Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A02US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Ash Black)

I considered a wide range of ultrabooks, buying this one b4 I could see it, although I did play with the prior Sandybridge version. My biggest hesitations were twofold, based on both on-line reviews of the predecessor and my hands-on playing: 1) so thin that keyboard not great, and 2) poor battery life. I am happy to say that while yes the keyboard is not great for touch-typing, it is largely true you get used to it. It's not nearly as good as my old Lenovo X series, I do still make more typing mistakes, but I think probably just below par for most ultrabooks. On battery life, I am very happy to say it's fine, much better than the predecessor it seems. I can get a good 5+ hours of it doing regular Microsoft Office work and wifi surfing. I have not tested it playing videos though, as I just use my laptop for that.

Other pros: you likely heard the screen is very bright and clear, and it's true. It's also matte, which I prefer. And yes it's just about the thinnest and lightest ultrabook (maybe Toshiba technically beats Series 9 here?). Lastly, I didn't place much importance on looks when choosing, but after I unpacked it, I realised how really gorgeous it is!

Other cons: The need for proprietary ports puts it behind say the HP. I decided that as I almost always use wifi, I can just leave the extra dongles in my travel bag (e.g., VGA dongle to present to clients), so not a big negative to me. Backlighting is only visible in totally dark rooms, not dim rooms, unlike Macbook air or some other ultrabooks. And yes the 128G version seems to largely (or only) come with the Sandisk SSD, which is slower than the competitors. The speed itself doesn't bother me (and I have SSDs in my desktops for comparison), but it has some odd qualities such as getting messed up with some bluetooth mouse due I'm told to the way those mice do I/O and overload it. Net, for most folks not noticeable. Lastly, like many ultrabooks, it comes with a recovery portion of 20G set aside, so if you buy the 128G version, you lose a large percentage of space (if I recall, after Windows you have ~45G for yourself). As I do my own imaging, I have deleted that recovery portion

Net, I am very very happy with my purchase, I researched literally every ultrabook out at the time. The biggest reasons it may not be for you are 1) different aesthetic tastes; 2) it's expensive; 3) limited ports

Just got this ultrabook and so far I am impressed.

Pros:

Fast and efficient Ivy bridge processor 5/5 stars (latest and greatest CPU)

Aesthetically pleasing 5/5 stars (which i could give more stars here)

Extremely thin and light (lightest and thinnest laptop I have seen, including 13.3 inch new Macbook Air) 5/5 stars

Windows 7 PRO 64-bit standard (difference between A01 and A02) 5/5 stars

Pretty quick charging (~1 hour from close to no charge to almost full) 4.5/5 stars

Screen is BEAUTIFUL (1600x900 is really amazing to see in person) and matte screen works well. 5/5 stars

Backlit KEYBOARD YES!!! 5/5 stars

Cons:

Touchpad is not the greatest and takes a little getting used to. I'd give it 3.5/5 stars

SSD Be aware the SSD in this model is the Sandisk U100 128GB. This is a slow SSD, but still loads better than a HDD in terms of performance. 3/5 stars

4GB soldered RAM to the motherboard; non-upgradeable. N/A stars

Ports:

1x USB 3.0

1x USB 2.0

Headphone jack

Displayport

MicroHDMI

mini LAN port(requires included adapter)

So far, in my limited time with this ultrabook, it is indeed among the best I have seen (I checked out UX31A DB51 as well). The good news is that the SSD is upgradeable. Be aware, this laptop uses a mSATA SSD. My perfect laptop would be this one with a 512GB mSATA and SSD performance rivaling my desktops' Vertex 4. Alas, I will wait for SSD prices to continue to drop like a bag of bricks so I can cheaply upgrade the SSD. Right now it looks like Mushkin makes a good 240GB mSATA drive if you have-to-have the fastest SSD.

Bottom line: If you can live without integrated ports and a DVD drive built in this is the Windows equivalent of a Macbook Air essentially, except this comes without all the Apple fan boys and their snottyness. This is indeed an elegantly designed and a well thought out machine; perfect for those who are always on the go.

Update: I have decided to return this laptop for a few reasons:

1) Touchpad drivers are finicky at best (caused Windows 7 to freeze and jump out of Aero mode)and randomly highlights things on the page as you move the cursor.

2) Slow SSD ....at first I thought I could live with this machine having a slow SSD, but I quickly realized that I need a faster drive and I am not willing to spend more money on an already pricey machine. I'd rather go with a cheaper machine and then replace the HDD with a fast SSD, but perhaps the new machine will have lower screen res and weigh a bit more.

3) Lack of integrated ports. In my opinion, I will loose the dongles and/or forget about them at home so it's best to go with an integrated solution rather than use dongles (Eliminates going with the MBA as an option since this too uses dongles).

My bottom line remains the same. This is great for someone who 1)is on the go all the time 2) can live without integrated ports, and is mindful to bring dongles and 3) doesn't mind a slow SSD.

For me, at this price, a slow SSD and finicky touchpad is ultimately the dealbreaker.

Buy Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A02US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Ash Black) Now

pros: light, powerful full computer (not just a netbook), short boot up time (SSD)

cons: sligthly glitchy touchpad, cost

Have had tons of desktops and laptops in past. Needed a new laptop but this time decided to get something more portable as my typical "desktop replacement" laptops in the past were, in retrospect, a hassle to lug around. Read a great cnet laptop review and decided the 13 inch was the way to go (not too small of a screen, not too heavy of a weight). Got it and love it. The screen is not too small, and if i need to i can zoom in on the touchpad. The weight is perfect. It does NOT get too hot for me as another reviewer suggested. The touchpad is a touch glitchy, but just a touch, and not a deal breaker. Reading the reviews before purchase i planned on getting a mouse, but I wont anymore b/c its not the touchpad isnt THAT bad. I gave Samsung an extra look when it came to laptops b/c of my great smartphone experience, (note 2) and I'm glad i did. OnSale seller did great and got it to me earlier than expected.

Read Best Reviews of Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A02US 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Ash Black) Here

Outstanding quality would recommend this notebook to anyone ....Especially for school, Its light and easy to access, Has every thing I will need ....

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I am typing on it now. Which brings me to my biggest problem with it. It gets hot. My hands are very very warm right now. Its bearable but much hotter than the 15" Samsung I also am testing. I have the luxury of having both but one at least is going back. I have to buy a few more for business and this is the test.

Right away the size. turned me on. It so small, light and the display quality so much better than the 15". But actually using itits too small. I prefer a larger screen and keyboard. But hey this is the trade. These things are getting so small that perhaps we really have reached the turning point of too bloody small for pratical use. I dont really care what anyone at a cafe thinks I do like to carry less at the airport but the difference in these ultrabooks is not that great. 3lbs or 3lbs .... talk about getting lazy. Hmm the heat is a bit much now. Perhaps stuff is packed to closely for airflow.

My unit (NP900x3c-ao2ca) has a liteon 256gb SSD. Better than the u100 sandisk in the 15" so they say. My test programs showed it to be faster in all. Real life I don't notice a difference. The display is much much better quality than the x4d 15" version. The PLS screen has great viewing angles and blacks be black but with detail view able. Nice but has a mild green hue that I cant seem to dial out. Yes I am splitting hair at this price point. I will say the Apple screens are still better but this one is getting very close. Wifi is still an issue for Samsung. Move away from the router and signal drops faster and more than any of my other devices. It suffers some of the same trackpad issues as the x4d. Trackpad just isnt great. Workable but apple is so smooth why not samsung?

My case is a little out of whack. One corner "swoops" up and stands proud so the unit bounces and doesn't lay completely flat. This bothers me at the price point. The x3c is much more $ than the comparable Mac air. So yes I want it all and perfect too! Plus is the case is out then each time I rest my wrist on it I am flexing the sides .... that's how circuit boards fail.

I got mine on sale. Otherwise I wouldn't have even considered it an these are priced VERY high. THe sale brought it just a little over the mac. Overall is a beautiful machine, snappy, fast boot .... but it does get hot. The fans are not moving as much air as the 15". I must give credit to Samsung as these fans are dead silent ... on both the ultrabooks I have here. The 15" x4d gets warm but never hot. The 13" X3C is getting warmer as I type this review and concerns me as to how it will degrade performance. Or maybe something is blacking airflow? There have been complaints about quality control and general build quality

Backlight is so so. Connectivity is minimal. 2 USB and a network requiring Dongle. and there goes the trackpad .... I was typing and it went crazy once again with false clicks and dragged stuff around. Samsung needs to address this.

Overall a super portable ultrabook that looks great and have a nice display. My problems working with its size are just preference. The other kinks are not total deal breakers but something to consider when paying top dollar. 8mb RAM should be here IMO. 4gb .... not enough as the RAM is soldered to the board and not upgradable. Perhaps they simply couldnt fit more in the package. It is the smallest and lightest computer I have ever used. 2 pounds 7oz.

To have a working computer this small really is an impressive feat.