I spent 2hrs testing the Samsung Series 5 (530u3B) in front of an audience this evening – the best way to review!

We didn’t find any showstoppers but we did find an empty memory slot. You can see an upgrade to 8GB in the fourth video in the playlist below but in the other three videos I give you a deep dive into the Series 5.

Ugly? Practical? Heavy? Flexible? The HP Folio 13 is a strange Ultrabook in that while it doesn’t follow fashion in terms of looks and weight, it’s possibly a good thing because it also packs ports, features and battery capacity that other Ultrabooks don’t.  The HP Folio 13 could turn out to be the sensible choice among Ultrabooks in the first half of 2012

Video overview below. Full specifications, gallery, links to videos and reviews available in the HP Folio information page.

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Before we get into the detail on the Samsung NP350 I need to make it clear that I bought the Core i3 (2.2Ghz) version in the UK for a pre-tax price of about £370 (pre-tax business purchase price that equates to under $600 in the USA) In the UK, Ultrabooks start at around £680. The price differential isn’t so pronounced in other countries. E.g. In the USA, the Core i5 version of the NP350 is around $700 (where Ultrabooks start at $800) Having said that, the NP350 offers features that match, and in some cases beat Ultrabooks. I’ve bought the NP350 for use over the next months while i wait for the next wave of Ultrabooks and will be using it for blogging, video production, image editing, storage and as my day-to-day desktop.

Update: The original article had a battery capacity calculation error. Please see the correct figures in the battery testing section below.

Note: In the UK, the Amazon price is up by £100 now. Keep an eye out for offers.

Model tested: NP350U2B

Full specifications and information links in the database.

 If you’ve been looking at getting the best specifications into your Ultrabook choice you are likely to have the Toshiba Z830 at the top of your list. With a backlit keyboard, SSD, Intel WiFi module with Wi-Di and My-Wifi support, full size set of ports including VGA, HDMI and SDXC, all in the lightest weight possible, the Toshiba Z830 with Core i5 promises a lot. But that’s just specifications and real-world is sometimes very different. Fortunately the Z830 delivers, although it  has one possible showstopper hidden away beyond the specs and a few little niggles that might put you off. You can read about them in the full Toshiba Z830 review below. Thanks to Toshiba Europe for sending the Z830-10J over for review.

It’s not going to be possible to get a full review of the ASUS UX31 together as unfortunately I’ll be returning it tomorrow to exchange it for a Toshiba Z830 and settling on that for my work at CES, Mobile World Congress and probably CeBIT in March. It has been a tough decision but it’s time to bite the bullet and get to work. Before I do thought, let me tell you what I have learnt about the UX31 in the last 4 days.

Looking more like an ultra thin Atom-based netbook rather than an Intel Core-based notebook the Samsung Series 9 900X1B combines quality throughout and presents it in a very stylish and portable package that’s capable of some smooth, desktop-like computing experiences. Not everything is perfect but now that prices have dropped since launch, this 1KG wonder will fit the bill for those looking for a very small and light, capable notebook. It’s not strictly an Ultrabook but is build around the same principles.

I’m loving it! The Samsung 900X1B is an 11.6 inch notebook running an Intel Core processor with a battery life of 5-6hrs in web-working scenarios. Sounds big and heavy right? It’s not. The price matches the productivity potential and it’s working well as a partner to  my 7 inch Galaxy Tab Android Tablet.

The Samsung 900X1B is part of the Series 9 range that includes a 13 inch version and it’s designed around the ‘Ultrabook’ principle of efficient, light and stylish. It’s been available for a few months now but in my opinion it’s one of the best 11.6 inch notebooks out there. It weighs 1.06KG, 2.33Lbs and has a dynamic range that excites me. From 2.8W screen-off idle to 31W video processing. This stylish bit of kit can handle a huge range of tasks.

Yes it’s a desktop device (although I’ve done some one-handed action with it in the last 48hrs) and it’s not in the same category as an Ultra-Mobile, handheld PC device but given the lack of solutions in that area and the improvement in 7 inch tablet devices recently, this fits in as a perfect portable PC companion.

I want one. Although having said that I think the Core i3 version I have here is unnecessarily constrained. Core i5 at 1.6Ghz with Intel Turbo Boost action would extend the dynamic range even further without major battery life penalties but, here in Europe, the 900X1B with Core i3 and 4GB RAM, 64GB storage is dropping in price quickly. It’s €880 right now. Very attractive and a lot of PC and quality engineering for the price. Matt screen, back-lit and high-quality keyboard, fast SSD, Gigabit Ethernet (via wobbly adaptor) and more.

OK let me stop now. If you’re interested, check out my first impressions, battery life test at Ultrabooknews.com and then join me on Sat 3rd Dec 2011 at 2100 CET (Your timezone details here.) for a live Q&A and review [I’ll be live here]. Those of you that were interested in high-end netbooks are going to love this. If the price is too high for you, just wait. This is the sort of 1KG laptop that will be $500 in a few years. Mark my words! Devices like this will totally displace the high-end netbook market.

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime is shaping up to be a hot seller with its quad-core Tegra 3 CPU/GPU combo and its attachable keyboard. Just a few days ago, our pal Ritchie got his hands on the Transformer Prime and produced a great overview video of the device. Now he’s drilling down the specifics.

Ritchie has fielded a number of questions from folks interested in the Transformer Prime, and prepared a whopping 5 new videos for your viewing pleasure. We’ll drop one here, but if you’d like more, certainly go visit the post over at Ritchie’s Room.