Samsung Launches Series 7 Aluminum Laptops: Hands On

If there's one thing Samsung laptops are known for, it's that its aluminum laptops, particularly the and , are both tough-as-nails and breathtakingly beautiful. Today, the company launches two more under the Series 7 brand, a 13-inch and 15-inch version that'll rival the in terms of beauty and power.

The secret is in the hardened aluminum that the company uses, which is as durable and sleek as that found on the MacBook Pros. Both laptops are completely covered in it, and you'd be hard-pressed to detect any warping or bending after applying force to the either the bottom or top of the frame. Though they do seem heavy, it's the kind of heft that gives them their tough-as-nails characteristics.

The 13-inch version should really be called a 14-inch laptop, since Samsung managed to squeeze in a 14-inch widescreen into a 13-inch frame, leaving as little bezel around the screen as possible. It's similar to what Gateway did with the ID47H02u, except Samsung's version has a higher resolution (1,600-by-900) and is matted to withstand glare. The 15-inch version, on the other hand, is named appropriately because of its 15.6-inch widescreen. It, too, boasts a 1,600-by-900 resolution and an anti-glare screen.

Both laptops feature HDMI and two USB 3.0 ports. On the right side of each laptop, you'll find a slot-loading DVD burner, similar to the ones found in the Macbook Pros. I was impressed with their typing experiences, as all the Chiclet-style keys are raised to a proper height and have LED backlights for lightless areas. The oversized clickpad, or a touchpad that integrates the mouse buttons, is my least favorite part about these two laptops, as it tends to interrupt cursor movement. The clicking experience was also a bit too resistant for my tastes.

Samsung didn't skimp on the parts underneath the hood, though. The Series 7 13-inch will be configured with a dual core Core i5, up to 8GB of memory, and switching graphics technology using an AMD Radeon 6450M discrete graphics chip. The 15-inch will be the thinnest quad core laptop (measuring 23mm thick), according to Samsung, equipped with an Intel Core i7-2675M (2.2GHz) processor, up to 8GB of memory, and switching graphics technology using an AMD Radeon 6490M. Both laptops have non-removable batteries: The 13-inch bundles a 65WH Lithium Polymer one that promises up to seven hours of battery life, while the 80WH battery in the 15-inch is also claiming up to seven hours.

In addition to fast components, Samsung will also include onboard flash memory and software to enable a technology it calls "Fast Start." Note: This isn't Intel's Rapid Start technology, which is based on similar principles. With Fast Start, you can expect instant boot, resume, and shut down times. It will even resume instantly to where you left off when power is completely cut-off from the laptop.

Both laptops will be available in retail channels on October 2, and will be priced between $999 and $1,299, depending on the configuration.

For more, see the slideshow above.