Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus - Hot Laptop This Year

What's the story?
At the other end of the scale to Chromebooks sit Ultrabooks, which are all about high-end tech packed into slim bodies. The catch (there's always a catch) is that you'll have to do without chassis-fattening extras such as Ethernet ports and optical drives. The Ativ Book 9 Plus is Samsung's latest Ultrabook, and in addition to having a stupid name it has a super hi-res 13.3in screen. Given Samsung's past triumphs in the field, we have high hopes for it.

Any good?
The Samsung is pure class. Its black finish is a world away from the dated silver of its brethren, and the whole thing exudes a premium feel, like you've just been given a really expensive box of chocolates. The display is a ludicrously high-def 3200x1800 with excellent viewing angles and 10-point multi-touch, we got a useful 7.5hrs out of the battery and even the speakers are great. The negatives? The touchpad can be a bit tetchy, its Core i5 Haswell processor isn't quite powerful enough to game in full detail and Windows 8.1's desktop mode is really not designed to be viewed at 3200x1800 resolution; scaling down to 1080p works far better. But we're being picky – as premium ultra-portable laptops go, this is one of the best.

PEOPLE SAY
The most luxurious mobile home you can give to Windows 8