Samsung Series 7 gets giant trackpads, aluminum

Samsung as part of events on Tuesday brought a new notebook line to the US. Both take some, though not all, of their cues from Apple's MacBook Pro, including an oversized, 'buttonless' trackpad (here run by Elan and not Synaptics), illuminated chiclet keys, and aluminum across most of the body. Space efficiency is key, Samsung says: a 15.6-inch model can comfortably fit a numeric keypad, while the '13-inch' version has a 14-inch display and uses an extra-thin bezel to fit into the smaller display frame.

All but the entry models also try to address slow notebook load times by carrying 8GB of flash storage that speeds up the boot process. Long-term battery life is now more important for the Korean company, which promises that a 1,500mAh battery will still work at 80 percent of its charge after about 1,500 full charges.

The 13-inch Series 7 is capable of mid-tier performance and carries a dual 2.4GHz Core i5 and AMD Radeon 6450M graphics with live switching. Samsung sees the 15-inch version as a desktop replacement and gives it as much as a quad 2.2GHz Core i7 and Radeon HD 6750M video. Either has two USB 3.0 ports, a legacy USB 2.0 port, HDMI output, Ethernet, and a proprietary video out that can be used for VGA. As much as 8GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive are options.

Samsung is hoping to be competitive with Apple and peers for the money and will start off the Series 7 at $999 for a base 13-inch version with Intel video and no flash storage; prices top out at $1,299. Either notebook will be available in the US on October 2.

By Electronista Staff

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AMD, Intel, MacBook Pro, computers, Radeon, Samsung, Core i7, Apple, Core i5