Samsung aims to be no.1 in laptops – we talk to the top men in Seoul

The Samsung Series 9 won our Ultimate award back a couple of months back, and still sits at the pinnacle of Windows laptops. It’s quite simply the most desirable laptop money can buy, and is a clear step ahead of the many competing Ultrabooks. Furthermore, the current model is a huge leap forward from last year’s Series 9 laptop, being both an incredible piece of engineering and of design. It’s all the more impressive, given that Samsung was a very small player in laptops only five years ago.

The new Samsung Series 9 – our most recent Ultimate award winning laptop

With our plaudits already bestowed on the Series 9, we were happy to be invited by Samsung to Seoul, South Korea to meet the men behind the machine. Here we talk to the senior executives behind the Samsung success story, the engineers who made the Series 9 possible and the designers who made it look stunning. We’ll break down just what goes into making an award-winning laptop, and also take a look at what Samsung will be bringing us later in the year when Windows 8 launches.

1. AN EXPORT-EXPORT ECONOMY

Seoul feels like it was largely thrown together in the last twenty years, with little concern for planning considerations or appearance. Many of the world’s least-appealing high-rise buildings must be here, sitting side-by-side with newer, sleeker counterparts. The high-density sprawl seemingly goes on forever, with 23.6 million living in the Seoul metropolitan area. And they all seem to like driving, day-or-night the streets are full of traffic, and even after decades of strong economic growth the appetite for more is almost tangible.

Seoul is certainly at its most striking after dark

While Japanese electronics manufacturers, such as Sony and Panasonic, have struggled recently, with tumbling share prices; South Korean companies have gone from strength-to-strength. Samsung Electronics and other well-known Korean brands such as LG, Daewoo, Kia and Hyundai all prospering. We’re not going to get into the nitty-gritty of economic policy here, but a high percentage of GDP is spent on R&D, there are big export incentives from the government and the average working week is 20 hours longer than that of the Germans. All of which have all done their bit to propel Korea and Samsung to success.

South Korea has become synonymous with its massive conglomerates – of which Samsung is the largest

And that success is huge, Samsung is now the biggest seller of mobile phones in the world, and the biggest seller of TVs – with approximately 300 million and 45 million sold respectively in 2011. In doing so it has outsold long-term top dogs such as Sony and Nokia. HD TVs and smartphones have been big business over the last few years, as radical changes in technology transformed our CRT TVs and basic handsets into something more appropriate for the twenty-first century. While the super-slim HD TV and smartphone have become the defining products of consumer desire, PCs and laptops have had a rough ride comparatively; so we were a little surprised when Samsung’s Vice President of Marketing Won Park-Costof told us that Samsung had been: “Focused on TV, focused on mobile, but the next ten years is going to be focused on PC.”

The top people at Samsung are serious about laptops it seems, though this strategy isn’t anything new. The company has been pushing out good quality products at competitive prices for some years now. We fondly remember the long-running Q330 and the company’s excellent range of netbooks, such as the Samsung N120 – which won awards as far back as 2009. Such laptops helped Samsung raise its worldwide sales from just 1 million laptops to 10 million laptops in just five years – between 2005-2010. However, the company is now changing tack and aiming squarely at the high-end of the market with an eye to challenge the likes of Apple, Sony and Dell – and the Series 9 is at the forefront of that push.

2. TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS – SAMSUNG THROUGH AND THROUGH

It’s not just all long-term planning and favourable economic conditions though, Samsung’s key advantage is that it’s a huge semi-conductor manufacturer, which designs, develops and manufactures its own components. Last year, Samsung proudly told us, the company had filed the second highest number of new patents for a technology company, just behind IBM.

To give you some idea just how successful Samsung is in this area, its three biggest clients in 2010 were Apple, Sony and Dell – three of the key companies that Samsung will need to beat to achieve global laptop dominance. The semi-conductor business is hard to fathom, at present Samsung manufactures the RAM, processor chipset and Retina Display in the new iPad, but at the same time the two companies are involved in legal battles over whether Samsung’s tablets have ripped-off Apple’s design. Neither, though, is letting that little tiff get in the way of a deal that is making both companies a lot of money.

There’s a lot of Samsung technology inside Apple’s new iPad

Coming back to the Series 9, Samsung’s semi-conductor expertise allows it to push the boundaries a little when it comes to the engineering of our ultimate laptop, as Kevin Lee, Vice President PC Development Group, explained to us.

And there’s an awful lot more packed inside the Series 9 – from the bottom on the left you can see the battery, touchpad, motherboard (three pieces), fans/heat pipes and keyboard

The display is a good example, at 13.3in and with a 1,600×900 resolution it isn’t ground-breaking for a high-end Ultrabook. However, the Samsung-made panel is brighter than any of its competitors, putting out a whacking 400nits (compared to 300nits on most laptops). This lets you use the laptop in brighter conditions, which is important for a portable device. At the opposite end of the scale, the backlit keyboard means you can work in the dark too. Here Samsung’s engineers combined the keyboard sensor sheet with an electro-luminant material, negating the need to include the LEDs which would normally provide the backlight. The sheet provides a more even backlight and saves a little in terms of space and weight.

The electro-luminant keyboard sheet, which also provides backlighting

Other ways in which the engineers shaved grams and millimetres off the Series 9 includes a single-sided motherboard, with all the chips mounted on one side, and the use of just four eight gigabit memory chips rather than 16 more conventional two gigabit chips. The fans are ultra-thin at just 4mm deep, though the engineers are most looking forward to even more heat-efficient Intel processors and chipsets, so that these can be furthered reduced or removed entirely. The battery used has a higher-than usual voltage polymer cell which provides an extra 16% cell capacity, this helped keep it slim while still scoring an impressive eight hours in our light usage battery test.

3. DESIGN – PROTOTYPES AND PROBLEMS

The Series 9’s outer shell is a lovely piece of engineering, being precision cut from a single piece of aluminium by a computer-controlled lathe accurate to one thousandth of a millimetre. However the shape of that outer shell wasn’t decided on by a computer or an engineer, but instead Samsung’s design team. We got to talk to Series 9 designer Jungwhan Hong about the 20-strong team’s inspiration behind the laptop, which had some 33,000 hours of work put into it.

Jungwhan Hong was the lead designer on the Series 9

Now, no discussion of product design would be complete without a remarkably meaningless acronym, in this department Samsung has come up with S.T.A.R., which stands for Simple, Thoughtful, Authentic and Remarkable. They aren’t the worst set of adjectives, but they could apply to practically any product or manufacturer. Another brilliant piece of near-meaningless word spew was ‘Evolution of Premium DNA with Signature Detail’. Thankfully, Samsung’s designers are far, far better at making good-looking and practical products than they are at writing compelling marketing twaddle.

Rapid Prototypes from a 3D printer which help the design team experiment with ideas

Hong talked about the issues they had with the original Series 9 laptops, which we felt pointed the way for later Ultrabook-branded releases, but lacked the luxurious finish and general build quality of its successor. One key issue was the ports, which had been hidden behind drop down doors on the first model, but this had compromised the ease of use of the laptop and so practicality was put before appearance. Another compromise can be seen in the only plastic part of the chassis, which sits just below the hinge – between the screen and the keyboard. This was deemed necessary to get the best possible Wi-Fi performance, as the original all-metal shell was hindering the built-in antennas.

A rapid prototype of the Series 9 showing the keyboard and screen

Hong showed us a number of the Rapid Prototypes that the team had produced during the design process, these were made using a 3D printer in a matter of hours. This allowed the design team to very quickly get an idea of how any change would affect the overall feel of the device. Finally, a first hand-built prototype was made to show to Samsung’s CEO Choi Gee-sung, a very nervous moment for the team. The prototype has a different surface treatment and a darker colour. Hong talked about the final finish evoking “a meteorite stone coming down from space, the Series 9 combines the best tech from earth and materials from the cosmos”. This outlook matches the Series 9 with Samsung’s Galaxy branding for its smartphone range.

An early, but fully-functioning prototype of the Series 9

Having said that, there’s little about the Series 9 which really stands out. Despite all the talk, the core mantra appears to be less-is-more. This approach is to be purposed further next year, with even less design, and a “minimal organic” appearance, under the moniker ‘SuperPure’. It’s not that we dislike the appearance of the current Samsung products (the Series 9 and Galaxy S3), but we can’t see how, or why, you’d want to strip away even more character from them.

4. THE NEXT GENERATION

As to the next generation of the Series 9 itself, Samsung did reveal a few titbits that were under consideration for 2013’s flagship laptop. We asked whether the new model could be even thinner than the current one, and were told that Samsung plan to keep roughly to the current dimensions in this aspect, and instead concentrate on “adding functionality, and improving the keyboard and screen”. The engineers noted that heat management was a big issue with further miniaturisation, as keeping air circulating around the core components is a major challenge. In terms of materials, there may be a move from aluminium to new, stiffer plastics; though this may not be the case for the Series 9 in particular.

Will the next Series 9 follow the new MacBook Pro and use a super-high resolution display?

The display should undergo an upgrade to at least a Full HD resolution, and this looks more than likely given the subsequent launch of Apple’s latest MacBook Pro with its ground-breaking 15in, 2,880×1,800 resolution screen. The company had looked into using its own AMOLED displays in the Series 9, seen on many of Samsung’s smartphones and some smaller tablets, but it proved too expensive. It’s a possible switch for next year’s model, and one we’d applaud given the increased contrast ratios and reduced battery drain of such displays, but no final decision had been made.

We’re hoping that the next generation of the Series 9 will use an AMOLED screen like this Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7

Speaking of batteries, we inquired about new technologies; but there’s little good news here unfortunately, with no revolutionary new designs on the horizon. Intel are planning to flex the combined muscle of the laptop industry by establishing some standardised battery sizes for Intel-based laptops. This should help bring down prices and concentrate the minds of the battery cell industry on improving their products. However, even this will only result in the same slow evolution of cell capacities and dimensions – for example, your laptop probably uses 18650 type cells which are 18mm across and have a 2,200mAh capacity, the latest 16650 cells are 16mm across and can have a 2,400mAh capacity – hardly a radical upgrade. Samsung admitted it didn’t yet have an innovation to compete with Apple’s excellent (and heavily patented) magnetic power connector, but it is working on it.

Samsung certainly has Apple’s MacBook range in its sights with the Series 9, so we were curious whether a smaller 11in version of the Series 9 was on the cards. Apparently, it was considered but market research showed there wasn’t enough demand for such a device. Furthermore, they said that upcoming devices with such small screen sizes are unlikely to be standard laptop designs.

5. WINDOWS 8 – ALL CHANGE

The upcoming launch of Windows 8 is shaking up the rather staid laptop market. The new operating system, with full support for touch-based interfaces, is bringing new challenges and opportunities for hardware manufacturers – Samsung executives told us that the growth in laptop sales was due to double next year as a direct result. Hybrid devices, similar to Asus’s Transformer range, and Windows Tablets dominated this year’s Computex show recently in Taiwan. Such a shake up is a big opportunity for Samsung of course, who should be able to blend its laptop and tablet expertise to make excellent hybrid devices, presuming that the separate IT and Mobile departments can work together.

The most obvious way to update traditional ‘clamshell’ laptops for Windows 8 is to simply switch out the normal display for a touchscreen one. Samsung isn’t sure whether this simple ‘fix’ will prove popular though, as reaching over a keyboard to prod at a screen has always seemed a little awkward and pointless. A big factor is obviously price, the addition of a big capacitative screen being a serious consideration, with Samsung describing it as “higher than the consumer would expect”. However, it does have around 20 engineers looking into user interface improvements, including “facial, gestural and emotional recognition”, which could make using your PC more instinctive, even without a touchscreen.

Samsung’s flagship Windows device next year will be this tablet/laptop hybrid PC, which uses a magnetic docking system

As well as a traditional version of Windows that will practically any PC program, a new Windows RT version will be released. Windows RT will appear largely identical to the standard version, but will run on ARM architecture processors that dominate the smartphone and tablet market. The big difference being that Windows RT will only run applications written specifically for it and sold through Microsoft’s Windows Store. Samsung admitted that it has a task force looking into Windows RT devices based around its on ARM-based processor designs – as used in Samsung’s smartphones. It estimates that ARM-based laptop and hybrid devices would gain up to two hours in battery life over current low-voltage Intel-based devices.

Though we’ve talked a lot about hardware here, it’s in software that Samsung most hopes to differentiate itself from other manufacturers. Using its expertise in developing Android applications, it hopes to move some of the user-interface lessons learnt there into exclusive apps for Windows 8. These apps could come pre-installed on Windows 8 devices, or be downloaded from a special Samsung section of the Windows Store.

6. SAMSUNG’S GRAND PLAN – WE TALK TO THE BIG BOSS

The big boss for PCs at Samsung, Seongwoo Nam (Executive Vice President of IT Solutions) talked to us about Samsung’s laptop strategy. He said that Samsung weren’t in the laptop business just so it could sell more Samsung-made semi-conductors, though he admitted that its position in making such components put it a uniquely-strong position.

Nam admitted that with its netbook business, Samsung had started out as “a volume player”, but now wanted to move to being, “a premium player like Apple or Sony.” He sees Microsoft and Windows 8 as a great opportunity and said “Microsoft and Intel are also important value adders to me”, so though Samsung may be bullish about its goals, it’s not yet looking to move away from partnering with the big supporting guns in the laptop market. He went on to say that,”With Windows 8 and the strategic importance of the cloud and apps, Samsung is well placed to take advantage over competition.”

One of three gigantic Samsung building in downtown Seoul, in addition there’s a 30,000 person campus -Samsung Digital City – in nearby Suwon

However he also claimed that Samsung wasn’t selling laptops to make big profits, as apparently the margins on such devices are very small. Talking at length about Samsung’s desire to grow the business side of PC and IT business, we couldn’t help but feel that the consumer market may just be a stepping stone to more lucrative corporate supply and support contracts. Hopefully, this doesn’t mean Samsung will lose its focus on the consumer market, but it’s far too early to tell.

For now, Samsung’s long-term planning and heavy investment in R&D look to be paying dividends at this critical time in the PC business. It’s making some gorgeous-looking and highly desirable products, with its TVs, smartphones and laptops all gaining our praise in recent months. Having spoken to some of its top executives, we get the feeling that it’s trying to do things better than everyone else: TVs better than Sony, laptops and smartphones better than Apple, research and software development better than IBM. That’s a laudable aim, but given recent successes it’s one that’s largely been achieved. Soon, instead of doing something better than someone else, Samsung will need to take the initiative and set the agenda itself.

On the next two pages we show you how Samsung tests it laptops in its secretive lab, and some contenders for our next Ultimate laptop

7. GET DOWN AND GIVE ME 20,000! – TESTING THE SERIES 9

While visiting with Samsung we were given a rare tour of the company’s testing labs – where no photography was allowed. These aren’t gleamingly high-tech, admittedly, but the sheer size, thoroughness and ingenuity on show certainly put our own Shopper Labs to shame. Samsung’s engineers have developed and built many of the test machines themselves, so they can put through their new laptop designs through a rigourous set of tests – both of prototypes and once mass production has commenced.

We saw one machine that open and shuts the lid of a laptop, a new design must have its lid opened and closed 20,000 times without any sign of problems before its passed fit. The same goes for the ports, where a laptop is bolted down and multiple electronic arms plug and unplug USB, HDMI and other connectors – again 20,000 repetitions on every port. Meanwhile, another machine presses the keys on the laptop’s keyboard over-and-over.

The torsion machine twists the laptop to ensure it won’t break under reasonable pressure – picture provided by Samsung

We were taken into a soundproof room, which is curiously unsettling due to the four foot thick foam baffles on every wall and the ceiling, which kill any reverberation of your voice leaving everything sounding oddly flat. Here an artificial person, with microphones in its artificial ears, ‘listens’ to a laptop so that the engineers can make sure there’s no long term degradation in its audio qualities – like maybe a high pitch wine that develops over time. Another room is kept at a constant 45C, here test samples are left running constantly for six months, we couldn’t last more than ten minutes before heading for the exit.

There’s a wonderful range of machines that were spending their days dropping Series 9 laptops in a variety of inventive ways. Laptops are hit with a jarring knock of 120 joules while on to see if they carry on functioning without a glitch – this test is more for laptops with traditional hard disks rather than SSDs. After that the laptops are vibrated, both in their boxes and standalone. Before being dropped in a laptop bag and being prodded to simulate other items in a bag being pushed up against them.

Before we left, we saw the final round of laptop tortures. The torsion machine grips the laptop on either side and then twists it by five degrees in opposite directions, this is repeated 30,000 times. After that the laptop is subjected to numerous electric shocks, to a variety of points on the chassis, at 8,000V.

After all that, we’re very glad that we’re not a Samsung laptop, but as a potential customer you should be reassured that it is being done thoroughly. This is one of the reasons Samsung points to when discussing its low three-year failure rate – a claimed 14.3%, the lowest of all the major laptop manufacturers.

8. THE NEXT ULTIMATE LAPTOP?

Although the Samsung Series 9 has won us over for now, there are some big competitors on the horizon. Here are a few possible winners for the future.

MACBOOK PRO WITH RETINA DISPLAY
Now on sale, it would be remiss not to mention the latest MacBook Pro. It’s a very sleek yet powerful laptop, with its quad-core processor and dedicated graphics chip. It may look traditional at first glance, but its eye-popping 2,880×1,800 resolution screen sets it a apart from any other laptop. Where Apple lead, it’s likely that others will follow.

ASUS TAICHI
Asus have made a name for themselves with bold designs, and the TaiChi carries on that reputation. This slender laptop has a screen on both sides of the lid, so it can be used as a tablet when the lid is closed. Both screens can even be used independently, so you could do a presentation with the outward screen while controlling it from the inside one. It’s still a prototype for now, however.

ACER ASPIRE S7
This Ultrabook is undoubtedly the first of many to have a touchscreen. The S7 folds back flat, so you could prop it up on your knees while sitting on the sofa and just interact with the touchscreen. Yes, it looks a little traditional, but its super-slender and the lid is covered by a single glass panel, giving it a classy finish.