inches) thin, but given that 15-inch display, numpad, optical drive and graphical horsepower, it's hard to think of this as anything other than a mainstream laptop. If you accept Acer's marketing scheme, though, this is the first so-called Ultrabook to ship with discrete graphics. (We're expecting to see more -- many more -- of these.) As of this writing, at least, we don't have a confirmed price, though Acer has said the pricing for the Ultra series should align with current TimelineX notebooks (which is to say, we're hardly expecting this to be a $1,500 machine.) Until we know for sure, it'll be hard to say how sweet of a deal this is, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about what it actually does. How does the performance stack up against regular 'ol 15-inch laptop? Does it pummel your garden-variety Ultrabooks like you'd expect it to? Join us past the break where we break down exactly what this 'tweener can do.

Gallery: Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 review