One of the first members of the new Samsung Series 3 laptop family is now shipping. The Samsung 350U2B features a 12 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display, a 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5-2410M processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive. It’s shipping from Buy.com for $735, and several other retailers have the laptop in stock for a few dollars more.
While the laptop costs more than twice as much as a typical netbook it has a higher resolution display, faster processor, HDMI output, and a larger keyboard. It still weighs just 3.1 pounds, making the Samsung 350U2B a relatively portable machine. It measures 11.8″ x 7.7″ x 1″ and has a 6 cell, 60W battery.
The Samsung 350U2B also features 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, and has 2 USB ports, a VGA port, and an Ethernet jack. The laptop runs Windows 7 Home Premium.
While most of the retail listings for the notebook say it has a 12.1 inch display, the official product page says it’s a 12.5 inch screen. I’ll see if I can get official word on the screen size from Samsung.
Update: It’s official. Despite the specs listed on most retail websites, Samsung confirms that the notebook will have a 12.5 inch display.
Compared to $999 MacBook Air, the Samsung has a faster processor, bigger screen, more RAM, more battery, 400 GB more disk, and costs $250 less. Maybe carrying a stylishly thin “ultrabook” isn’t so important.
Wait – the Samsung runs Windows. Bring on the Hackintosh brigade!