Samsung Series 5 ULTRA 530U3B Ultrabook

Samsung has launched a new Ultrabook in the Philippines, the 13.3-inch Series 5 Ultrabook. Priced at Php44,900 it is the same price as the Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook.

It comes with the typical 1366 x 768 resolution, nothing fancy here. One thing we like is that it uses a matte screen which reduces glare and will be clearer if used outdoors. Under the hood is an Intel Core i5 2467M which runs at 1.6 GHz with turbo boost to 2.3 GHz which should provide the average user with sufficient performance. Samsung put in 4GB of RAM, which we think is what every laptop should have these days as a minimum. For storage it has 500 GB hard disk drive. There is also a 16GB solid state drive on board, but given the size we suspect this is simply used as a hibernation partition, to allow the laptop to wake up and resume from sleep mode instantaneously. The operating system and programs are still installed in the 500 GB hard drive. We will try to confirm this.

You have the usual wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Samsung also place a USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, HDMIA out and webcam. Basically, it has all the connectivity and ports we would expect from a higher end laptop. Battery life is promised to be 6.5 hours.The per-installed operating system is Windows Home Premium (64-bit).

Being an Ultrabook, it is thin and light. This one is 0.71 inches thin  and weighs in at 3 pounds. All in all, it looks like one decent package, especially when you consider that it tie's the Acer Aspire S3 as the cheapest Ultrabook in the market.