A few weeks ago, Samsung unveiled a slew of new Ativ products at its big summer event in London. From it, we got the insanely high-res Ativ Q laptop/tablet hybrid, the world’s thinnest Windows 8 tablet, the Ativ Tab 3, the Ativ One 5 Style all-in-one, and to wrap things up, the Ativ Book 9 Lite and Plus laptops. Samsung gave us some hands-on time with the Ativ Q at the London event, and we also had a chance to check out the Tab 3 at a separate event in New York, but the Ativ One 5 Style and the Ativ Book 9s we
re nowhere to be seen – that is, until now.Samsung gave us time to check out the Ativ Book 9 Lite last week in preparation for today’s launch. Yep, that’s right; the Ative Book 9 Lite is available to pre-order, though you’ll have to hold out for the Book 9 Plus. So what’s the difference between the two? The Lite is, well, the lighter version. It’s intended more for the everyday user, and Samsung timed the release of this laptop perfectly with back-to-school shopping. At $800, the Book 9 Lite is an affordable option for students. Though Samsung has yet to release details on the Plus’ pricing, its 3200 x 1800 pixel qHD+ display, which Samsung touts as being the “highest resolution screen in the world,” suggests a much higher price.
So besides the difference in screen, what does the Book 9 Lite have to offer? Let’s take a look.
Hello, touch
The Ativ Book 9 Lite is very similar to the previous Series 9 laptop, except that the Series 9 didn’t have a touchscreen. Both Book 9s add 10-point touch, which is just as responsive as most other Windows 8 touchscreens we’ve tested.
The display, which has a standard HD resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, didn’t blow us away, but we were impressed by its brightness. According to our Samsung rep, the company actually made the screen 25 percent brighter than the average laptop screen. Reading outside on a glossy screen can be chore, and sometimes downright impossible, but Samsung’s screen is supposed to make it easier. At 250 nits, we’re looking forward to testing the display in more detail when we get our review unit.
A better keyboard
Brightness wasn’t the only thing Samsung increased; it also enhanced the depth of the keys on the keyboard. Each of them can be pressed deeper, feeling ever-so-slightly more like a desktop keyboard. We liked the feel of the new keyboard. What we didn’t like was how loud it made your typing sound. If Samsung’s expecting the Book 9 Lite to be used by students in lecture halls and coffee shops, the pounding of the keys may be an issue.
The laptop is made from mold-injected plastic, and although there are nearly no seams, there’s still plastic everywhere you look and touch, giving it a cheap feel. For an extra $200, you can buy a MacBook Air, which is made out of aluminum, doesn’t have that loud, echo-y sound to it when you type, and has a better display.
Aside from the plastic casing, the Ativ Book 9 Lite definitely looks sleek. The Ash Black model has a metallic appearance, and the Marble White version will match the white Samsung phones.
Travel companion
At 0.69 inches thick and weighing just shy of 3.5 pounds, the 13.3-inch Ativ Book 9 Lite feels light enough to carry around from home to class to coffee shop. Plus, it gets an estimated 5.5 hours of battery life under strenuous use, which will come in handy when no plugs are available at Starbucks. Light use can net you anywhere from eight to nine hours. This laptop will likely be able to get you through a day at school without having to bring along the charger, but we’ll have to test the battery ourselves before we can say that with confidence.
Samsung did tell us that its lithium ion polymer battery can last up to 1,500 charges (at which point, it has lost 20 percent of its capacity), whereas the average laptop battery today usually only gets 300 charges. Considering people are buying new PCs about every three to four years, if the battery gets 1,500 charges, it should be good for a few years before needing a charge far more frequently.
Ports and power
The Ativ Book 9 Lite doesn’t offer a ton of ports, but it’ll probably be enough to get by. It comes with two USB (one 3.0 and one 2.0), a 3-in-1 card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC) port, a Mini VGA (monitor), a Micro HDMI, and a combo mic/headphone jack. It would have been nice to have an extra USB 3.0 port, but on a laptop this thin, perhaps we’re asking for too much.
As for the guts, it comes with an AMD quad-core processor that clocks up to 1.4GHz powers the Book 9 Lite. It features the newest AMD Radeon graphics, and has a 128GB solid-state drive and 4GB of RAM.
SideSync
Additionally, like with all Ativ products, Samsung’s SideSync technology is also integrated. Just plug your Galaxy smartphone into the Book 9 Lite, and you can use your phone via the computer, making it easy to send texts, respond to emails, or transfer files between the two devices. Yes, Samsung has figured out a way for you to discretely text your friends during class – but don’t tell your teachers we gave you the idea.
Conclusion
For $800, the Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite is not a bad buy. Is this meant to be a more affordable MacBook Pro or Dell XPS 13? No. The Ativ Book 9 Lite is intended for a specific audience, and they’re not pro or business users. Like Sony’s Fit line, the Book 9 Lite is an all-purpose mainstream laptop that will suit most people’s needs. No, you won’t want to do any heavy gaming on it, nor will you want to use it to edit any professional photos or video, but if you want a laptop that’s easy to carry from place to place, has good battery life, and looks good too, the Book 9 Lite gets the job done.
We’re still waiting to hear about the Plus’ specs, though. If it’s only a few hundred dollars difference, it may be worth the wait before you buy an Ativ Book 9. If the Ativ Book 9 Lite sounds good to you, you can preorder it online today. It’ll be available to buy in stores starting July 28.
Stay tuned for our full review.
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