January 9, 2012 10:30 pm EDT

Samsung unveils redesigned Series 9 laptops with 13- and 15-inch displays, starting at $1,399

The Samsung Series 9 debuted at an odd time, before "Ultrabook" was a buzz word, and when a 2.8-pound laptop was novel enough to warrant a $1,649 price tag. A year later, it returns at an even more pivotal moment: Ultrabooks are cropping up by the dozens, and while their specs are similar to what the original Series 9 had to offer, they cost hundreds less. So with that as the backdrop, Samsung just announced a pair of slimmed-down, redesigned Series 9 laptops: a 13-inch remake, priced at $1,399 and up, and a new 15-inch form number that will cost $1,499-plus when the two go on sale next month.

Though consumers are likely to draw comparisons between that 2.5-pound 13-incher and the umpteen other ultraportables hitting the market, Samsung isn't positioning the Series 9 laptops as Ultrabooks, but rather, premium, top-tier machines. Still, for something that's not an Ultrabook, the brothers Series 9 certainly look the part: both pack Core i5 processors, 4GB of RAM, 128GB SSDs, six-hour batteries and backlit keyboards -- Ultrabook-like specs if ever we've heard them. Even the 15-inch model is missing an optical drive, and isn't much larger than the last-gen Series 9.

What separates them from your garden-variety $900 box, though, is a solid unibody aluminum design and a heartbreakingly beautiful display: a 1600 x 900 panel with a matte finish (!) and 400 nits of brightness. But is that worth shelling out an extra few Benjamins? We've just spent weeks playing with an early, pre-production version of the 13-inch model, and while we're going to withhold final judgment until we review a production-grade system, we already have quite a bit to say about the design. So grab a warm beverage, settle into your comfiest chair and meet us past the break for an in-depth preview.

Gallery: Samsung Series 9 hands-on (2012)

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