Samsung Series 9 Notebook vs. MacBook Air: Which Is Svelter?

Does Samsung's new notebook make Apple's super-skinny MacBook Air look clunky?

The Samsung Series 9 Notebook, which goes on sale Thursday, is giving the MacBook Air a run for its money.

It's lighter, thinner, and svelter than Apple's own wispy model: the Samsung Series 9 weighs 2.89 lbs., has a 13.3-inch screen, and is .64 inches thin. The 13-inch MacBook Air, by comparison, weighs 2.9 lbs. and is .68 inches high at its widest point (a svelter 11-inch version is also available).

Though Samsung's laptop might be thinner than Apple's, it has a heftier pricetag. The Samsung notebook runs $1,649, whereas Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air starts at $1,299. A 13-inch MacBook Pro is even a few hundred dollars cheaper than the Series 9.

But what about what's inside? CNET writes the Samsung Series 9 Notebook's specs are "impressive": "Windows 7 Home Premium, second-generation Intel Core i5-2537M CPU, 128GB SSD, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 1,366x768-pixel resolution display, and a weight of 2.89 pounds. The $1,599 13-inch MacBook Air has double the SSD storage, a higher-resolution display, and a nearly identical weight, but half the RAM and an older CPU."

See the slideshow below to check out the two computers side by side. Which do you prefer and why?

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Samsung Series 9 Notebook

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Comments

[Paul Scheffler]

02:43 PM on 04/28/2011

i'm already so heavily invested in mac i couldn't see myself switching to a pc for 1 notebook. however, i am glad someone has finally designed and built a computer that can compete with apple.

[LiveMind]

03:44 PM on 03/21/2011

Simple answer: no. Nowhere near.

[hilaritee]

01:07 AM on 03/21/2011

i purchased a $250 netbook this summer as a backup for my aging and formerly cutting edge laptop. i am surprised by how much i love this little thing. at this point i can no longer imagine spending over a thousand dollars on a computer, no matter how pretty and sleek. computer models are virtually obsolete after 18 months now and manufacturers' service has really declined. in two years i will not bat an eye when replacing this little baby. the only think i hate about my netbook is that the affordable prices really contribute to the disposable consumer mentality which is unfortunate and with technology, seemingly inescapeable.

[hagagaga]

12:34 AM on 03/21/2011

The iHeil runs an inferior operating system to Windows.

Picture the United States. While it has quite a bit of bureaucratic inefficiency, it's among the best their is.
Now picture the Soviet Union. Their top-down management crushed all creative thinking and new thought. That's Apple.

[tjcabili]

11:07 AM on 03/21/2011

Which would be a sensible comparison if either the Soviet Union or Cold War-era USA were in the business of designing consumer operating systems instead of, say... tanks and ICBMs. I could just as easily say that you should prefer Apple because the top-down leadership style of Gustavus Adolphus was proven superior to the pluralistic management of the Duke of Tilly at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631. But that would be silly, wouldn't it? Kind of like mixing fascism and communism metaphors in the same argument.

Apple is better at some things, Microsoft is better at others. Both "sides" just need to learn to deal with not being masters of the known universe and get back to actually using their computers.

[jameskatt]

09:39 PM on 03/20/2011

The Samsung is CHUNKY.

[jameskatt]

09:39 PM on 03/20/2011

The Samsung is CLUNKY.

[libmac]

04:29 PM on 03/20/2011

It's a bit difficult to compare the processors in both notebooks because Apple's MacBook Air was released last October. Let's see how they compare once Apple updates the Air.

Regarding thinness: comparing the two as noted is misleading. The Samsung is indeed .64 inches thin (actually .62-.64 inches). But the MacBook Air is NOT just .68 inches. Its thinness actually ranges from .11-.68 inches. Radically different from the specs listed above.

[tyrant510]

02:22 AM on 03/20/2011

the macbook air has much cleaner lines.

[Morgantheaxe]

01:33 AM on 03/20/2011

This is really really ez folks. If you are looking at either one of these and don't know which you want you want the Mac. Now ihaters hold on for a sec before your heads explode and I will elaborate.

It boils down to how they run, right? Bottom line Windows is a bloated pig of a program that slaps a ten ton lead weight to the back of any computer. Apples OS on the other hand is really is uber efficient and lets the ponys run, so if you have anywhere near apples to apples in hardware the mac is always going to run circles around the windows machine. So, if you NEED windows for work or research etc you already know that you have to have windows and it's not a question as to which machine you need. If you have any question in your mind as to which machine will work better for you that mean you are not one of the people that fall in to the previous catagory and the Apple air is going to be a much much better computer for you. It will perform better and all the software for Apple just works better as it is designed with the end user in mind first rather than the programs requirements like Microsofts stuff. Once you try Pages, Keynote and Numbers you never ever wanna go back to office. Oh and you can't beat the stability of Safari. Happy computing.

[JohnTheMac]

11:17 AM on 03/20/2011

also, if you really need the Windows stuff, you can always Bootcamp it or run in Parallel on the Air.

[ThoughtAboutIt]

07:24 PM on 03/29/2011

Exactly.

For the price difference you can increase the RAM on the Air and add Windows 7 so you'll have 2 machines for the price of 1 Samsung Series 9. Maybe Apple will backlight the keyboard on the next generation.

That said, my 6 year old Thinkpad T42 with 2GB RAM, 100GB HD & XP Pro is my primary machine but I am looking to replace it soon. :-)

[Max Pringle]

12:51 AM on 03/20/2011

It seems like each of these devices have their strengths and weaknesses. But the Mac seems like the better bargain among the new svelte designed notebooks. It also has the advantage of being around a bit longer, meaning more time to work out the kinks that inevitably come with a newly released product. I'm definitely not an expert, but those are my two cents. Interested to hear what someone who knows a lot more about these devices thinks?

[Tj Bronx]

09:42 PM on 03/19/2011

see one problem, it runs windows

[hagagaga]

12:32 AM on 03/21/2011

That ain't a problem. That's an advantage!

[netzwerg]

02:16 PM on 03/19/2011

"They used to be when IBM owned them. Now they are owned/made in China"

IBM Thinkpads were also made in China.

[wonderYrednow]

01:16 AM on 03/20/2011

Samsung is Korean.

[ran6110]

12:04 PM on 03/19/2011

You know what, ignore the Mac and Windows fanboy food fights here. Go check them out and see what one does the best job for you.

Not sure about the Samsung, but you can go down to the Apple store and buy (or try) a MacBook Air and if you buy it you can return it before 30 day for a refund if it doesn't work for you.

And remember, neither unit is user repairable so check out the basic warrantees also...

So if you give them both a fair test and get the one that's best for you then you picked the right machine!

[Madbunny]

01:45 PM on 03/19/2011

actually my advice for people that are looking at getting one or the other is to look at the one that is most compatible with all your OTHER stuff. and to not have overly high expectations of power, these thin chassis don't exactly have awesome cooling.

[ran6110]

02:08 PM on 03/19/2011

Can't argue with that.

I'm always amazed at the people that want full blown desktop performance in a super-small laptop.

Yours is very good advice!

Faved.

[Robin Brenizer]

12:57 AM on 03/19/2011

Having been a Windows user for most of my adult life (converted to Apple two years ago), the Samsung would have to come with a vodka spigot and fit in my wallet for me to convert back to Windows.

[hagagaga]

12:32 AM on 03/21/2011

Also a brain...

[Madbunny]

11:41 PM on 03/18/2011

Not seeing the CPU specs for the macbook air I hit up apples site for them.

"1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache; or optional 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache" ~~Macbook Air.

This is not a powerful machine. In fact, this kind of power puts it pretty much at about lets say twice the power of a typical net book, but at triple or more the cost. If all you're looking to do is to type out papers, surf the web and watch the occasional movie a net book suffices.

The i5 on the samsung compared to that older core2 duo (both intel chips FYI Apple fanboys) is easily the better choice in terms of being more powerful via sophisticated architechture vs the brute force approach that later Intel and even AMD chips employ. Battery consumption is likely comparable between the two, though still probably better on a net book.

In all, given the choice between these two computers, I'd say that the Samsung is the better computer, but if I had to advise somebody which one to buy I'd just tell them to get the one that is compatible with all their other stuff.
If they already have a ton of Apple stuff, then the Air will be likely easier to integrate into their lives, but if they already have a PC and other peripherals then logically the Samsung.

Ok, off the soapbox now.

[JohnTheMac]

11:30 AM on 03/20/2011

There's more to the design of the Air than processor performance.
For the people who only need email, spreadsheets, Word, web surfing, etc, the Air is a good choice and putting in a faster CPU will only lower battery life. They'll probably update this model soon anyway, and have a faster CPU and hopefully add Thunderbolt I/O.
I'm just saying this would be great for a lot of people.
The whole "high performance" demand is a moving target, isn't it?
There were people 20 years ago, looking for laptops with the power of desktops, that could be as productive as those awesome desktop machines they were using, right?
What were those desktops though? Pentium 2's? 15" or 17" CRTs? mice weren't even optical? CD burners were a novelty? RAM was measured in MB? floppies were rampent.
But guess what? As laughable as those desktops are today, people ran real businesses with them and made a lot of money.
Today, any of the netbooks or this Samsung, or the air, could run rings around a 1990's desktop, and many of the jobs people do with these machines haven't really changed that much. So please. These laptops are adequate for a lot of people to do work on, and only ever need this much power. And I'm not saying this in the tone of a lot of people here who put on an attitude of "These are ok for lowly computer peons who are unwashed and unsophisticated, but notfora SuperUserlike me!".

[Madbunny]

01:32 PM on 03/20/2011

I'm not sure if you read me right, but largely we agree.

I don't particularly think either of these machines would do well for my needs, as I do a lot of CPU heavy stuff, video editing, Photoshop etc, but for the average person, who just does basic tasks, typical of an office, or school environment both would suffice fine. Of the two machines displayed in the article the Samsung is clearly the more powerful, battery life notwithstanding. The air will probably move to an I5, or detuned sandybridge chip if Apple does it's usual large jump. Personally I'd like to see them go back to RISC architecture, with todays 64bit operating systems and hyper threading that technology could have a real competitive edge, but I digress.

Given the choice between the two of these, I'd probably take the Samsung, because all my stuff is PCs, if I were to choose between the two of these to buy for my sister, I'd get the Air, because all HER stuff is Mac. Logically that' the choice that people need to account for, more so than just for which is tinier by .01 of an inch.