By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff reporter
Some would say that Samsung Electronics built its consumer products empire on flat-screen televisions and mobile phones, but the South Korean technology giant is clearly earning its stripes in laptop computers too.
And the company's future in the laptop market will depend on its ability to continue providing sleek and sexy products like the SENS X170. The ``notebook'' computer features a 11.6-inch light-emitting diode (LED) backlit liquid crystal display (LCD) screen that supports high-definition images with 16:9 luster, much to the excitement of videogame lovers and movie buffs, and is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo processor.
Other notable specifications include a built-in Web camera and wireless LAN connectivity, and despite packing such an impressive punch, the laptop weights only 1.46 kilograms and measures just 25.5 millimeters thick.
The ``ultra-thin'' SENS X170 also represents Samsung's efforts to achieve marketing cohesion between its wireless Internet products, such as laptops, and mobile phones.
The SENS X170s are sold in two colors ― ``Jamaican Yellow'' and ``Cupid Pink'' ― identical to the options Samsung provide for its stylish Corby mobile phones, which are gaining increasing popularity among young wireless users.
To Korean tech geeks, Samsung's SENS laptops, first launched in 1995, has a reputation for wireless Internet capability and computing strength across its product lineup, from the minimalist ``netbooks'' to more powerful premium devices. SENS products have been well-received by fashionistas since Samsung released the red-colored versions of the laptops in 2005, which proved to be a shrewd business decision.
Samsung is seeing increasing competition in the laptop market with rivals such as LG Electronics, Hewlett Packard (HP) and other Asian makers such as Acer and Toshiba pumping a slew of products through the gate as Korea embraces a mobile Internet explosion.
However, Samsung is confident that the SENS notebooks will continue to be the first that comes to Korean minds when the word ``premium'' is mentioned.
The company is pushing a lavish marketing campaign, dubbed as ``It's crazy,'' for SENS products to target young customers. A series of television commercials, featuring Cleveland Indians' star outfielder, Choo Shin-soo, who is quickly becoming one of the best Korean players ever to have played in Major League Baseball (MLB), were particularly popular.