Samsung Ativ Q

Product Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite

Website www.samsung.com

Specifications 13.3in 1366x768 resolution touchscreen display, Samsung quad-core 1.4GHz CPU, 4GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 8250 graphics, 128GB SSD, 1x miniVGA port, 1x microHDMI port, 1x USB3.0 port, 1x USB 2.0 port, 1x 3-in-1 multimedia card reader, 1x headphone out/mic-in port, 1x Ethernet port, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth v4.0, HD 720p webcam, 2 cell 30Wh battery, Windows 8 64-bit operating system, 324x224x17.4mm, 1.58kg, available in black or white

Price £600

KOREAN COMPUTER MAKER Samsung has ditched chip giants Intel and AMD to build its Ativ Book 9 series of notebooks, using its own quad-core CPU for power in a travel-friendly 13in design.

The Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite was launched in the UK earlier this month and is the less powerful but more portable model in the series. Running Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system (OS), the Ativ Book 9 Lite also has a solid-state disk (SSD) drive for quick boot times and a touchscreen for those rare times when you actually want to use the Windows metro user interface.

Measuring just over 17mm thick, we test to see if Samsung's Ativ Book 9 can prove a worthy contender for those in the market for a Windows 8-powered Macbook Air equivelent.

Design and build

The Ativ Book 9 Lite's appearance follows in Samsung's usual hardware design footsteps, arriving in two main colours; a blue-black or white. Our review model was the blue-black edition, which we feel looks a little more stylish and would probably show less marks and stains after long term use, depending on what you use it for.

The Ativ Book 9 Lite's entirely plastic construction means it does look and feel rather cheap, but because this material is used, it also means it's very lightweight for a Windows 8 device, weighing 1.58kg. It's also very skinny, measuring just 17.4mm thick and thus making it a brilliant device for traveling with, taking from home and the office, for example.

The Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite's chassis is very smooth in hand, which lends to its overall slimline and elegant design. Despite its super slim form, build quality is a strong point for the Ativ, too. Both the keyboard and the screen feel robust and sturdy despite their plastic construction. We tested this by taking the screen and forcing it in opposite directions, and we found there was little flexibility.

Another nice feature is that the Ativ Book 9 Lite's hinge allows the screen to be pushed all the way back so that it lays flat to the keyboard, making screen-sharing much easier, if for example you are playing a two player touch-enabled game with a friend.

Next: Keyboard and trackpad