Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3G-K04US 13.3-Inch Touchscreen Laptop (1.8 GHz Intel Core i7-4500U Processor, 8GB DDR3, 256GB SSD, Windows 8) Ash Black

EDIT: Included some pointers below! Also, if you have Samsung devices (such as AllShare on your Samsung TV), you can turn off auto-detection in your laptop by clicking the "Show hidden icons" button on the Taskbar and opening the dark grey fan/play icon looking button. You can disable/enable communications as needed between devices and stop those pesky messages from popping up on your TV/device.As I sit down to write a review of this very machine, I ask myself -- "Should I review this as a standalone device or should I compare it to other Windows offerings?"Well, I decided I'll do both since I figure this is a great way to test out the keyboard also. As a standalone device, this blows away my previous HP Pavilion DV6 or something like that.My first impression:Boots up quick from shutdown (like 2 secs?) and on my initial install, since I was already a Win8.1 user, it managed to snag some things off my desktop automatically.Software side:Installing things on this machine is a breeze. Put on Microsoft Office 2013 Professional on this baby in a few seconds. Programs run immediately with very little downtime. There is some bloatware but, after a bit of uninstalling, it's as minimal as I like it.Hardware side:Form factor is a huge improvement over my previous laptop, a HP Pavilion DV6 or something like that. The keys on the keyboard are spaced a bit further out than I'm used to but it's a non-issue since I type just as well. Also the keys have the right amount of sensitivity, even my corner hits. There's a satisfying but minimal thud with each key press and the keys can be depressed a fair bit. Not a lot of extra noise; just enough to give you the feedback. Some of the keys are very convenient -- I appreciate the use of FN key and the arrows keys.The screen is, as previously mentioned, gorgeous. No issues with dead pixels or the like. I found no issue with the "yellow tinge" that some people are complaining about, though I did tweak it as soon as I could (please see the comments of this review for a complete step-by-step breakdown!). I also switched off the adaptive brightness, opting to control it myself. Also, despite being set at max resolution, I don't have any problem where things are too "small." It's the perfect size for me and what I would want with a notebook for this size. I haven't used this as a touch screen because, honestly, I don't want to smudge up the screen. This also has good viewing angles too.Battery is still up in the air for me. I appreciate that Samsung limits the charge to 85% and I'll keep it that way. I'm getting estimates of over eight hours, though I've only used this ultrabook minimally.Touchpad is great. It was a bit sluggish for me so I upped the sensitivity. Very good response and the left and right click do have dedicated areas on the bottom of the touchpad (despite no indication of such).Fans only kicked up once and that was when I was installing a number of things at the same time. Even then, it was relatively quiet and did not exceed my TV's volume. It did become a little warm on my lap but I would not to expect it to stay liquid cool under stress.Build quality feels solid. My folks were surprised something so thin still had heft to it and there is no bending when I pick it up. It opens fairly easily with one hand and has a good "set" hinge range before it loosens to the 180 degree opening.Ultimately, I would recommend this device wholeheartedly to anyone. As a Windows device, I would argue it's definitely what Intel had in mind and represents that other non-Apple manufacturers can create great products also.Previously, I was dead-set on the ASUS UX301LA-DH71T, which would arguably be the equivalent of this device. Both devices are great and I can't justify strongly picking one over the other. The ASUS offering is a bit faster but, for my uses, it meant relatively little since it would run a bit hotter, which I thought would be problematic in the long-term for these thin devices. Ultimately, it boils down to aesthetics and costs. If you feel that you can live waiting 0.5 secs longer for your PC to boot or load a program while saving around $200 with a slightly more future-proof screen, this is your choice.I have also tried the MacBook Air 2013 and thought of buying it because it was so affordable. However, I'm glad I picked this one up instead. Though it costs more, the benefits are, in my eyes, worthwhile -- I have more storage, a better screen, a better CPU, and more software flexibility.

I saved my money up so that I could buy a laptop computer with all the bells and whistles. This computer is an absolute pig. Most of my business software does not work properly on this Samsung ATIV Book 9. I contacted Amazon to try to return this frustrating non working computer and since it was 3 weeks after the guaranteed refund date they want to charge me a 20% restocking fee. This is how Amazon treats a loyal ten year customer with over 225 orders. I highly recommend that you never buy a Samsung Computer; furthermore, I highly recommend that you do not purchase anything of value from Amazon because they do not back up the products they sell.

When I initially got this laptop, I had trouble with the Wi-Fi. I had to send it in twice, and I had a horrible experience with Samsung support. I was frequently forced to fill in the same web forms over and over again (tickets are closed after each step in the support process, requiring you to open a new ticket just to continue support). I was asked the same questions repeatedly, and treated like I was stupid and/or lying. It was literally the worst customer support I've ever had, and I've spent hours on the phone dealing with Microsoft support. God help you if you have trouble with this product.That said, once the issue was resolved, this is a tremendous laptop. The resolution was a big selling point for me, and it lived up to every one of my expectations. I can fit a lot on the screen, which makes up for not having two monitors, and everything is crystal clear.The laptop is super light and super portable. It gets warm during use, but not hot. The fan can be a little loud, but this generally doesn't matter much. The performance is outstanding for a laptop. There is no lag on normal Windows tasks, and you can play games on it (although there might be some lag until you adjust the settings down).The battery life is good but not great, but I often use it plugged in. Battery life various quite a bit depending on use. You might only get 3 hours playing a game, or you might get 8-10 hours of light use. 5-6 hours tends to be the average, which is decent.The keyboard is decent for a laptop. It feels a little flat and can lead to some typos, but as far as laptop keyboards go, that's to be expected. You get used to it pretty quick. The light-up keys are a big plus. The touch pad is exceptional, although I still like using a mouse most of the time.It really is a 5-star laptop, but I had to downgrade my rating due to Samsung's abysmal support. I split the difference between a 5-star laptop and 0-star support, rounding up because it really is a great laptop. I use this thing all the time, and I love it. I just wish I had a better experience with Samsung support. I don't even care that I had WiFi trouble out of the box, if Samsung stood behind their product without making me jump through tons of hoops I would have been happy. I was not happy. But now that everything is resolved, I am very happy with the laptop itself.