Samsung’s 9 Series Notebook Looks Really Interesting

PRESS RELEASE: Yes, I’m locked into the Microsoft World of PC’s so when I look at hardware I naturally am not looking into the Apple world of hardware for my mobile and desktop computing needs. Samsung has announced its Series 9 notebooks at this January’s CES show and I must say it looks really nice. It is very thin with artistic curves. This 13.3 inch notebook weighs in at just 2.89 pounds and is only .64 inches thick. It claims a 6.5 hour battery life with 4GB RAM, a 128GB SSD and a 1.5 watt subwoofer.It is also supporting USB 3.0 and has built-in WiMax 4G.

The 13.3-inch 9 Series offers mobile professionals and power users a sophisticated laptop equally suited for work and entertainment. Thanks to a stunning design, Samsung’s hallmark SuperBright Plus display and Intel performance processing power, the notebook ushers in a new era in mobile computing.

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
• Wireless: 802.11b/g/n; WiMaxi
• Weight: 2.89 lbs.

These units were supposed to be available in February 2011 but I think that since they are based on the Intel’s Sandy Bridge CPU the recall of the supporting chipset by Intel may have caused a set back on the delivery schedule. We are starting to see some movement on deliveries from other manufacturers with their Sandy Bridge products so hopefully this notebook will be showing up shortly. Starting at around $1,599 you may want to put in your order soon!

Same Old Story

 I was really hoping that there was going to be something really exciting coming out of CES this year but it seems that most of what I have seen so far has been just more of the same. It seems that the Tablet market is still on the precipice of becoming a reality with the exception of the iPad. While we are waiting, the iPad is still the only real product with a magnitude of software support available for it. I don't believe totally that tablet market has totally killed the need for a notebook  in everyone, I have found that I have stopped carrying my Netbook into meetings and instead bring my trusty iPad with me.

I am using my iPad for both data collection as well as for my entertainment. I don't do a lot of document creation on it because the on screen keyboard slows me down and so far I am too cheap and lazy to add a bluetooth keyboard case to my gadget list.

Another reason I am not big on creating my content using this device is that it lacks screen Realestate. While it is slightly better than my Netbook's, I wasn't using it as a content creation device either for the same reason.That being said, guess what I am typing on right now? My iPad of course! Why, you might ask. Well, there are some situations, I don't want to get off of my living room couch for instance, that cause me to use what I have at hand. I am much closer to the coffee pot here you see.

So, while it is much easier to create content with a dual screen system with a real keyboard and a mouse to control cursor placement, you can always find other ways to accomplish what you want to do with the tools at hand. Having such a portable device that has so many functions makes it very convenient to do the things that I want to do, where and when I want to do them. 
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

CES 2011

Last year Jude and I had launched our video studio right about this time and had produced some videos about products that we thought were neat and that we wanted to have. Many of these products never came into production as is the nature of the beast, but it is still interesting that the same basic theme this year seems to be the same as last year.

Hands down I think that one of the most exciting products of last year was the iPad and I am so glad that I found a way to justify my purchase because once I did get it into my hands, I found many more uses for it then I originally imagined. One of the things that I do daily is look for either new applications or peripherals to add to my collection of supporting items for my iPad. My two newest purchases being speaker docks that charge my iPad and iPhone while playing content. Productivity enhancements and ease of sharing data between systems is still my biggest concern when choosing a new application.

So, enough of my Bully Pulpit! The main focus of new and improved upcoming products include iPad type devices either using Android and Microsoft's Windows for operating systems. Throw in products from HP and RIM and we have a large number of choices in many varying sizes. For many of these we will still have to wait and see if they will actually reach production.

Another carryover from last year is the eBook reader. My feeling is that Amazon and Barnes and Noble are our two leaders with Sony in as a distant third. I am not sure that there is any more room for anything else out there but when people see a successful product they will try to ride the coattails of those products with what they feel is a better mousetrap.

3D TV was introduced last year but this year we see it being put into almost everything with a screen. I am not sold on this yet as anything more than a gimmick, but there is a lot of money being poured into it.

Believe it or not there are some interesting things happening with desktop and notebook computers with the new integrated video residing right in the same silicon with the CPU. there are many benefits to be found doing this that I will discuss in some follow-up articles. But we are seeing a small resurgence in Tablet Notebooks (convertibles), and more units in smaller more powerful form factors.

I haven't seen any new product groups yet but we are still pretty early in the show for me to determine that, more on this later. Anyway, over the next few days we will be perusing CES from afar and as we come up with products that we fill compelling, we will be sure to bring them to your attention.
So for now I'll go back to work and see what I can find!