MacBook Air Killer?

[Chris344]

This new Sandy Bridge Samsung laptop is beautiful, it has a slick design with a much better spec then the MBA. If you are looking for an alternative to the MBA with Windows 7 factor this is one to consider. With Samsung making most of the parts for the MBA you are basically getting a windows based MBA with SSD and i5 Sandy Bridge processor and USB 3.0/HDMI etc for a little less.

This could very well sway me away from a MBA and proves that the MBA is slightly over priced.

The 13.3-inch 9 Series features a LED-backlit screen, SuperBright Plus display with 400- nit brightness. Digital images and multimedia are brought to life on the 9 Series, assisted by a 100,000:1 contrast ratio and true-to-life color reproduction (16 million colors), enriching the computing experience for end users.

The 9 Series is made from material known as Duralumin, typically found in advanced aircrafts and offers construction quality twice as durable as aluminum, all while keeping the laptop weight under 3 lbs and an ultra-thin 0.64 inch profile.

 

[Fr0dders]

and its made by samsung

so it will look good, then break within a year. No thanks.

Not to mention the fact it runs windows. *shudders*

 

[Noxia]

Yeah looks good for people with Applephobia, or who aren't completely brandwashed yet.

 

[bigredshark]

...with a much better spec then the MBA.

This could very well sway me away from a MBA and proves that the MBA is slightly over priced.

Except it isn't on either count. It's a 1.4Ghz 13.3" with a 128GB SSD for $1600 - a 13" macbook air with a 1.86Ghz processor and 256GB SSD is $1599.

Sure the processor is newer technology but I think that's cancelled out by factoring in the 320M graphics myself. 4GB RAM vs a larger SSD...swings and roundabouts. A custom 13" macbook air with 128GB SSD and 4GB RAM is actually $1399...

I'm not doing it down, it looks alright if you prefer Samsung's design and windows 7 (I personally don't much like either) but I think it actually shows the Macbook Air is fairly reasonably specified and priced compared to the competition.

 

[Dr Delphi]

Yeah looks good for people with Applephobia, or who aren't completely brandwashed yet.

For me its nothing to do with being brainwashed, more that apple OS X is built upon the same operating systems as the supercomputers I use, and thus is simply much, much *much* easier to interface. Not to mention programming in a decent scientific (read low level) programming language is next to impossible in windows. People do have reasons to have apple computers, we are not all 'brainwashed'.

 

[Noxia]

For me its nothing to do with being brainwashed, more that apple OS X is built upon the same operating systems as the supercomputers I use, and thus is simply much, much *much* easier to interface. Not to mention programming in a decent scientific (read low level) programming language is next to impossible in windows. People do have reasons to have apple computers, we are not all 'brainwashed'.

Never said 'you' were. My comment was aimed at both parties. I have an iPhone that I love but I don't preach Apple is the saviour of mankind as many of my friends do, they also tend to rush to Apple's defence at any given opportunity.

 

[Chris344]

This is a brilliant equivalent for anyone wanting Mac quality and performance without converting to MAC OS. With USB 3.0 and HDMI connections this machine looks like it may have the edge over the MBA. I agree that the support will not be superior like Apple's support but if re-sellers can offer discounts and sell this unit for around £800 it will be a steal. The UK price will be RRP £1000

 

[LordSplodge]

This could very well sway me away from a MBA and proves that the MBA is slightly over priced.

But where is the 11" version? I mean the 13" MBA is nice but the 11" is where it really shines.

Oh and what about battery life? Standby time? Instant on? 6 second cold boot time and most importantly OS X?

The Samsung looks nice but is really just a clone of the MBA right down to the scrabble style keys and oversized track-pad. So much for innovation and it isn't much cheaper anyway (or at all in some cases)

I'll stick to the MBA thanks.

 

[bigredshark]

I'd also add, the thread title is the biggest problem they have. Why does it have to be a Macbook Air killer? Why can't they just focus on making 'a good product' in it's own right. Nobody billed the Macbook Air as a Sony TZ killer...

It's the same story as the iPhone, labelling every new android handset as an iPhone killer did them no good, it ruined some good phones in comparison.

 

[Noxia]

If it had a backlit KB that would really have gone in it's favour. I cannot see the next gen Air's not having one.

 

[Emlyn_Dewar]

Oh and what about battery life? Standby time? Instant on? 6 second cold boot time and most importantly OS X?
.

You can't hold the majority of these factors against the machine when we don't have the answers to them.

It looks like it'd be a decent portable machine and it'll perform very nicely with that CPU. A definite alternative to the 13" MBA.
USB 3.0 support is also a decent plus point as far as removable storage is concerned.

I agree with you on the 11" Air though, there's nothing to compete with it at the moment.

 

[Chris344]

But where is the 11" version? I mean the 13" MBA is nice but the 11" is where it really shines.

Oh and what about battery life? Standby time? Instant on? 6 second cold boot time and most importantly OS X?

The Samsung looks nice but is really just a clone of the MBA right down to the scrabble style keys and oversized track-pad. So much for innovation and it isn't much cheaper anyway (or at all in some cases)

I'll stick to the MBA thanks.

Battery up time is quoted at 6.5 hours and looking at the video reviews it does have a back lit keyboard which is a bonus.
I didn't name it the MBA killer, the sites reviewing it did.
Apple is still rocking the Dual Core 2 processor; maybe the MBA with an i5 processor and 4 GB as standard would be amazing, to match this machine in spec would set you back £1600-1700 in the MBA which is a shame.
I am actually in the market for a new machine, currently I am deciding between the MBP (New line up in April) the MBA or this new Samsung machine.

 

[Chris344]

Key Specs:

• CPU: Second Generation Intel® CoreTM i5 Processor 2537M (1.40 GHz, 3MB; turbo up to 2.3 GHz)
• Operating System: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 bit) / Windows® 7 Professional (64 bit)
• Memory: 4GB DDR3
• Storage (max): 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD)
• Screen: 13.3-inch HD LED-backlit SuperBright Plus display (400 nit)
• Resolution: 1366x768
• Graphics: Intel HD GT2 Integrated Graphics
• Speakers: 3 watt (1.5W x 2) stereo speakers and 1.5 watt sub-woofer
• Battery: Lithium Polymer; up to 6.5 hours
• Ultra-thin 0.64 inch profile
• Wireless: 802.11b/g/n; WiMaxi
• Weight: 2.89 lbs

This machine has USB 3.0, Bluetooth 3.0, built-in WiMax and utilizes the latest in Wi-Fi and USB Sleep & Charge technologies.

For around £800-900 that is a great spec and machine

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

I'd also add, the thread title is the biggest problem they have. Why does it have to be a Macbook Air killer? Why can't they just focus on making 'a good product' in it's own right. Nobody billed the Macbook Air as a Sony TZ killer...

It's the same story as the iPhone, labelling every new android handset as an iPhone killer did them no good, it ruined some good phones in comparison.

I'd strongly agree with your opinion on this. In most cases it's usually seen as Apple v everyone else and it doesn't have to be. That Samsung laptop looks great and there's no reason why it has to compete with a MacBook Air, in fact it shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as they are both laptops and that's where the similarities end. They're going to be used completely differently and somebody is hardly going to go into a shop intending to buy a MacBook and then walk out with a Samsung, or vice versa.

 

[Spyhop]

Even if it wiped the floor with the Air in every hardware regard, it can't be an Air killer unless it's running OS X.

Same deal with all Macs. Any sane Mac buyer is buying one because they like the full package, of which OS X is a big part.

 

[bigredshark]

For around £800-900 that is a great spec and machine

For that money it would be, but the link says $1600 which is $1 more than the most expensive MBA, which has a 256GB SSD as well. Indeed the most comparable MBA is a 4GB, 128GB SSD at $1399 - that's $200 cheaper for the Apple. Those are all US prices from the Apple store or your link so it's a fair comparison. I don't see where you're getting £800-900 from, even a direct exchange rate + VAT conversion is £1200??

 

[Noxia]

So basically if you wan't an ultraportable laptop without sacificing specs this is the way to go (and want Windows). If you prefer OSX you got the Air, everyones happy. Move along

 

[cochoc]

This laptop (Samsung) is exiting as it's just the first in a line of units which are taking advantage of the integrated Sandybridge processors. It would be nice to see a MBA with the same specs sooner rather than later. The 320m is a dead end for the MBA imo and Sandybridge must be next on the agenda.

 

[LordSplodge]

I'd also add, the thread title is the biggest problem they have. Why does it have to be a Macbook Air killer? Why can't they just focus on making 'a good product' in it's own right. Nobody billed the Macbook Air as a Sony TZ killer...

It's the same story as the iPhone, labelling every new android handset as an iPhone killer did them no good, it ruined some good phones in comparison.

Exactly. Everybody wants to beat Apple and instead of making a good product and releasing it they mouth off about being the next "Apple killer" and then because of that (pointless) comparison it falls flat on its face.

This laptop (Samsung) is exiting as it's just the first in a line of units which are taking advantage of the integrated Sandybridge processors. It would be nice to see a MBA with the same specs sooner rather than later. The 320m is a dead end for the MBA imo and Sandybridge must be next on the agenda.

Are you sure of that? Snow Leopard offloads a lot to the GPU via OpenCl so I'm not sure a GPU on the CPU would be better than a separate GPU.

 

[LordSplodge]

So basically if you wan't an ultraportable laptop without sacificing specs this is the way to go (and want Windows). If you prefer OSX you got the Air, everyones happy. Move along

Or you get the (possible) better build quality of the Air and put Windows 7 on it?