Samsung launches new laptops with impressive uptimes

Erica Ogg | Sep 04, 2009

Samsung's X3 uses a six-cell battery to offer nine hours of battery life, or six hours when playing video.
(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

BERLIN, GERMANY--Most companies find one press conference sufficient at gadget shows, but not Samsung. We're here at the second Samsung announcement of the day, this time for its mobile computing division.

We'll update the post as we go. Seongwoo Nam, senior vice president of Computer Systems at Samsung, takes the stage first and offers brief details on a new notebook.

Called the X3, it has a 9-hour battery. It's an ultrathin, weighs just under 1.8kg, and has a 14-inch screen. The casing is matte and will come in pearl white, titanium silver, and pearl black. There will also be 15.6 inch and 11.6 inch versions.

The X3 in black.
(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

It will use an Intel processor, but Samsung won't reveal details besides that it is dual core.

The 9-hour battery life comes from a six-cell battery. For video playback, it will last 6 hours.

The X series notebooks will come integrated with HSPA wireless and also feature 3-in-1 memory card reader, three USB ports, VGA, and HDMI port. There's a security feature that takes a photo each time it starts up. If the picture is not the rightful owner, the computer will be disabled. The software also allows stolen computers to be locked down or data erased remotely.

The price range is 699 euros to 899 euros, or US$1,000 to US$1,300.

N140 Netbook
(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

However, the latest Netbook from Samsung doesn't appear to be anything special except for the battery.

The N140 mini notebook was introduced at the IFA show and will come in a variety of colors. It sports a 10.1-inch screen, and weighs 1.27kg. Samsung also claims that it will have an 11-hour battery, which is very impressive if it really is true.

The model it replaces, the NC10, was launched just a year ago and had a battery that lasted 5 hours.

While Netbooks are a growing category of computing in general, they're performing particularly well for Samsung. Netbooks are the fastest-growing business unit within the company, said Boo-Keun Yoon, president of Samsung's Display business.

Other new Samsung products:

A lineup of Blu-ray players will have access to YouTube videos.

The HMX U10 HD pocket-size camcorder does full HD recording and can upload videos to YouTube, similar to the Flip Ultra HD and Kodak ZX1.

The ST1000 digital camera has geotagging, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi connectivity. Photos can be uploaded instantly to sites like Flickr and Facebook.

The ST550 digital camera has not one, but two LCD screens. The one on the back is a touchscreen display, but there's also an additional display on the front, so if you're doing a self-portrait you can see exactly what the photo looks like as you're taking it. (Note: It's the same product, but different model number, as the TL220 introduced in the US a few weeks ago.)

Three new multimedia players, the R0, R1, and M1. Samsung says that since file formats "are a big frustration for people," these new models will try to make that less of a headache--there will be no need to convert file formats before adding audio or video to the player. Samsung's software will allow users to drag and drop files and convert them automatically.

Via CNET Crave

Filed under: Notebooks
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