Samsung Revamps Designer Notebooks From i3 to i7
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Samsung has upped the offerings in its premium class of notebooks with three new models in the Series 9 suite, including an Intel Core i3 version for the budget buyer.Samsung’s answer to Apple’s MacBook Air, Series 9 notebooks throw together high performance with style and durability in a lightweight chassis.

High performance comes on the back of second generation Intel Core processors (now becoming the norm in new release notebooks) and solid state drives (SSD) instead of typical hard disk drives.

The weight is dropped on these slim models with their lightweight components and hard duralumin encasings which double as design pieces with their metallic charcoal finish. The award-winning design comes at a high premium price though.

The three new models include an Intel Core i7, i5 and i3 version, ranging from 13.3 inch screens down to 11.6 inchers.

“Consumers can now tailor their Samsung Series 9 Notebook purchase to their performance needs and budget, without having to compromise on style or design,” said Samsung’s head of IT, Emmanuele Silanesu.

An i3 version with a compact 11.6 inch screen in a tiny 1.06kg frame will set buyers back $1,499, but some of the inner detail is cut out of the deal. The SSD is capped at a small 64GB, with no additional memory slots for upgrading RAM and a smaller battery than the i5 and i7 models.

 

On the plus side, it’s fitted with 4GB of DDR3 RAM, Bluetooth 3.0 compatibility, Micro-HDMI connector, USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports and is the lightest model on offer.

For a premium on price, there’s the i5 version that, according to Samsung, is the world’s thinnest and lightest i5 13 inch notebook on the market. It’s bigger than the i3 version, but houses more screen real estate and innards than the latter. The SSD is upgraded to 256GB, and the 4GB RAM can be upgraded to 8GB.

The i5 model sells for $2,299. Add an extra $500 to the price for an i7 model, featuring 8GB RAM as standard on the same 1.31kg body as the i5 version. Apart from the stocked RAM and the better processor, the two laptops are identical.

The three models are now available for major electronics retailers.