8 ms·

I just checked out this Samsung Series 9 ($1618): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NF3Z82/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=littdidd-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&

I just checked out this Samsung Series 9 ($1618): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NF3Z82/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=littdidd-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=B004NF3Z82 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NF3Z82/ref=as_li_ss_tl?... This one has 13.3" LED display, 128GB SSD, sandy-bridge dual core 1.4 GHz i5, 4GB ram, WiMax 4G support, and a USB 3.0 port. It is 2.88 lbs and .62 inches thick. The MacBook Air 13" model has a 1.86Ghz processor, but a Core 2 Duo, and with 4GB ram and a 128GB SSD, it is $1399. http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air?mco=MTM3NjY1OTU http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macboo... It weighs more at 2.9lbs and is .68 inches thick at the hinge area. The front is only .11 inches thick. Minus the ability to develop for iOS, the $200 difference seems pretty fair.

jrockway 15y ago
It's $1499 if you get the one without WiMax: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NP900X3A-A03US-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B004NF5RU6/ref=pd_cp_pc_1 http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NP900X3A-A03US-13-3-Inch-Lapto...
- chopsueyar 15y ago
  Nice.
keeperofdakeys 15y ago
I bought one of these in Australia, ridiculously overpriced ($2500), but I got it on sale for close to US RRP. although I'm mostly happy with it, I think I would have waited or bought something else if I had the chance. It has some strange quirks, like the system not registering holding down the power button during a kernel panic. The solution seems to be putting a paper clip in a pinhole on the bottom while it is unplugged (otherwise it stays on). Then it will turn off and refuse to boot until you plug it back into the power. In all other circumstances holding down the power button works perfectly. The fact that they put the pinhole there seems to infer it was intentional or that they knew about it long before the design work was finished. There has also been a lot of talk about how the broadcom wireless has bad performance, both in linux and windows. It is a half-size mini pcie card, and I have yet to find a good one to replace it.
- chopsueyar 15y ago
  How did you learn about the pinhole?
  - keeperofdakeys 15y ago
    When I first realised that it wouldn't respond to the power button, I did what I would normally do on any other device - search for a pinhole. At first I didn't find one, but a later investigation found it. I don't know if it is a good or bad thing that consumer electronics have taught me the 'search for pinhole' behaviour. If it interests anyone, it is located on the button, near the right flip-out port.
    - flocial 15y ago
      Pinholes FTW. How is the performance and usage otherwise?
      - keeperofdakeys 15y ago
        I never ran it with windows, so I only know about linux. At first I had quite a few graphics crashes (although, not full kernel panics, so I was able to still use the power button). These seem to be because sandybridge is still so new. About a week after getting it I noticed a dead red subpixel, luckily samsung have a 14 day zero dead pixel warranty, so I was able to get it replaced from the store I bought it from. I haven't had many crashes since then, but I also updated the kernel to 39 around the same time, so I'm not too sure what caused it to get better (I used the same linux installation from my old laptop). The touch pad is a pleasure to use, unlike the ones on previous laptops I've used. Battery life would be 3-5 hours depending on load. The keyboard backlight seems to stay on when the lid is closed, I haven't looked into ways to control it on linux yet. The mini-hdmi plug will be a bit annoying, especially because the one adapter I bought doesn't fit (need to get out the metal file, make the adapter slimer). I'm also not sure where I'd get another ethernet adapter (seems to be a custom job).
- rburhum 15y ago
iaskwhy 15y ago
Don't forget the matte screen on the Samsung Series 9 laptops. And keep in mind the rumours about a refresh of the MBAs on the upcoming days/weeks with sandy bridge (thus i5?). Edit: And I forgot the screen resolution which is better on the MBA (1440x900 against 1366x768, the same as seen on MBA 11").
chollida1 15y ago
Wow, that read like a product advertisement. I wasn't very surprised to see see that your link includes a affiliate tag :) All joking aside, I have one of these laptops and they're just great:)
tedunangst 15y ago
Funny I did the same comparison last night, but concluded the Air was superior. 1440x900 screen is the big differentiator. Samsung also makes an 11" model, but it's a first gen i3, which doesn't have the graphics oomph to compete with a NV 320M. (Samsung claims Sandy Bridge and HD3000, but the part number listed is wrong.)

jrockway 15y ago

It's $1499 if you get the one without WiMax: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NP900X3A-A03US-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B004NF5RU6/ref=pd_cp_pc_1 http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-NP900X3A-A03US-13-3-Inch-Lapto...

chopsueyar 15y ago
Nice.

keeperofdakeys 15y ago

I bought one of these in Australia, ridiculously overpriced ($2500), but I got it on sale for close to US RRP. although I'm mostly happy with it, I think I would have waited or bought something else if I had the chance. It has some strange quirks, like the system not registering holding down the power button during a kernel panic. The solution seems to be putting a paper clip in a pinhole on the bottom while it is unplugged (otherwise it stays on). Then it will turn off and refuse to boot until you plug it back into the power. In all other circumstances holding down the power button works perfectly. The fact that they put the pinhole there seems to infer it was intentional or that they knew about it long before the design work was finished. There has also been a lot of talk about how the broadcom wireless has bad performance, both in linux and windows. It is a half-size mini pcie card, and I have yet to find a good one to replace it.

chopsueyar 15y ago
How did you learn about the pinhole?
- keeperofdakeys 15y ago
  When I first realised that it wouldn't respond to the power button, I did what I would normally do on any other device - search for a pinhole. At first I didn't find one, but a later investigation found it. I don't know if it is a good or bad thing that consumer electronics have taught me the 'search for pinhole' behaviour. If it interests anyone, it is located on the button, near the right flip-out port.
  - flocial 15y ago
    Pinholes FTW. How is the performance and usage otherwise?
    - keeperofdakeys 15y ago
      I never ran it with windows, so I only know about linux. At first I had quite a few graphics crashes (although, not full kernel panics, so I was able to still use the power button). These seem to be because sandybridge is still so new. About a week after getting it I noticed a dead red subpixel, luckily samsung have a 14 day zero dead pixel warranty, so I was able to get it replaced from the store I bought it from. I haven't had many crashes since then, but I also updated the kernel to 39 around the same time, so I'm not too sure what caused it to get better (I used the same linux installation from my old laptop). The touch pad is a pleasure to use, unlike the ones on previous laptops I've used. Battery life would be 3-5 hours depending on load. The keyboard backlight seems to stay on when the lid is closed, I haven't looked into ways to control it on linux yet. The mini-hdmi plug will be a bit annoying, especially because the one adapter I bought doesn't fit (need to get out the metal file, make the adapter slimer). I'm also not sure where I'd get another ethernet adapter (seems to be a custom job).
rburhum 15y ago

iaskwhy 15y ago

Don't forget the matte screen on the Samsung Series 9 laptops. And keep in mind the rumours about a refresh of the MBAs on the upcoming days/weeks with sandy bridge (thus i5?). Edit: And I forgot the screen resolution which is better on the MBA (1440x900 against 1366x768, the same as seen on MBA 11").

chollida1 15y ago

Wow, that read like a product advertisement. I wasn't very surprised to see see that your link includes a affiliate tag :) All joking aside, I have one of these laptops and they're just great:)

tedunangst 15y ago

Funny I did the same comparison last night, but concluded the Air was superior. 1440x900 screen is the big differentiator. Samsung also makes an 11" model, but it's a first gen i3, which doesn't have the graphics oomph to compete with a NV 320M. (Samsung claims Sandy Bridge and HD3000, but the part number listed is wrong.)