Samsung has officially announced its first Ultrabook offerings at CES 2012, called the Samsung Series 5 Ultra. There will be three models at launch – two 13-inch laptops, and one 14-inch. All three laptos will be released by the end of January.

According to Samsung, all three Ultrabooks will be powered by Intel Core i5 processor, and 4GB of RAM. Other features include an 8 hour battery life, and matte displays with 300 nits of brightness and a 1,366x768 pixel resolution. One 13-inch and the 14-inch Series 5 model will feature both a 500GB hard drive and a 16GB of ExpressCache memory (flash). A 13-inch model with a 128GB SSD will also be available. The two 13-inch models will the following connectivity options - multi card reader, HDMI port, Ethernet port, USB 3.0 and 2.0, and a dual headphone/microphone jack. The 14-inch Series 5 model is much the same, featuring a VGA port in addition, as well as an optical drive, apparently a first for an Ultrabook.

Samsung has announced MSRPs of $899 and $949 for the 13-inch and 14-inch Series 5 Ultra Ultrabooks, and $1,099 for the 13-inch with 128GB SSD option.

Samsung also announced a new generation of Series 9 laptops at CES 2012, two models – 15-inch and 13.3-inch offerings. The devices very compact and lightweight, with the 13-inch model measuring 13mm thick, and weighing 1.1kg. The 15-inch weighs 1.6 kgs, and measures 15mm in thickness.

Both new Samsung Series 9 models have an “ultraslim, aluminium single shell body,” which has been sand-blasted for fingerprint resistance. Both the 13.3-inch and 15-inch laptops feature matte finish displays with a 1600x900 resolution, and Samsung’s SuperBright Plus technology at 400 nits of brightness.

Other features of the Series 9 laptops include up to Intel Core i5-2467M and 128GB SSD at launch, coupled with 4GB RAM, USB 3.0, multi-card reader, Samsung's Fast Solutions technology, up to 10 hours of battery life for the 15-inch and up to 7 hours for the 13.3-inch. The second generation Samsung Series 9 will be available starting February 27, 2012. They will retail for $1,399.99 and $1,499.99 for the 13.3-inch and 15-inch respectively.