Samsung ATIV Book 9 Review

Samsung ATIV Book 9 is a slim 13.3-inch laptop with a 0.51" thickness. The notebook looks and feels like a glimpse of the future; but it comes at a price.

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A $1900 Windows 8 ultraportable with 4 gb of memory and without touch input? Hm...no.

 

I liked this review, thank you. However, I really would like to have seen less of a focus on the subjective value-for-money downside, or at least more of a balance of the other things that provide the value for money. Such as acknowledging the impact of quality of materials and design, including the inclusion of the right components (excellent wireless, display quality, excellent trackpad function - I mean, coming up with a two finger right-click function is brilliant and you just don't see trackpads like this on other PC products).

I've been scouring the Net for a decent semi-Ultrabook esque product that combines the quality of the reviewed Ultrabook in a bigger 15" form-factor and higher performance and I simply cannot find it, anywhere. None of the manufacturers have a complete solution that is truly flagship material. There is always some aspect or component that causes the device to fall short in a significant area. Whether that is display, trackpad, keyboard (or both), battery, wireless, port layout, etc.

For me, this laptop isn't going to be what I want. For starters it isn't a 15"er. But, the design integrity is really good and this gives me hope for a larger model with Haswell. Something like:

Windows 8 (64-bit)
15.6" Gorilla Glass 2 LED Full HD Touch Display 1920 x 1080 (300 nits)
2.3 GHz i7-4850HQ Processor with Intel Iris Pro 5200 Graphics; or
2.8 GHz i7-4800MQ Processor with Intel HD 4600 Graphics
16GB DDR3 1600 RAM
256/512 GB SSD
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 802.11 a/b/g/n
8-Cell Lithium Polymer Battery
Weight: ~3 lbs.
MSRP: $2,400

Even if they can't put these CPUs in such a thin shell and have to make it a bit thicker it would still tick all of the boxes.

I think possibly a key thing that PC manufacturers get wrong is they dilute their ranges too much. Apple has two size variations in the Macbook Pro line and two in the Air line. That's all they have for laptops.

AND, unlike just about everyone else, if I want to option up a 512GB SSD in the Macbook Air or Pro, I can. Four chassis with the ability to option pretty much how you like and not break the bank either.

 

I'm not sure that it's brilliant or just derivative. My wife's 2008 MacBook Pro uses a two-finger right-click function.

Only offering four models of laptop is great for the OEM's bottom line but it's terrible for the customers. Customers aren't all the same and don't want or need the same thing. Could you imagine a car manufacturer that only offered one car, one truck, and one SUV instead of a broad lineup of models to meet customers' various wants, needs, and budgets?

 

Yeah, I guessed that Samsung might have taken a page out of Apple's MacBook with the two-finger right-click function. But the point is very few, if any, other PC manufacturers (non-Apple) are doing this kind of thing with their trackpads.

I'm sure that Apple understands that not everyone requires the same thing. But I believe they cover more with less because they OPTION their products. Can I get a Samsung Series 9 with 16GB RAM, or a 512GB SSD, or a 2.8GHz quad-core CPU that isn't a U spec? Hell no.

Can I buy the Series 9, with all of its great design attributes, in a slightly thicker form factor for a bit less of a thin-and-light experience but greater performance? No. I have to go to a Series 3 or something, which is a totally different level of quality and design.

Was I surprised when I saw there was an option on Apple's site to configure a Japanese or Arabic keyboard? Absolutely. No else one makes it so easy to find and choose what they need.

Everyone else is making these little niche products within their ranges that tick the boxes for a very small number of customers. Apple doesn't. All of their laptops have the same basic level of design and build consistency so that none can be considered niche.

 

You also can't get the MacBook Air (the Series 9's direct competitor) with 16 gb RAM or a non-U-spec CPU (either dual-core or quad-core). And you can't get a MBP 13 (either retina or non-retina) with 16 gb RAM or a quad-core CPU. So no, Apple's not doing a better job at optioning their laptops than your typical PC OEM.

Indeed, they offer less choice than many PC OEMs. You can get a Vaio S13 with quad-core or dual-core CPU, with integrated or dedicated graphics. Many Samsung models offer similar level of hardware choice. There's not a single Apple option with that level of choice.

 

True that you can't option 16GB in the MBair. However, and I didn't articulate this very well, the thing is there is going to be a product in their range which will give me the same level of quality and design consistency as the MBair, which is the MBpro. So, if I want additional RAM and compute power I can just go up to the MBpro and get it configured, knowing I'll have the same quality product. I just tried to do that with:
Samsung, from their Series 9; and with
Toshiba from their KiraBook; and with
Acer from their S7 (or, to spec up their R7 to something I wanted); and with
Lenovo from their ThinkPad Carbon 1X.

I couldn't do it and it is very frustrating. All of the juice in their niche models just evaporated. No option.

Going over to the Apple site and being able to configure in two minutes what I ended up not being able to do after going around in circles with every other PC manufacturer, just put the whole situation in a very contrasted light. I'm a network and server guy very firmly rooted in the Cisco/Microsoft/VMware space so Apple was the last place for me to look. It is kinda telling when that's where I ended up.

I'll take a look a Sony. I haven't till now because they don't seem to come highly recommended.

To come back to Apple, from what I can see they still win the flexibility stakes with the high degree of consistency across their range. Sure, I can't get a quad-core i7 in either the 13" Air or Pro, but the dual-core option seems to have a pretty high clock and might match or beat the quad-core in the PC 13" solutions.

Really, my point isn't to put Apple up there, but to say what the phuck is everyone else doing?

 

I would note that reports from forum members indicate that Samsung have used a 4GB single channel RAM module in the X3E instead of the 4GB dual channel DDP package in previous versions. This adversely affects the integrated graphics performance.

The Ativ Book 9 is the thinnest product in Samsung's range. If you want more power then look at the Ativ Book 8 and Ativ Book 7.

John

 

Thanks, John. A good insight about the RAM implementation affecting performance of iGPU. Definitely something to keep a look out for.

I was able to find a 15" version in the ATIV Series 9, and in the ATIV Series 5 and Series 4. But no ATIV Series 7... oh wait, that's because the Australian site only has 9, 5 and 4. Checking Series 7 on the US site now...

 

The 15.6" Series 7 (now Ativ Book 8) is discussed here and the 13.3" Series 7 Ultra (now Ativ Book 7) is discussed here. The thread titles contain the current model numbers.

John

 

Thank you, John. I'll blame the review sites (and Samsung Australia) for not exposing me to the other options

Will stop hijacking this Series 9 thread, cheers.

 

Are you sure about that?

 

Wow - doesn't anybody PROOFREAD anymore? This article contains SEVERAL glaring grammatical errors. Sad to think that the author is either utterly lazy, or just not facile in the use of English language.


I do think the notebook is crazy expensive (as noted) but also should appeal to a very limited market segment (those who want a very thin, modestly powerful notebook - and don't care about the general lack of features, nor what it costs...) A year from now, this size of notebook should be much more mainstream - with some more 'reasonable' guts - like a quad core CPU, more RAM, and maybe even that elusive touch-screen.

 

We shouldn't need to wait a year to find out what the next generation of Series 9 contains: Samsung has announced a premiere for new products to be held on 20th June. However, I doubt if quad core CPUs will feature in the Ativ Book 9. The majority of users don't have a need for this capability and disposing of the extra heat in a thin chassis will be a technical challenge.

John

 

Actually, I just ordered one with 256 gb ssd, 2.0 i7 (s9 ativ 13) for 1500 dollars from Amazon. This model never cost 1900. In fact, I paid around 1700 total for overnight shipping and 3 years spills-drop square trade warranty.

The problem now is I just found out that Samsung will announce new models on the 20th so I may not open up this package today if they say a haswell is around the corner. But I have to mention that the matte screen on this machine is unbelievable. After playing with the zenbook and s7 ultra at bb the sales guy at bb pointed me at another table in the back where the s9 was. That screen just popped and I would have bought it on the spot if they had a 256gb ssd. I've never seen a screen this good including Apple's retina because of the matte. Insane display.

 

It is now Sept. 12. Any new models beyond the Samsung ATIV 9, such as with Haswell?