Can Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus Hold Its Ground Against 2013 Haswell MacBook Pro?
The crème of the crop among ultrabooks offer three things: Portability, Performance, and Pixels. The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus promises all three. The design of the product follows the structure of the Samsung Series 9. It boasts of light and thin framework ensuring portability. Other specs include Intel's fourth generation Core i5 processors plus solid-state drive (SSD).
In terms of pixels, the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus offers excellent resolution. The device features QHD+ 3200 by 1800 display which makes it one of the best in this category. Many sources even claim that it may be one of the best in its category.
Design
One of the first few things people will notice about the Book 9 Plus is its display. The device features a 13.3-inch display along with an impressive 3200 by 1800 Quad HD+ touch screen. Users can expect better resolution than HD. The closest comparison to this resolution and screen is Apple's MacBook Pro 13-inch Retina Display.
Toshiba's Kirabook offers a comparative display up to 2,560-by-1,440 resolution. What sets the ATIV Plus 9 from the Apple's Retina display is its 10-point touch. This works well with Windows 8. In some cases, some say the ATIV is also a direct competitor of Apple MacBook Air 13-inch. They both sport a thin and minimalistic design.
They also both feature an aluminum all-metal chassis although Samsung focuses more on the bare metal appeal. The device sports a hint of metal at the tip of the chassis and dark paint. The device measures .54 by 12.58 by 8.78 inches and weighs 3.06 pounds. Other features include a full-size keyboard and a touch pad. The touch pad is compatible with Windows 8 gestures.
Specs
The design of the Book 9 Plus does not allow it to have as many ports. Nonetheless, it still provides a number of excellent selections. Both sides of the laptop feature full-size USB 3.0. People can use these ports for their accessories like keyboards and mice including external drives.
On the right side, people can find the microphone jack, headphone and a small connector. The connector can be used as a full-size VGA. The left part features a microHDMI port that allows people to connect to an HDTV for a second monitor. Other components on this side are SD card slot and minuscule LAN port for Gigabit Ethernet.
Connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.0 + HS and dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi offering 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz internet options.
Other features include a 128GB SSD, preinstalled applications for Windows 8 such as iHeart Radio, Plants vs. Zombies, Skype, Netflix, Adobe Photoshop Elements 11 (free copy) and one-year warranty.