Samsung Series 9 review

Despite the nippy processor, there’s more than enough stamina on tap. That’s largely thanks to the 6300mAh battery sealed inside the Series 9’s chassis, which sees it manage 6hrs 35mins in our light-use test. Pushed flat out in our heavy-use battery test and with screen brightness set to maximum, a result of 2hrs and 29mins is seriously impressive.

Then there’s the 13.3in display. With a matte finish and an eye-searing brightness of 458cd/m[sup]2[/sup], the Samsung is perfectly usable in even the most sun-drenched of environments. The superbly wide viewing angles, ample brightness and 715:1 contrast ratio give images plenty of depth and punch, too. The 1,366 x 768 resolution is disappointing, though – such a high-end laptop deserves higher – and its colour reproduction isn’t quite as accurate as we’d like: the muted colour reproduction left our HD clips of Avatar lacking their usual technicolour pizzazz.

At first glance, you might also wonder where all the ports have gone. Apart from a tiny power socket by the left-hand hinge, all the Series 9’s connectivity is hidden behind two drop-down flaps, one on either flank. A single USB 2 port, a micro SD slot and combination headphone and microphone socket are concealed on the right-hand side, while a USB 3 port, Micro HDMI and the supplied Ethernet adaptor connect on the right.

The selection of ports is generous, but Samsung has had to make some notable compromises to squeeze them into such a slimline chassis. We’d have preferred a full-sized SD card reader over the Micro SD slot, and while the mere presence of Gigabit Ethernet gives the Samsung one over on Apple’s Air, the need to plug in a proprietary adapter cable seems a retrograde step. It’s equally disappointing to find that while Bluetooth 3 makes the cut, the Broadcom wireless chipset supports only single-band, 2.4GHz operation.

Samsung’s Series 9 remains about as refined as ultraportables get, but at £1,299, that refinement comes at a considerable cost. Deep-pocketed consumers craving the latest in swish, slimline ultraportables will be pleased as punch with their purchase, but with Apple’s MacBook Air due for an imminent Sandy Bridge update, the Samsung’s wow-factor may be short-lived.