Samsung CES Booth Tour: Tablets, Phones, and Core M ATIV Book 9
by Jarred Walton on January 19, 2015 2:41 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Samsung
- Smartphones
- Mobile
- Tablets
- Trade Shows
- ATIV
- Ultrabook
- Core M
- CES 2015
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Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Samsung’s booth is what they weren’t showing: laptops. They had exactly one laptop on display, the new ATIV Book 9 with Core M-5Y10c – that’s the configurable TDP “c” variant of Core M, which allows the manufacturer to target different power levels. In the case of the 5Y10c, it can target 3.5W and 6W as well as the default 4.5W, allowing for lower performance but potentially increased battery life (or at least less heat) on the one hand, and higher performance but more heat (and potentially less battery life) on the other. On paper, the configurable TDP mostly affects the base frequency, with the default being 800MHz and TDP down dropping that to 600MHz while TDP up bumps it to 1GHz – the maximum Turbo Boost remains 2GHz in all modes, as far as I’m aware – but for sustained workloads the TDP should also affect what Turbo clock the CPU is able to maintain.
The laptop itself is quite sleek, with hints of the MacBook Air school of design, and Samsung is boasting of battery life of up to 12.5 hours. Connectivity consists of two USB 3.0 ports (one with sleep charging), a headset jack, a micro-SD slot, and one micro-HDMI port. The display is also a nice looking 2560x1600 panel – yes, that’s a 16:10 resolution for a change – which is the same display used in the Samsung Galaxy Tab/Note Pro 12.2. I have to admit that it’s still rather frustrating that other than Apple, all laptops are generally now on 16:9 aspect ratio displays while most tablets remain at 16:10, but I digress. The latest ATIV Book 9 should be shipping soon (it’s listed as preorder/out of stock on at least a few sites), with pricing of $1399 for 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD.
The remainder of the Samsung booth was mostly products that have already launched, with a lot of tablets and phones on display. There were a few non-US phones (the A5 and A3), and the Galaxy Note Edge that has an OLED with the curved right side ostensibly used for notifications and other items that looks interesting but may not be particularly practical. The Galaxy Tab S tablets were also present, along with the ruggedized and waterproof Galaxy Tab Active. Of course it was fun to ask the booth attendants about the hardware only to be told “we’re not making that information public yet” – particularly unhelpful since the products are already on store shelves. The Tab Active is equipped with a Snapdragon 400 if you’re wondering, so it’s more about being rugged than performance, and the price as usual for ruggedized products is quite high.
Of course Samsung had a ton of other products on display, including displays, HDTVs, All-in-One PCs, and more, but our primary focus was on the above categories for this CES.
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Source: Samsung
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eanazag - Monday, January 19, 2015 - link
Is the Ativ fanless? That's the real news if so. Broadwell is supposed to make that possible.ant6n - Monday, January 19, 2015 - link
Yes, this should be mentioned for all the Broadwell laptops.JarredWalton - Monday, January 19, 2015 - link
As far as I can tell, yes -- there are no ventilation slots anywhere to be seen, and while I didn't specifically look for this the only real possibility would be vents at the hinge. I don't think it would be necessary considering the max 6W TDP-up config.Alexvrb - Tuesday, January 20, 2015 - link
Raising the TDP may not increase the peak turbo, but (all else remaining equal) the lower TDP limits may not be able to reach the same speeds as often or for as long - especially if you're stressing other parts of the chip (GPU) simultaneously.aoshiryaev - Tuesday, January 20, 2015 - link
Finally a 16:10 screen. Back to the future. First Windows laptop I can consider buying in years. Mighty expensive, though. I wish there was a 8/128 version - some people have external hard drives, and shaving $100 is important to compete with rMBP. Of course, rMBP will be faster with its 28w chips.Tams80 - Tuesday, January 20, 2015 - link
Their ATIVBook 8 is their MacBook Pro competitor.aoshiryaev - Tuesday, January 20, 2015 - link
That's 16x9. The effective resolution is better then the default 1440*900 of the rMBP, but physically the screen is shorter.Tams80 - Tuesday, January 20, 2015 - link
I know (I have one). It is their competitor. In another comment here I lament that it's not 16:10, and that it's unlikely there will be one.frozentundra123456 - Tuesday, January 20, 2015 - link
The ATIV book looks really nice, but 1300 dollars for such low performance just does not seem worth it. I guess if you have money to burn, but I wonder how much faster this is than an atom 400 dollar relatively thin and light laptop. I am thinking of getting a laptop for my grandson for college next year, and this and the Dell xps12 with the thin bezel are looking attractive. But 1300 dollars is just too much, and I would also be concerned about it being damaged/lost/stolen as well.Maybe the spot for this is for business use, with the company footing the bill. Would be an impressive package to make a good impression for a sales representative.
Walkop - Tuesday, January 20, 2015 - link
IMO, the best for your case would be the i3 Surface Pro. It really is an awesome machine for the price. $799 gets you a stupidly light Ultrabook (9mm thick, 800g, with keyboard it's not much heavier). Full i3 processor, 4GB RAM, pen (awesome for students, I used it for a one-week specialized course and it was amazing), expandable storage with USB and internal MicroSD, a fast SSD, incredible display (one of the best in the business, very accurate and well over 1080p).All for $799, or $720 with the Mover's discount that can be applied at BestBuy etc. That almost pays for the type cover.