X

Samsung sneaks in a Series 5 Ultra upgrade

This midprice slim laptop gets a new body, plus a touch screen and backlit keyboard.

Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Expertise I've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever. Credentials
  • Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
See full bio
Dan Ackerman
Dan Ackerman/CNET

LAS VEGAS--Spotted at the Samsung booth at CES 2013 was an updated version of the company's Series 5 Ultra, a slim, midpriced ultrabook. Not getting a formal announcement, as the more high-profile Series 7 Ultra and Series 7 Chronos did, the updated Series 5 instead sneaked onto the show floor.

The new Series 5 will add a touch screen and backlit keyboard, and the overall design of the aluminum chassis is thinner, but still thick enough to hold an optical drive. The brushed-metal look is closer to the more expensive Series 7 and Series 9, making this look like it costs more than its $749 starting price.

The new Series 5 Ultra will be available in February in black, red, and pebble blue, with a Core i3 version starting at $749 and a Core i5 version for $899. AMD graphics will be available in some configurations, but probably not in the U.S.