Samsung eyes global launch of new mobile PC in March

SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday that it will globally launch an ultra-thin laptop computer in March, lodging another round of battle against Apple Inc. in the market that demands more portable and lighter mobile PCs.
The Sense Series 9 is thinner and lighter than the company's previous models, with a 1.31 kilogram weight and its thickest part measuring a mere 16.3 millimeters, Samsung said in a statement.
Powered by Intel Corp.'s latest chip, the laptop can run multiple programs at once like previous personal computers and it also sports a faster booting speed at 15 seconds, helped by the company's Solid State Disk (SSD). The battery lasts seven hours when fully charged.
PC makers have been trying to improve mobility, boosting speed and battery power in their latest PC models as tablet computers, a larger version of touch-based smartphones, enjoy immense popularity, threatening the existing PC market.
Samsung's new mobile PC is likely to compete against similar products from Apple Inc., such as the MacBook Air, which was seen as Apple's latest attempt to fuse the characteristics of a mobile phone into a laptop computer. Samsung's new laptop is priced higher than Apple's at 2.49 million won (US$2,211).
ylee@yna.co.kr