My Samsung Series 9 Review - 1 year on..

[greebo3]

I purchased the first iteration of Samsung's Series 9 laptop, a NP900X3A-A03US.

Why review now?
I read many reviews about the build quality being very high, which I guess has inspired me to post this review after so long after buying it. I have owned many laptops over the years, including a few netbooks, and I would say this is made out of ticky tacky like no other. My 10 year old brick of a toshiba notebook is in better condition.

I used the notebook for travelling for 6 months, and it's had minimal use since then. I'm a programmer, and was using it moderately over the 6 months I was away overseas (30-40 hrs per week).

So I'll flat out say that the Series 9 is totally sub par in terms of build quality, especially as it is being marketed as a premium notebook, and where the cosmetic element is important.

Keyboard
- Keys losing their paint. About 20% of the keys have their paint flecked off, showing white underneath. It looks pretty horrible on such a nice design.

Touchpad
Has always been erratic. The touchpad is big but it is totally inconsistent, particularly the left/right buttons.

Screen and internals
Pretty good so far. The topic has been gone over heaps, so I won't bother with that.

Other
- Creaks like an old barn door.
- There are a number of places on the notebook where cheap plastics are used, not the duralumin. This gives the notebook a feel of economy, and corner cutting.
- The external wrapping on the power cord is pulled away from the power connector, exposing the wires.


Sorry if this has had a rant-like feel. My intention is to hopefully debunk the perception that the s9 has some sort of superior build quality over other laptops. I don't think this was simply a bad batch, as there are too many elements that are at fault here. I think there was a lot of corner cutting, and no attention to detail. The ability for the notebook to take wear and tear is really the issue here, something that product reviews generally don't touch on. Anyway, the new series 9s might be better, but I won't be buying one, or any Samsung product.

Have any other S9 owners had similar issues?

[John Ratsey]

Have any other S9 owners had similar issues?

Thanks for your observations. I am also interested to hear what the other first generation Series 9 owners have to say. While we know that Samsung are reluctant to admit to defects, as such, I get the impression that that they addressed some of these issues in the 2012 Series 9s. As such, they may be one generation ahead of the other ultrabook manufacturers.

John

[lovelaptops]

Thanks for your observations. I am also interested to hear what the other first generation Series 9 owners have to say. While we know that Samsung are reluctant to admit to defects, as such, I get the impression that that they addressed some of these issues in the 2012 Series 9s. As such, they may be one generation ahead of the other ultrabook manufacturers.

John

John,
What's your gut feel about the paint coming off keys and the creakiness developing with the 2012 machines? Are you aware of design changes that might address these.

I'm wary because I have owned several Sony Z's which are just superb and held up well physically and mechanically - except paint coming off palm rests and hinges that get lose and eventually can snap and make it creaky.

I'd like to think today someone could make a laptop that would last well past one year - other than you-know-who!

[diaper84]

honestly if you want build quality. Apple is the way to go,

[John Ratsey]

John,
What's your gut feel about the paint coming off keys and the creakiness developing with the 2012 machines? Are you aware of design changes that might address these.

Perhaps some people pummel the keys with their finger nails but, nonetheless, manufacturers should be able to design for such treatment. I had no problem with chipping paint on my Dell Latitudes (they were just a bit too heavy for me). I have no inside knowledge of what / where Samsung have fed back experience with the X3A into the later Series 9s but I would be surprised if they did not.

John

[greebo3]

The paint on these keys are peeling from the edges, where the key meets the notebook case, rather than where your fingers would hit on the keystroke.

Here are a couple of quick pics, with my phone. Sorry for the dust and the focal point!

[greebo3]

What is difficult to see, is how the paint is flaking off. If you look at the left part of the space bar in the first pic, or the right of the shift key, you can see what I mean.

[aamsel]

honestly if you want build quality. Apple is the way to go,

Apple is good build quality, but the Air screen does not seem to compare to the S9, and although Windows now runs ok on the Air, there is no preferred support for it, and things like startup take a long time.

What is difficult to see, is how the paint is flaking off. If you look at the left part of the space bar in the first pic, or the right of the shift key, you can see what I mean.

Has anyone else seen such horrible wear on a Samsung notebook? I mean, at least if the plastic underneath had black color???

[John Ratsey]

Has anyone else seen such horrible wear on a Samsung notebook? I mean, at least if the plastic underneath had black color???

The white plastic is to allow the backlighting to shine through. Looking closely at my X4C keyboard I see that the lettering is slightly indented which suggests that it is a similar paint job. I just hope that they got the process right this time.

A note to the OP is that it is best to raise such issues after around 9 months. That gives time to find out if your experience is abnormal and, if it is, pester Samsung to replace the keyboard under warranty. The warranty covers manufacturing defects and failure of the keyboard paint to survive a year of use should fall under that category.

John

[aamsel]

The white plastic is to allow the backlighting to shine through. Looking closely at my X4C keyboard I see that the lettering is slightly indented which suggests that it is a similar paint job. I just hope that they got the process right this time.

A note to the OP is that it is best to raise such issues after around 9 months. That gives time to find out if your experience is abnormal and, if it is, pester Samsung to replace the keyboard under warranty. The warranty covers manufacturing defects and failure of the keyboard paint to survive a year of use should fall under that category.

John

Makes sense, would think that Samsung would try to exclude "cosmetics" from their coverage, but this would seem to exceed the bounds of "normal wear and tear".