Samsung Ativ Q

This year the Ultrabook market is going to focus on either exceptional hardware or lower price tags. The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite is an attempt at making a low end touch Ultrabook that looks nicer than the rest.

Samsung has done a great job making all of their hardware stand out on the shelves right now. Their Galaxy line of mobile devices and their ATIV PC and tablet PC line are all easy to spot and easy to appreciate. The ATIV PC line has been one of the more visually impressive ultrabook lines for a while, but they are all focused towards the premium hardware market. There needs to be a “budget” section in the ATIV line, and in order to address that market Samsung has announced the ATIV Book 9 Lite.

It’s not easy to make a low cost Ultrabook now that Intel has mandated that all screen be touch screens in order to benefit from the branding. The ATIV Book 9 Lite is a 13.3-inch touch Ultrabook with an unfortunate 1366 x 768 resolution display rated at 250 nits and a 1.4GHz quad core processor. With 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, this machine will function similarly to the Surface Pro, but the lower quality screen will be a huge separation point between the two machines.

What this laptop has going for it is the ATIV Book design, with its huge touchpad, well designed screen hinge, and comfortable keyboard. The nearly three and a half pound Ultrabook will be incredibly thin and very attractive in Mineral Ash Black or Marble White, with battery life reportedly between 5.5 and 8.5 hours.

The hit to the display means Samsung can sell this machine for $799, which means it is almost $350 cheaper than a similarly specced Surface Pro with the type cover. Samsung has also included their SideSync software, which is designed to merge user experiences if you’re a Samsung Galaxy phone user. Samsung plans to release the ATIV Book 8 Lite on July 28.

[UPDATE] This article has been adjusted to reflect additional information. According to Mobile Mark 7, the Samsung ATIV Book 9 is rated for 8.5 hours of battery life.

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