samsung ATIV smart PC! 10 out of 10

[IamDavid]

Picked mine up today from Att and all I can say is wow! Simply amazing.

Fast
Light
Beautiful
Useful at both work and play.
Every app I use is already in the app store.
PhotoShop is amazing.
Windows 8 is perfect on a tablet.

Also picked up the Nokia 920. Its great but way to HEAVY!! No way kids or smaller people will like it.

 

[dagamer34]

Picked mine up today from Att and all I can say is wow! Simply amazing.

Fast
Light
Beautiful
Useful at both work and play.
Every app I use is already in the app store.
PhotoShop is amazing.
Windows 8 is perfect on a tablet.

Also picked up the Nokia 920. Its great but way to HEAVY!! No way kids or smaller people will like it.

iPhone + typical case = weight of 920. So... yeah.

 

[s44]

iPhone + typical case = weight of 920. So... yeah.

Uh, no. Not even close.

i5 = 112g
TPU case = about 20g
total = 130-135g

920 = 185g

(for reference, Note 2 = 180g)

 

[Bacstar]

Picked up the Samsung ATIV too when I was at AT&T getting the Nokia 920. I've been wanting to get a Win 8 Tablet but I really needed the non-RT version. When I saw it on display, I couldn't resist.

So far, it's working out great. Have had an iPad, Touchpad, and a Galaxy Tab, and by far, the ATIV has been the most useful out of the box. I can browse my networks, remote desktop, and transfer files without needing to purchase an app or jumping through a bunch of hoops.

Do have a couple issues. I lose sound and have to reboot to get it back, and it doesn't seem to remember the SSID's for my hidden wifi networks.

 

[gorcorps]

I was looking at the ativ pro, but after learning the keyboard dock doesn't have a battery I don't think it's worth it. Very odd, as the NON pro version dock does have a battery. Very unfortunate design choice that I think will cost Samsung some sales, including mine.

 

[wisemand]

I have one of these, and it's a great piece of kit, especially as a slate. However, I find that when I'm using it docked with the keyboard it's almost constantly connecting and reconnecting with the keyboard and USB devices on the keyboard. So when typing it'll often miss letters as it'll disconnect then reconnect the keyboard. The little melody it plays (disconnect/reconnect) got so annoying I turned the sound off!

This happens more frequently if I have it on my lap, or I'm using the touchscreen at the same time as the keyboard; I almost never use the touchpad on the keyboard. I'm guessing the movement of the screen on the connector as I touch it or it moves around whilst on my knee is enough for the physical connector to momentarily lose connection?

I've reported it to Samsung who suggested I take the unit back & swap for another one though I'd rather find out if my issue is unique before committing to losing the device for a while. Any comments?

D

 

[Bacstar]

Didn't get the keyboard since I have a blutooth one from a previous tablet. I thought the tablet locked into the keyboard? I remember reading that you had to push a button to release.

 

[wisemand]

Yes it does have locks and a push-button release. They're all doing what they're supposed to, and yet it still chimes frequently as the keyboard/mousepad disconnects and reconnects as it wobbles on my lap/couch.

Sadly, there's so much noise in the 2.4GHZ band where I work that a bluetooth mouse jerks like a maniac, and a BT keyboard can have moments of unresponsive-ness as well. Both work fine at home.

 

[rifken2]

How about the final cost with the dock?

How much is the monthly data plan?

Does the 4G include GPS?

I am torn between this and the VivoTab, the non-RT version. I haven't heard if the VivoTab (non-RT) will make it to AT&T. I really want one of these with a wireless carrier. I like the ASUS solution better due to the extra battery in the dock.

 

[gsethi]

I am also seriously thinking of getting one (got the Lumia 920 on Friday). Switching to MS from Apple.

99% of the things I do on laptop is remote desktop or just browsing/movies, so I dont need a workhorse, just something with good battery life. But spending ~$800 on Atom doesnt sound too good.

I am thinking if I should wait for Surface Pro or Ativ Pro version. 1080p screens with i5 CPUs sound really good but am concerned about battery life.

 

[IamDavid]

The pro versions will definitely be appealing once released. Battery worries or complaints are almost pointless to me, at worst a minor annoyance. Widi would be an amazing addition if its ever added.
Played around with this for the entire weekend now and still give it the 10/10. Installed office 2013 so its now my primary machine.

 

[Christobevii3]

If you go to walmart/bestbuy you can get an energizer wii wireless charger and it will charge your phone fyi! Loving my lumia 920

 

[lopri]

Glad you liked it. I have a question, though. Is there some sort of toggle option for on-screen keyboard to automatically pop up when a text field is seleted? In Desktop mode, not in Metro.

When I had a chance to play with it, the on-screen keyboard had to be manually brought up to the screen every single time. For example, when I highlighted the URL/search field in a browser, the keyboard did not show up by itself. So every time you go between typing and other types of input, it was a pain in the rear to activate the keyboard from the Notification Area.

Maybe there is a setting to change such a behavior? I am talking about the tablet without physical keyboard.

 

[lopri]

P.S. I had wrote about my brief (~ 10 min.) encounter with ATIV SmartPC (the Atom x86 version, which I believe is what you have) in a past thread here.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2281413

I mean, it's a pretty pricey device, ringing at $650+tax.

 

[IamDavid]

Lopri, I don't know what device you were able to test on the 6thbsince these weren't released yet. Maybe a demo? My Ativ hasn't been put down since I purchased it on Friday. My kids have watched many movies, I've used it at work using MS Visio, Excel and many other work related tasks, most shockingly was the way it handled PhotoShop. I used remote desktop for a couple hours running MS AX and didn't drop connection once. My coworkers used and abused it all day too and so far we've had only one freeze up, I think it happened when too many places were pushed on the screen at the same time. Streaming Xbox music to my car thru Bluetooth was very cool on the way home (I drive 1.5hrs one way to work).

Not sure about you text/keyboard question, it comes up for me.

Buy one, love it.


Btw, movies were both streamed via amazon prime and my home server at full hd.

 

[dagamer34]

I am also seriously thinking of getting one (got the Lumia 920 on Friday). Switching to MS from Apple.

99% of the things I do on laptop is remote desktop or just browsing/movies, so I dont need a workhorse, just something with good battery life. But spending ~$800 on Atom doesnt sound too good.

I am thinking if I should wait for Surface Pro or Ativ Pro version. 1080p screens with i5 CPUs sound really good but am concerned about battery life.

I'd wait for the Surface Pro if you can.

 

[gsethi]

I'd wait for the Surface Pro if you can.

I really like the Surface Pro. However, one issue that I see with it is using it with keyboard on couch/bed.

I did play with Samsung Ativ SmartPC at staples today. They only had the tablet form (no keyboard dock) available. It seems little big as a tablet (not comfortable one-handed for long durations).

Also, looked a tad small when used as a laptop...really wished they had keyboard. Will check out AT&T store tomorrow, in hopes that they will have it docked to keyboard.

 

[Bacstar]

Curious thing, I have an update for a digitizer driver, but it keeps failing. I don't see a digitizer in the Device Manager, so I'm wondering if the S Pen will even work on the AT&T version of this tablet?

If not, I may be a little disappointed that they cut this feature out for AT&T.

 

[woodyu388]

I am also having the problem with the keyboard disconnecting and reconnecting. This is unfortunate because it makes the device pretty much useless to me. I planned to use it maybe 70% of the time in the dock, and this problem seems to occur constantly, especially with the computer in my lap. It has happened about 20 times since I started writing this paragraph. Firmly pushing the tablet into the dock does seem to resolve the problem temporarily, but I'm not sure how feasible that will be as a long term solution. Hopefully there will be a software fix (or more likely it needs to be a hardware fix). If there is no solution in the next few days, this is going back to Amazon as defective.

I have one of these, and it's a great piece of kit, especially as a slate. However, I find that when I'm using it docked with the keyboard it's almost constantly connecting and reconnecting with the keyboard and USB devices on the keyboard. So when typing it'll often miss letters as it'll disconnect then reconnect the keyboard. The little melody it plays (disconnect/reconnect) got so annoying I turned the sound off!

This happens more frequently if I have it on my lap, or I'm using the touchscreen at the same time as the keyboard; I almost never use the touchpad on the keyboard. I'm guessing the movement of the screen on the connector as I touch it or it moves around whilst on my knee is enough for the physical connector to momentarily lose connection?

I've reported it to Samsung who suggested I take the unit back & swap for another one though I'd rather find out if my issue is unique before committing to losing the device for a while. Any comments?

D

 

[woodyu388]

Update! After installing the latest BIOS update and all other updates through SW Update last night, the keyboard disconnection issue seems to have improved dramatically. I've only played around with it for the last 15 minutes, but it has yet to disconnect while I'm typing on the keyboard. It has still disconnected a couple of times while I've been using the touchpad (especially when clicking, for some reason), but at least I can type using the keyboard with the system in my lap without it disconnecting after every other letter. I also noticed that despite being "locked" in, the tablet actually has some wiggle room when connected to the keyboard dock. Pushing the tablet firmly into the keyboard definitely seems to help as well. Today will be my first full day with the ATIV+keyboard dock, so I'll post another update at the end of the day if I have any problems.

 

[TuxDave]

I really like the Surface Pro. However, one issue that I see with it is using it with keyboard on couch/bed.

I did play with Samsung Ativ SmartPC at staples today. They only had the tablet form (no keyboard dock) available. It seems little big as a tablet (not comfortable one-handed for long durations).

Also, looked a tad small when used as a laptop...really wished they had keyboard. Will check out AT&T store tomorrow, in hopes that they will have it docked to keyboard.

There's a rigid version of the keyboard for the Surface Pro. I'm also leaning towards waiting for its release.

 

[Bacstar]

Anyone try using the S Pen yet? I have a digitizer driver that keeps failing to install.

Edit: Went to the AT&T store and someone there had the Galaxy note with the S pen and verified that it doesn't work on this tablet. I also tried my wacom pen on her galaxy Note, and it worked fine. So, it looks like AT&T excluded the digitizer screen to save a few bucks. Now, if only all the techs and sales people would get a their pitches straight...

 

[IamDavid]

S pen does not work. Bought one last night. First ding against this thing. Still 9.9 outta 10

 

[luv2liv]

you got the link for it?
i have no idea what Samsung model Staples currently has, but it was amazing! so nice looking and ridiculously light.

 

[gorcorps]

you got the link for it?
i have no idea what Samsung model Staples currently has, but it was amazing! so nice looking and ridiculously light.

http://www.staples.com/Samsung-Serie...product_990648

This is the only ATIV that staples has on their site so I assume that's it