Sections
- Page 1 Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite Review
- Page 2 Performance, Heat & Noise and Battery Life Review
- Page 3 Keyboard, Touchpad and Verdict Review
Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite: Keyboard and Touchpad
The Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite’s keyboard is excellent. It’s not backlit like more expensive Ultrabook laptops, but it has a decent, logical layout and the keys a have a nice, crisp action. The key travel is, if anything, a tiny bit shallow, but it’s nothing you can’t get used to.
As for the touchpad, it’s fine but does have a few issues. It’s a clickpad, so you have to slick to each side to activate the left and right clicks. This often led us to accidentally brush the left edge of the pad, which sets off the ‘switch app’ action in Windows 8.
The best way around this is to employ a technique Samsung has borrowed from Apple. Instead of clicking the right and left sides, simply click in the middle and and then use two fingers (instead of one) to activate the right-click.
We kind of wish this was the default, though.
Other things to consider
The speakers on the Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite are nothing to write home about. They’re adequate for watching video clips, but not much more.
As this is a slim and light laptop, connectivity is very limited. There’s just two USB ports, while both the Ethernet and HDMI ports require adaptors. There’s no DVD drive, either, though that’s hardly unusual now.
Finally, as there’s only a 128GB SSD (and that’s before Windows takes its chunk) it’s worth investing in an external hard drive for storing videos.
Should I buy the Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite?
Provided you can tolerate and average screen, this is a great buy. For the money the Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite is a smart, stylish and practical laptop with very good battery life. It’s not a speed demon and is no good for games, but you won’t find many laptops as light and portable and a good at this price. We do recommend you buy the non-touchscreen version, though. It’s £100 cheaper, a bit lighter and is identical in every other way.
SEE ALSO: Best student laptops
Verdict
Iffy screen aside, the Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite is a great cheap laptop that’s perfect for students.
How we test laptops
Unlike other sites, we test every laptop we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Trusted Score
Score in detail
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Performance 6
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Keyboard 8
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Design 8
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Screen Quality 5
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Build Quality 8
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Value 10
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Touchpad 7
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Heat & Noise 9
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Battery Life 9
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
