Samsung had a great 2010, producing a series of highly impressive machines. But it got a little left behind in the ultraportable stakes. Here to rectify this is our long-awaited Samsung 900XSA review - otherwise known as the Samsung 9 Series.

Boasting a gorgeous design and excellent power courtesy of an Intel Sandy Bridge Core i5 processor, portability is king here.

You can check out our Samsung 9 Series video below.

One thing that might make you pause for thought, though, is the price. The £1,300 price point does place the Samsung 900XSA in the firing line of high end ultraportables - check out our Apple MacBook Air review and cheaper models of the Sony Z-Series - see our Sony Z-Series review.

That's not necessarily a place you'd want to be without good reason.

In terms of looks, the Samsung 900XSA is absolutely fantastic. A subtly brushed aluminium finish gives the laptop a truly high-end look and feel and, although it does attract fingerprints, dust and dirt don't stick to the surface at all.

This means that you won't spend the whole time polishing the laptop in a bid to keep it looking smart.

This is also one of the physically sleekest laptops we've seen in quite some time. The 900X3 measures only 19mm at its thickest point, making it easy to slip into a bag or case, while each side of the chassis features an attractive rolling curve, giving it a feather-light appearance.

Samsung has obviously spent a lot time making sure the 900XSA sticks out in the crowd, and it has certainly achieved that. This is one of the most arresting designs we've seen since the Dell Adamo XPS.

A material called duralumin has been employed in building the 900XSA. According to Samsung this material, used in the manufacture of military aircraft, is twice as strong as standard aluminium.

Such a billing comes as a surprise - the metal feels surprisingly flimsy, with the lid bending under pressure. We can only hope that this is an intentional design feature which enables the laptop to absorb pressure, rather than snap under it. Another blemish on the copybook is the slightly spongy keyboard.

Down either side of the laptop the ports are hidden behind fold down panels, so the natural lines of the chassis aren't broken.

USB 3.0 is included, for extra fast data transfer, and you can even charge peripherals from the USB ports when the laptop is off, thanks to Sleep & Charge technology.

That means that you won't have to keep the laptop powered on should you want to charge your smartphone, for example, saving the 900XSA's battery. A mini-HDMI port lets you connect the laptop to your HDTV, and there's also a mini-Gigabit Ethernet port for wired networking - unlike in the MacBook Air.

The 13.3-inch screen is very bright, crisp and clear, and features 1366x768 resolution. Colour reproduction is especially vibrant, and we were impressed by how good movies and photos looked during testing.

No shine

The 900XSA doesn't feature a shiny screen finish, and this means that irritating reflections aren't a problem in bright light. This will appeal to business users who may need to use the laptop under harsh office lighting or on a train.

The laptop also boasts a great viewing angle, meaning it's easy to view from wide angles, important if you want to share information on-screen with others.

We mentioned above that the backlit keyboard isn't as good as we had hoped. It doesn't have the same premium feel of the rest of the 900XSA, thanks largely to an overly spongy action.

Those with a light typing action won't find this a problem, but your average typist will miss the concise, sharp travel many of the laptop's competitors boast. It's not a deal-breaker, and some may indeed like it, but it's worth trying at your local superstore first.

The large touchpad sits centrally in the 900XSA's palmrest. Offering multitouch capabilities that allow you to navigate through the operating system with simple finger gestures, we found it highly responsive and a pleasure to use.