Samsung launches first ever 14-inch 'Ultrabook,' fits in an optical drive

Amidst a sea of super slim, light and ultra-portable laptops (aka 'Ultrabooks') heading to the market in late 2011 and early 2012, Samsung has decided that consumers still want a machine that is big and powerful, but alludes to the design principles of the Ultrabook category.

The South Korean-based electronics manufacturer is the first to introduce what it's calling a 14' Ultrabook, the largest 'Ultrabook' to be released so far (however, in reality the product is too heavy and thick to be classed under Intel's original description of the Ultrabook category).

The laptop has an aluminium exterior and a 'compact' design that measures 20.9mm thick and weighs 1.8kg. It also features an Intel Sandy Bridge processor, 8GB of memory and an anti-reflective display that is readable even in direct sunlight. In addition the Series 5 Ultra boasts the ability to switch from sleep mode to awake in less than two seconds.

Despite the confusion over the Ultrabook label, the 14" Samsung Series 5 Ultra fits in more than just a larger display -- it comes with an optical disc drive and a 1TB hard disc drive, two things the popular MacBook Air and other Ultrabooks in the market can't compete with.

Samsung is also releasing a more compact 13' Series 5 Ultra product that, at 14.9mm thick and 1.4kg, is more aptly branded under the Ultrabook nomenclature. It features 500 GB of storage space but does not include an optical disc drive like its bigger Series 5 Ultra sibling.

Expect to see a wide range of designer-worthy Ultrabooks condensing more powerful features into slimmer profiles during next year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January.

The China Economic News Service (CENS) recently predicted that more than 50 different Ultrabooks will be on display at the US trade show alongside a healthy lineup of tablets, smartphones and connected TVs.

Samsung's Series 5 Ultra devices will be available in Korea at the end of December before being shown at CES. The 13' Ultrabook will be priced from 1,290,000 won (€850) and the 14' version will be priced from 1,340,000 won