With Windows 8 in tow, Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite touching down July 28

Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite
We can't guarantee it's as fun as bubbles

Samsung may be releasing more Android handsets than anyone can keep track of (see here, here and here), but now the Korean manufacturer is adding a more affordable option to its Windows 8 notebook lineup as well.

Samsung today announced U.S. availability for the Ativ Book 9 Lite, the latest iteration of the company's PC line powered by Microsoft's OS.

The Samsung Ativ Book 9 Lite will land in retail stores on July 28 for a suggested retail price of $799.99 in either Mineral Ash Black or Marble White; online pre-orders are now available for an unexplained $30 more, with delivery estimated for Aug. 9.

Made for touch

Samsung's included SideSync technology offers seamless integration with the company's tablet and smartphone products just by connecting them with a USB cable, allowing the Ativ Book 9 Lite to respond to text messages, view multimedia content and edit files with some drag-and-drop ease.

Despite the Book 9 branding, this Ativ Lite actually sports a 13.3-inch, 1366 x 768 LCD display. There's the standard 10-point capacitive touchscreen capable of handling input from both hands at once, for those who like to get touchy-feely with their screens.

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Ativ Book 9 Lite is powered by a quad-core processor capable of up to 1.4GHz with AMD Radeon Graphics, 128GB of solid-state storage, 4GB DDR3 RAM and a 720pHD camera perfect for video chat.

Weighing 3.48 pounds, the latest Book 9 is compact 12.76 x 8.82 x 0.69 inches) and capable of up to 5.5 hours battery life - although that's still well short of Apple's latest MacBook Air models.