Samsung has also jumped the thin-and-light bandwagon with a stylish 15.6-inch design based on the SU2700. Most vendors went for slightly smaller form factors in their first ultrathins, but we’re guessing more compact Samsung models could be on the way as well.

In many respects the X520 Aura is similar to MSI’s X600, but it’s based on a slower, 1.3GHz CPU, and it has no discrete graphics, at least not in the SKU we came across. It ships with 4GB of DDR3, 320GB hard drive and it packs Bluetooth, draft-n wireless, an HDMI out and a 6-cell battery.

It measures 381.9 x 256.0 x 24.0-32.4mm and weighs a mere 2.09kg, but robustness shouldn’t be an issue, as it uses Samsung’s Duracase scratch resistant coating, and Samsung’s build quality in general has improved recently. We like the looks as well, although the keyboard looks a bit dull and quaint for such a stylish notebook. It’s somewhat understated, not too flashy or smug, which is something business users tend to appreciate.

We’re not sure about the availability dates either, but it should launch soon. The price for this particular SKU is €699, which is about the same you’d pay for a somewhat better spec’d MSI X600. Hopefully Samsung will offer some dual-core SKUs soon, as well as some smaller models to take on Lenovo’s U350 and MSI’s X340.