''Lighter than Air'' - The new Samsung X360 laptop rivals Ap

Samsung came out all-guns-blazing at this week's IFA electronics show in Berlin with its lightweight X360 laptop, which appears targeted at Apple's MacBook Air.

The X360 has a 13.3-in. screen like the MacBook Air and was unveiled at a news conference titled "Lighter than Air." And according to specifications, it meets that claim. The X360 weighs 2.8 pounds, which is 3 ounces lighter than the Apple machine.

It doesn't appear as thin as Apple's machine although Samsung didn't provide external measurements. But given the competitive nature of the X360 launch, the specifications would likely have been disclosed had they been a level beyond the MacBook Air.

But that's about where the comparisons should end because Apple's machine is based on its own Mac OS and the X360 will run Windows Vista. There are few buyers who would likely consider them both and go on to make a buying decision based on physical specifications.

The X360 is based on Intel's Core 2 Duo processor and includes a 128GB solid-state drive. SSDs are based on flash memory and should allow PCs to start and shut down faster than laptops with hard-disk drives. The screen offers a screen with 1,280-pixel-by-800-pixel resolution. Other features include a built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam, Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11n wireless LAN, 3 USB ports, HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) connector and Express Card slot.

Battery life on the X360 is between six hours and 10 hours depending on usage, according to Samsung.

The X360 will be launched in September in the U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Russia and Hong Kong. Pricing and launch details for other markets were not announced.

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