ATIV Book 9 Lite review: What does it take to make an $800 version of a $1,400 Ultrabook?

It is what it sounds like. The Samsung ATIV Book 9 Lite, announced at the same time as the ATIV Book 9 Plus, is a mid-range version of the company's flagship laptop. Priced at nearly half the price ($800 vs. $1,400), it's made of plastic instead of aluminum, with an AMD chip instead of the usual Intel Haswell processor. But it has generally the same look, and is nearly as thin and light as the real thing. In fact, it stands as one of the most lightweight machines you can get for this price, even if it doesn't qualify as a bona fide Ultrabook. So is it worth getting this and saving yourself six hundred bucks? And how big a deal is the difference in specs?

The ATIV Book 9 Lite looks like its higher-end cousin; it just doesn't feel like it. Perhaps the biggest thing they have in common is their shape: Both have a super-thin profile that widens a bit toward the hinge to accommodate the ports (USB 2.0 and 3.0, audio in/out, micro-HDMI and mini-VGA, in this case). Being the less-premium model, the Book 9 Lite is thicker (0.69 inch vs. 0.54 inch), though it wouldn't have occurred to us had we not looked up the two spec sheets. Incidentally, this one is heavier too, at 3.48 pounds -- a substantial step up from 3.06 pounds on the premium model.

What's especially nice is that there aren't even that many 13-inch, Ultrabook-like machines in this price range to begin with. In fact, most of the Book 9 Lite's competitors have larger 14-inch screens, and weigh a bit more, too. So as much as we take issue with the Book 9 Lite's performance (spoiler!), we'll give Samsung credit where it's due: We'd be hard-pressed to find another $800 laptop that's quite this thin and quite this light. As a bonus, the machine comes with an Ethernet adapter in the box, which is more than we can say about most other notebooks, even the expensive ones.

Unfortunately, as you'd expect, Samsung had to compromise on build quality to reach that $800 price point (and, you know, to make sure you still had a reason to spend $1,400 on the Book 9 Plus). For starters, the lid is made of glossy plastic, not aluminum. In fact, the whole thing is made of plastic: the keyboard deck, the palm rest and even the buttons. Now don't get us wrong, plastic doesn't always have to be a bad thing. Take the keyboard deck: It looks like the aluminum used on the ATIV Book 9 Plus, and does about as good a job hiding fingerprints.

The lid, on the other hand, commits two design sins: It has a painted-on pattern meant to mimic brushed metal, and it's a magnet for dust and other fluff. Also, the display wobbles when touched; that might not have been a big deal in the Windows 7 era, but it's a problem when you're constantly poking at the screen with your fingers. All that said, it's still a nice design for a machine this price. But yeah, a sturdier hinge would've been appreciated.

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