When is an Ultrabook not an Ultrabook? When it’s got a 14-inch screen, weighs 1.8kg and has an optical drive, that’s when.
Samsung has just announced its new Ultrabook range, branded Series 5 Ultra, reports Sammy Hub, and amongst them is one that stands out. Not for good reasons, though.
One of the models boasts a 14-inch screen. Nothing wrong with that, per se. But it also features an optical drive, a 1TB HDD, discrete AMD graphics, HDMI and Ethernet ports, and a whole swathe of brushed aluminium. All of which makes it 2.1cm thick, and causes it to weigh in at 1.8kg.
Sorry, Samsung, did you miss the memo? Ultrabooks are supposed to high-performance, sure — but they’re also supposed to ultra-portable. This 14-inch whopper is not an Ultrabook.
Samsung has also announced a more standard 13-inch model, which is 1.5cm thick, weighs 1.3kg, and doesn’t have an optical drive. With a Sandy Bridge processor, combined SSD and HDD and the usual shiny casing, it looks set to blend right in to the deluge of so-so Ultrabooks we’ve seen so far.
They’re launching in Korea this month, and will appear in the US before too long. Launch price in Korea is equivalent to about $US1,300 for the 13-incher and $US1,345 for the 14-inch beast.
This a great example of just how absurd labels like “Ultrabook” are. When manufacturers stick a name like that on any old product, it’s bound to cause confusion amongst consumers. The knock-on effect is that both the fat and thin products tagged as Ultrabooks suffer: the monster machine never lives up to its name, and the skinny one’s reputation is tarnished by association.
Even if both are fine computers — and they might be — they’re both going to suffer. And that’s a shame. Sort it out, Samsung. [Sammy Hub via Pocket Lint]