The new ATIV Book 9 Plus Ultrabook, unveiled today at the Samsung Premiere event, is the successor to the sleek Series 9 Ultrabook from 2011. Featuring a similarly svelte metal chassis incorporating the latest and greatest in hardware, the new ATIV Book 9 Plus is a stunning Ultrabook worthy of a flagship device.
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Samsung’s powerful new Ultrabook, the ATIV Book 9 Plus, sports the latest Intel Haswell processors, which allows it to run for an incredible 12 hours on battery – almost unheard of for a Windows laptop. In addition, Samsung’s also added its own optimization to the Ultrabook, allowing it to boot in 5.9 seconds, and wake from sleep in only 0.9 seconds.
In addition, Samsung has also added a 10-point multi touch display with Gorilla Glass to the ATIV Book 9 Plus. The display itself is pretty stunning, featuring a 3200 x 1800 resolution, 72% colour gamut with OCR bonding technology, which results in better sunlight readability, viewing angles and contrast ratio.
The Korean giants were also quick to note that the new ATIV Book 9 Plus addresses one of the key criticisms of its predecessor. The new ATIV Book 9 Plus now sports a new touchpad and a better backlit keyboard which now has a greater travel length. Despite the added travel, the Ultrabook remains spectacularly thin at only 13.6mm and tips the scales at 1.39kg.
However, many parts of what made the original Series 9 so attractive are also here on the new ATIV Book 9 Plus. The chassis – which is made of a similar magnesium alloy – is very rigid, and displays little to no flex, allowing it to be easily carried with one hand with confidence.
Also, Samsung paid close attention to other touch-enabled Ultrabooks in the market, and addressed an issue every other OEM has overlooked. While the new ATIV Book 9 Plus sports a hinge that allows it to be pushed down flat just like Lenovo’s ThinkPads, the ATIV Book 9 Plus’ hinge features a unique “lock” when opened to an angle of around 105 to 110 degrees (the standard viewing angle for laptops) that locks it in place, eliminating wobbles that arise from users navigating through Windows 8 using the touch screen. A harder push “unlocks” the hinge, and allows the display to lie 180 degrees flat on the surface.
With its premium specs and particular attention to detail, the new Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus improves on the Series 9 Ultrabooks in almost every way possible. Interestingly, with the equally impressive ATIV Q hybrid Ultrabook, Samsung now has a premium Ultrabook for both the conservative and adventurous user.
For now, the pricing and availability of the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus remain undisclosed, although all of the ATIV devices showcased today are expected to hit the market in time for the back-to-school season in the US.
