Samsung Ativ Q

Samsung's premium ultraportable, the Samsung Series 9, is re-imagined with a new name and a new focus, while retaining many of the elements that made the original laptop so special. We had some hands-on time with the new slim laptop, and while there's plenty that's changed, it's still a svelte, stylish system for use on the go.

The Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite is a 13-inch ultraportable, boasting a custom quad-core processor and AMD discrete graphics. But while the look and feel are still premium, the price isn't; the Book 9 Lite starts at $799, a dramatic drop from the $1,000 and up of the Series 9.

The Book 9 Lite is Samsung's play for broad appeal, and the budget-conscious pricing is just a part of this change. The new laptop features a touch screen, a brighter display for clarity indoor and out, and a 128GB solid-state drive providing quick performance a speedy boot times; 8 seconds for a cold boot, and only 2 seconds when waking from sleep mode. The display, however, is a bit disappointing, with 1,366-by-768 resolution and poor viewing angles, but such compromises are to be expected at this price point.

Samsung has outfitted the Book 9 Lite with a custom-made AMD quad-core processor (with 4GB of RAM), and while it may not go toe to toe with Intel's top four core Haswell chips, it should still offer decent performance for all of your day-to-day needs. Less common for such a slim laptop is the inclusion of discrete graphics, with the newest AMD graphics processor providing visual oomph. Samsung also promises decent battery life (6 hours or better) for the new laptop, reporting impressive benchmark scores, but we'll hold off to verify that with testing of our own.

The seamless molded chassis looks good, with a cool finish and two color options, Marble White and Mineral Ash Black. It's a little heavier than past premium model, but at 3.48 pounds, it's not unreasonable for the price range. The Book 9 Lite is equipped with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports, an SD card reader, and mini VGA and micro HDMI outputs for monitor use with a dongle (sold separately).

The Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite will be available at the end of this month, on July 28, and starts at $799.99. It is available for pre-sale now.