The bad: At $699, it's priced out of the league of other 11-inch ultraportables.
The bottom line: Samsung's sharp designs translate well to this more affordable new line, although the Series 3 is still at the high end of the ultraportable price range.
Few laptops garnered as much virtual ink at CES 2011 as the Samsung Series 9, a slim, slick 13-inch laptop positioned as a Windows alternative to the MacBook Air. Later came an 11-inch version, but both were priced well over $1,000, putting them out of reach for most laptop shoppers. Samsung subsequently developed a more mainstream line, called the Series 3, and the first Series 3 product to hit store shelves is the 11.6-inch model, currently available in the U.S. exclusively at Staples.
As a less-expensive version of the snazzy Series 9 (or Samsung's just-announced Series 7 laptops), the Series 3 fills a need for an 11-inch ultraportable that has a sharp design, and also breaks the typical 11-inch AMD E-350 mold. Instead the Series 3 uses an Intel Core i3 processor, but can otherwise be seen as competing with systems such as the Lenovo IdeaPad S205 and HP Pavilion dm1z.
The 11-inch Series 3 is currently $699 (we've seen some $100 discounts come and go already), which is dangerously close to full-featured laptop pricing territory, and more expensive than AMD-powered ultraportables. That said, the performance of the Series 3 beats those other systems (but the battery life does not). For $100 less, we'd be sold; for now, it comes down to a careful calculation of your price/performance/battery needs.
| Price as reviewed | $599 |
| Processor | 1.3GHz Intel Core i3-2357M |
| Memory | 4GB, 1,333MHz DDR3 |
| Hard drive | 320GB 5,400rpm |
| Chipset | Intel HM65 |
| Graphics | Intel HD 3000 |
| Operating system | Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) |
| Dimensions (WD) | 10.9x7.9 inches |
| Height | 0.9 - 1.0 inches |
| Screen size (diagonal) | 11.6 inches |
| System weight / Weight with AC adapter | 2.7 pounds / 3.3 pounds |
| Category | Ultraportable |
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