Ativ Book 9 Plus, 3200x1800, Haswell, "12 hours" battery

http://www.cnet.com/laptops/samsung-ativ-book-9/4505-3121_7-35796875.html

by bhauer • 13 years ago

57 79 13 years ago

rayiner• 13 years ago

Is the screen IGZO?

hamidpalo• 13 years ago

The product itself looks very interesting, but Samsung is horrible at product launches. I've just bought the new Haswell Macbook Air and am interested in possibly returning it and getting the Ativ Book 9 Plus. I thought that samsung.com would have availability information and more detailed specs, but it's not even mentioned anywhere. In fact, such information isn't available anywhere.

drivebyacct2• 13 years ago

This is (very sadly) par for the course for pretty much everyone but Apple. The same thing happens with any sort of smartphone, any new ultrabooks, etc. I'm guessing this also comes without a price tag or launch date. "Cool story Samsung".

rhizome5• 13 years ago

Yep. Over the past couple of months I got my mom a new All-In-One Windows machine, and while I was shopping a Lenovo A520 was by far the front runner. Listed on Amazon (out of stock), listed on multiple product pages on the Lenovo website (Lenovo phone sales: "Keep checking back"), and a month or so later it just disappeared without so much as a wimper. It was launched in October 2012. Dell deserved my money in the way a hobo who deserves my change is the one not threatening to hurt me.

barista2• 13 years ago

Samsung has put out some very appealing hardware in recent times. I won't be surprised if they pressurize other PC makers just like they did in case of android

commandar2• 13 years ago

They've put out a lot of hardware that's sold well, but I've been pretty underwhelmed by the build quality of the Galaxy line, personally.

I really had high hopes for Vizio breaking into the PC market. I've had one of their thin and lights for about a year now, and have been very, very happy with it, but I'm not sure they've sold well enough to have an actual impact on the market.

It's easily the best-built PC I've ever owned; in fact, in terms of build quality, I'd rank it above the pre-unibody Macbook Pro I used to have. Only knock I have against it is the mediocre touchpad they used in the first run of machines, but it's my understanding that they're using Synaptic now.

hartror• 13 years ago

I have a 15" Samsung Series 9 i7 for work. This machine looks amazing but the i5 is saddening, i7 + SSD makes compile times etc amazing and I can't give than up for a nicer screen :(

jclulow• 13 years ago

So this is somewhat OT, but: how much compiling do you actually _do_ in-situ on your laptop?

I mostly look, these days, for the best possible portable pane-of-glass I can get that allows me to do all my work on "real" computers -- in the cloud and in our office lab. I'd much rather have epic battery life for my web browser and terminals than have more cores in the thing I carry around.

theck01• 13 years ago

If you're running a linux distro that requires compiling packages from source (Gentoo comes to mind), then you could conceivably be compiling a lot of things often.

ajross• 13 years ago

It's a taste thing. My day job is working on a big android distro, and it's too hard to manage dealing with multiple build boxes with remote work. So I bought a quad-core laptop (Vaio Z, sadly just recently discontinued) and love it. The box itself is ultrabook-sized, but Sony makes an extra batter that clips right on the bottom, adding some weight but getting back the battery life you lose with the bigger CPU. I find I actually prefer the laptop with the extra battery attached.

kayoone4• 13 years ago

does it run linux without issues ?

cjbprime• 13 years ago

There's also a Fujitsu Lifebook UH90 with the same resolution in a slightly more appropriate 14" screen size: http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/05/fujitsu-intros-lifebook-u...

.. but so far only announced availability in Japan.

commandar2• 13 years ago

What's insane to me is that your options are a 3200x1800 screen or 1366x768. I have a 14" with a 1600x900 panel, and that's at the bare minimum of passable for me.

The ubiquity of 1366 panels -- even in 15.6 notebooks! -- is beyond frustrating to me.

lanna• 13 years ago

Have you noticed that display resolution is often not even listed in tech specs anymore?

rbanffy• 13 years ago

Anyone wants to test how well it runs Linux?

D9u• 13 years ago

Barring any UEFI issues the hardware should run most unix-like systems without much trouble, but the article doesn't really list any set of hardware specifications.

I'm sure that the CPU will run unix-like systems, but I have no idea about the graphics & networking, so you probably want to note which adapters work with your preferred OS.

My Atheros WiFi card runs well on everything I've tried, with the exception of OpenBSD 5.3 - it boots but no WiFi - what good is a netbook without WiFi?

jlgreco4• 13 years ago

Concerning your possible DPI concerns, I have no trouble with Debian on my Chromebook Pixel.

lifeformed3• 13 years ago

Seems like theres all these amazing laptops now for all kinds of developers except those that need GPU power (game devs) :(

There's no such thing as a laptop with a good GPU that isn't ugly and bulky, and that doesn't have a nice hi-res IPS screen, and have a good keyboard and touchpad.

jsnell• 13 years ago

Such a device would necessarily need to make some engineering compromises (thermal and layout issues). It would also have a tiny market. As such, the price would also be rather high.

For example this is pretty much what the Vaio Z was. A very thin and light (17mm, 1.15kg) laptop with a high-res screen (1920*1080), a real CPU (up to quad core mobile i7, not a ULV chip), and a 7670M GPU.

There were just two catches: the GPU was housed in the (tiny) external docking station, and the laptop + dock cost something like $3000. Unsurprisingly, it looks like Sony killed the whole external GPU concept in this years refresh.

lotso• 13 years ago

What about the Razer Edge? http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade

lifeformed3• 13 years ago

I've looked at that, and it's probably the closest thing there is. I just wish it had a higher res screen (1080p isn't that impressive for a 17" screen), and I wish it had room for another HDD (I've got a lot of music production software which takes up hundreds of gigs). Also, I'd prefer a top of the line GPU, like a 780M; the 765M falls a little short. Lastly, I definitely need more than 8GB of ram, but I'm sure I could add that in myself (I hope).

But the great thing is they have that indie developer discount! I think I can get one for like $1000.

kayoone4• 13 years ago

depending on what you need for game dev there are a couple, but they are bulky thats right. But its also necessary i guess because they need to have proper cooling.

I have been game developing on a 2011 macbook pro (unity3d engine) for some time and ditched it fairly quickly because the constant fan noise was just unbearable for me and my co-workers.

lifeformed3• 13 years ago

I guess bulk isn't too much of a problem, I'd just at least like a nice interface (keyboard, touchpad, screen). All the gaming laptops I can find fall short in that regard.

tluyben2• 13 years ago

And battery life :) I know I cannot expect top battery life in this case, but I would like something more than the abismal stuff they sell now. I guess the game dev niche is too small to cater too for laptop makers. And probably too hard as well; you need to do everything even better (not just different) than normal dev laptops.

rhizome5• 13 years ago

It sounds like the reviewer had, what, less than a minute with the machine?

joenathan2• 13 years ago

That's what you call a first look, not a review.

rhizome5• 13 years ago

It's what I call a press release with hints that they got to touch it, and that touching it resulted in no additional information.

ineedtosleep• 13 years ago

Honestly, those specs, especially the resolution, are useless if the screen is glossy and has no matte option.

benjamincburns4• 13 years ago

I came here to say just that. I'm a retina MBP owner. I'd dump it in a heartbeat for something powerful with long battery life, high DPI matte screen, and decent enough Ubuntu support. Are manufacturers missing out, or are we just a really tiny market?

kleiba• 13 years ago

Seconded. If any manufacturer intends to give a "developer notebook" a go, a matte screen would be the first thing on my wish list.

johnbender• 13 years ago

One unfortunate trend that I hadn't previously associated with Windows' focus on touch is the default inclusion of touchscreens on PC laptops.

It doesn't seem to be causing much of an issue with the battery life, size, or resolution in this case but as a Linux user I don't need or want the touchscreen especially if it costs more as a consequence.

tass• 13 years ago

Not just a trend, it's a requirement for anything marketed as an Ultrabook™.

smalley• 13 years ago

I believe the marketing guidelines only require the touch screen if your design uses 4th generation core processors. You can still market new designs for Ultrabooks using 3rd generation parts if you really want

jlgreco4• 13 years ago

Yeah, I have a working touchscreen in Linux and it doesn't seem to actually be good for anything. Well, maybe it has made me become a bit more careful about touching my screen, lest my window lose focus or something...

davidw• 13 years ago

Grubby fingerprints are the last thing I want on a screen I stare at 12 hours a day.

MichaelGG• 13 years ago

These high end products just make me hope so much that Lenovo launches a great new set of ThinkPads this year. Something with the specs of a W530 in a 12" or 13" or so frame. Sadly, none of Lenovo current offers have a high-resolution screen.

hatchoo• 13 years ago

Same here. Been a looking time Thinkpad used. I was planning to get one of them Retina MBPs when they are updated and released later this year. I am still waiting too see what Lenovo will offer that can replace my aging Thinkpad W500.

kayoone4• 13 years ago

Sadly really awesome screens havent been one of Lenovos strengths lately but i agree, something like this with full Linux support would be awesome!

yusefgcj• 13 years ago

I've been wanting these awesome screens for a while now. Lenovo is still selling higher end netbooks with 1024x768 screens. This resolution is from 1998!

codezero2• 13 years ago

Pretty impressive specs and battery life, but every time I see the power connector for a non-Apple notebook, it makes me kind of mad, MagSafe is really exceptional and Apple's power adapters are generally tiny and unobtrusive, pretty important since you use one at least once a day.

pyre4• 13 years ago

Even though 'MagSafe' wasn't necessarily an Apple invention (things like deep fryers had magnetic 'break-away' cords), I believe that Apple patented the 'magnetic power connector' + computer combination.

jlgreco4• 13 years ago

For "electronic devices" in general actually, but yes: http://www.google.com/patents/US7311526

They also don't license it, which is why you don't see it anywhere else.

dangrossman• 13 years ago

All Microsoft Surface tablets have a magnetic power connector.

codezero2• 13 years ago

They may have patented it, but that doesn't prevent others from innovating along a similar path. I am pretty disappointed with non-Apple power adapters across the board, and while magnetic adapters may seem great, there must be something that is between standard DC cylindrical male->female or chunky rubberized proprietary plug and MagSafe and I just don't see that from anyone else.

Granted, I am not looking very much, but when I see a new hot system, I do consider it, and I haven't seen anything that caught my eye :/

cmircea• 13 years ago

Couldn't a non-US manufacturer implement it and not officially sell their laptops in the US? Though it's probably not economically viable.

mtgx• 13 years ago

I wouldn't expect to actually use that resolution, and Windows most likely doesn't support it very well either. The way it's used is probably just like the Macbook Retina. The effective resolution will be 1600x900, but the screen will be much sharper.

sjwalter• 13 years ago

What does that even mean? Aren't 1600x900 just much sharper 800x450 screens?

barista2• 13 years ago

What do you mean windows doesn't support it?

spartango• 13 years ago

Windows 8 does support high resolution screens, but unfortunately it has poor DPI scaling features. This means that instead of crisper text and contours, you get smaller text and touch/click targets. While this does give you a nice, big workspace, it can be hard to see things.

When you do increase the DPI through Windows settings, applications start to have issues rendering text appropriately, and often UI targets don't scale with the text.

zmmmmm2• 13 years ago

Windows doesn't support vector art for its UI elements. So aside from a few crude scaling options, as DPI goes up, the size of widgets, fonts, icons, etc go down. The surface pro draws complaints because the UI elements are too small to hit with the mouse easily. This is going to be far worse. It will be interesting to see how the reviews go with it.

JanezStupar2• 13 years ago

Al nice and dandy...

But where Is my 15" 1920x1200 Thinkpad?

The fuck is this guys? Currently I am using Asus Zenbook UX32VD and it is pretty nice (the nicest computer on the market that is), BUT it has no trackpoint.

I really wish that Lenovo would get their shit together and start offering sensible displays.

Besides what is the point of these mega high resoltuion displays on 13" notebooks when either Windows or Linux support is just horrible?

I mean my current machine has 13" with 1920 x 1080 and while it is fine for me. 3/4 of people just cannot use that kind of resolution.

gcb03• 13 years ago

What do you mean by 3/4 can't use that banal resolution?

on your other point, i used a sgi 24" crt with all the resolutions mentioned in this thread summed and UNIX/Linux/windows were just fine. And that was the 90s

JanezStupar2• 13 years ago

I mean, they cannot see fonts at that banal resolution.

My eyesight is better and I like it a lot. Thats why I could run a 2560 native resolution on a 15" display.

The screens work fine if you are willing to look at non native resolution screens.

Also CRTS do not look like crap when on a non native resolution. DPI scaling in windows and linux just sucks. That much is a fact.

rogerbinns2• 13 years ago

I'm also a Thinkpad fan and the displays really disappoint me. With my most recent purchase I had to switch from 15" to 14" because the changes to 16:9 and humungous bezels would have made the 15" too large. Thankfully they haven't started using glossy screens which would be the final straw. I look at a lot of text (yes in Linux) so resolution matters.

My desktop has two 1920x1200 displays. I think I got amongst the last monitors sold as 16:10.

lazyjones• 13 years ago

But where Is my 15" 1920x1200 Thinkpad?

... and where is my 27" 270+ DPI desktop display?

gcb03• 13 years ago

This thread makes me regret to be a code money. Would love to be more business savvy and start a highend notebook startup.

It's not like you require much investment. You can buy pieces from everywhere.

pyre4• 13 years ago

Sure you can source parts, but this isn't a lego set. If you're looking to build and sell and Ultrabook, then you have to do a bunch of design (case, motherboard, etc), and manufacturing as well.

gcb03• 13 years ago

motherboards are all standard nowadays.

70% of the devices out there are using intel's reference designs. they just route somethings differently. But after you fine one with the routing you want, i bet you can order them from acer or whoever and just add the better components and be done with.

the only thing you'd really have to customize is the power circuitry. but that's easy and cheap. And then the case, of course. but that's also easy.

zmmmmm2• 13 years ago

The version that runs Android is actually more interesting than this to me. A dual Android / Windows notebook could be an Android developer's dream if the setup works right. Not to mention, seamlessly flipping to Android when on the go, but still with all my Windows files available sounds pretty nice.

Ativ Book 9 Plus, 3200x1800, Haswell, "12 hours" battery

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