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Samsung unveils 13- and 14-inch Series 5 Ultrabooks, starting at $899 (hands-on)
Samsung unveils redesigned Series 5 laptops with 13- and 15-inch displays, starting at $1,399
Toshiba shows off 14-inch Ultrabook, we go hands-on
Pop quiz: which of the following is being marketed as an Ultrabook? Behind door number one, we have a 2.5-pound wisp of a laptop with a 13-inch screen, Core i5 CPU and 128GB SSD. Next up there’s contestant number two, a 3.94-pound notebook with a 14-inch display, 500GB hard drive, and DVD burner. If you guessed the latter, well, congrats on reading that headline correctly, though we’d understand if you said that first option *sounds *like the Ultrabook.
Indeed, Samsung’s Series 5 Ultrabooks are a tad plumper than most, and look especially oversized next to the Series 9, that *other *ultraportable we’ve been describing. But it’s not just Samsung that’s playing hard and fast with the definition of Ultrabook. If Intel’s own forecast is correct, half of the 75-plus models that go on sale this year will have 14- or 15-inch screens, and we’ve already seen a sampling of contenders from HP, Acer and Toshiba. The idea, say PC makers, is to lure in a more old-fashioned kind of customer, shoppers who aren’t quite ready to ditch their DVD drive, and who aren’t keen on stepping down to a too-small screen. At the same time, these laptops are thinner and lighter than similarly sized laptops, last longer on a charge and hold the promise of faster performance – three reasons manufacturers can get away with charging more than they would for a plain 'ol laptop.
In a nutshell, that’s the value proposition behind the 14-inch Series 5, which costs $949 and comes bearing a Core i5 processor, 500GB hybrid hard drive and, of course, a DVD burner. But do the benefits of a bigger Ultrabook outweigh the annoyances? And how does it compare to regular 14-inch laptops that aren’t classified as ultraportables (and that don’t command the Ultrabook tax)? Let’s find out.
Gallery: 14-inch Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook review (NP530U4B-A01U)
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14-inch Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook review (NP530U4B-A01U) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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