Customer Reviews

Samsung Series 7 XE700T1A-A01US 11.6-Inch Slate (64 GB, Win 7 HP)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

(this review is for the 128GB version bought at an MS store, no dock or keyboard)
First a little about myself: I am not a fan boy of anything. I love gadgets but I am not emotionally attached to any brand. I built my own Windows 7 computers, have two ipads, a macbook air, a dell laptop and an iMac. Over the years I have owned 4 different tabletpcs and have been disappointed with each. I toyed with the idea of buy the EP121, but the I heard about the Samsung Slate so I waited. On paper, it seemed like as close to perfect a Windows Tablet as I can hope for before Windows 8 came out. As soon as it hit one of the MS store in LA, I drove 4 hours to get it. Here's my review after 2 days of use. First my biases:
1. I am no longer a student. As a physician, I have long wished for a tablet platform for bedside charting. Unfortunately, the organization I work for invested heavily on a desktop platform so this tablet will be more for taking personal and meeting notes in OneNote and for playing around with drawing and painting programs.
2. I have iPads. While I love them, I am looking for a full windows 7 computer, so I don't expect the kind of eye candy and impeccable touch experience of an iPad.

Out of the box, I am going to give it 5 Stars and I am going to take points off as I go along.
At first glance, this thing screams 5 stars. It's a handsome slab of a tablet. There's a little creak here and there if you hold it in the right places but I am willing to over look that. A bonus point is that the silly Wintel stickers aren't glued down! They are on a peel-away plastic so this will save you the trouble of peeling the gluey mess off later.
The pen is not impressive to hold, with a cheap plastic feel and comes with only one nib. I already knew that the tablet didn't have a pen holder. I thought I didn't care, but immediately lost the thing among all the wrappings and it took several frustrating minutes to find the pen. They could have easily made a small clip or even a hole for a string. Terrible decision to leave this off. I am going to take 0.125 star off just for this.
The power brick is small about the size of a short and chubby candy bar. This is good because I was afraid that it was bigger. So far so good and then I look at the three-prong cord that comes with it. Are you kidding me? Why do you design a small power brick with BIG THICK cord? This is just sloppy, lazy design and ruins the complete experience. I have a macbook air and their power brick and cord are small pieces of art in themselves. This tablet is meant to be ultra portable, the power brick design and cord just ruined it. Another 0.125 star off.
So, before I powered this on. It's now a 4.75-star device.
I went through the typical Windows 7 setup. The UI layer from Samsung is OK, but I figure it's a bonus so I am not going to take any points off.
The screen is awesome. I am the kind of person who likes to turn my iPads, laptops etc to full brightness, but I think I am going to leave the Samsung Slate at 40% because full brightness is just TOO bright.
The ambient light sensor is annoying and I am not sure why they turned it on as default because they are going to get a lot of returns from people who think the flickering screen is defective. Bad decision, but since you can turn it off, no points off.
The pen works as expect even at the edges. Touch seems responsive. At times it confuses pen and touch, I am willing to over look this, as I am sure I will learn to prevent this with experience.
It certainly doesn't have the touch experience of an iPad, but I already knew that. I am hoping windows 8 will improve the experience.
I watched HD netflix and Amazon movies and just couldn't stop smiling.
I have an HDHomerun, an over-the-air broad cast tuner hooked to my router, and I can watch HD TV on this thing! I love it.
The web browsing experience with IE touch or Chrome Touch are not as slick as the iPad (I know, I said I wasn't going to compare this to the iPad), but I love the portrait mode for long pages. And you can use your fingers to pan around. Not bad.
If you know Windows 7, you probably know the handwriting recognition is awesome. The large onscreen keyboard is good enough, but I wish there were audio feedback when you click on the keys. No big deal, no points off.
This slate came preinstalled with Office 2010 starter, but NO OneNote to test it out. Who makes these decisions? For most people, OneNote is why they buy the tablet. I have to uninstall it and reinstall my copy of office 2010. I know OneNote and love it, so no surprise here. The slippery glass surface ruins the feel of the pen. The screen is bright enough that I will add an anti-glare matte later for a better "pen-paper" feel. This is highly subjective so I will not take any points off.
Audio: good enough.
Expansion: points off for microSD. The tablet is big enough, there is room for an SD slot. Points off for no displayport. Points off for only one USB port. 0.125 points off for all these little deficiencies.
And then it happened, blue screen of death after I installed Google Chrome. Was it Chrome's fault? I don't know. Then it happened again, after I tried the nifty Surface Lagoon screen saver. I am paranoid now. Another 0.125 star off for this. I hope this doesn't continue.
So now it's down to 4.5 Stars.
Cameras: I have a question. How come they can put much better cameras on little phones but not on an expensive device with more computing power. The back camera really sucks, and really is not useful for anything. Minus .25 star.
Battery: is it 6 hours as advertised? Maybe, if you turn the brightness down to 30%. Fortunately, this is not a big deal on this bright screen. No star off.
Form factor: 16:9 really needs getting used to. But for me personally, it doesn't affect the way I use it.
Noise: In a quiet room, you can hear it. It's not bad and probably not noticeable in the background noise of a lecture hall or meeting for example.
Heat: a little warm after a while but tolerable, you will learn to ignore it.

Verdict (after two days of use) 4.25 Stars. It's the best available out there until next year.
But there's always next year. Enjoy it now.

Ok, here's the thing, I didn't attend the Build conference but I watched the videos, I did a lot of research and put plainly, I wanted this slate and I wanted Windows 8...now. Why? Because it's going to revolutionize computing without actually revolutionizing it. It's an evolution, a next step, an obvious direction but it's so amazing that it has to be revolutionary. Now, I'll try to hold back on blindly talking about Windows 8 with the Slate and just try to focus on the Slate itself but let's be honest, the Slate's hardware...what brings this thing to life is the software so you can't talk about one without mentioning the other. So....

The device itself has a noticeable amount of weight to it. I find myself having to shift around, not a lot but still a noticeable amount but to be fair, I have to do that with a laptop too but a laptop also has a keyboard attached. I've played around with iPads and they (i have no idea if they actually ARE) feel lighter. That being said, it's still awkward to hold something this big in your hand for a couple of hours on the couch without propping it up. Now, I think I've found the perfect position for "my" couch...my wife has her couch, I have mine. I lean back against a pillow or two, kick up the one leg, leave the other extended over the arm of the couch, and lay the slate against my propped up knee. If I'm not doing that, I'm kind of cupping the device (since it's obviously meant to be used in landscape mode) with my left hand (I'm a righty) and using my right hand to interact with the device. That combo seems to work really well...but I'd say that's an issue with slates/tablets in general and not so much with the Series 7 Slate.

A few things I would have liked are another USB slot (I'm amazed this came with 1 though), a full sized SD card and a 3G modem. I've done some research and I think the Build conference models came with 3G built in. I see a slot cover for it but sadly this model/line? doesn't have it. For something that's meant to be portable, I think this is a missing feature. Of course, there are ways to get around this...tether to your phone, use a wifi ap at Starbucks/McDonalds, get a 4g wifi ap and bring it with you, etc so it's not a show stopper but this thing runs windows...if it had a 3g modem (or LTE would be even better...obviously), i could just enable ICS and everyone near me could use my net conection.

As far as the USB connector goes, it's straight forward but that usb cover is a PITA to get out...I think I left a minor scratch removing the stupid thing and just because its such a hassle, I left it off as I use the USB constantly anyways for my Plantronics Bluetooth headset combo. The memory card slot seems to work ok. I haven't looked into pricing on cards but I expect that I will soon just because the space gets eaten up quickly with random things that you just seem to generate over time. Of course, I have enough space now...but what about in a year or two?

The speed...nice and quick. Boots quick. Restarts quick. Resumes quick. It's quick. The Core i5/SSD combo really pays off on this device as it's snappy. That being said, if you're watching videos...the back will get toasty. It won't burn you, but you'll notice it and you'll hear a slit whirring noise from the fan (ejects air veritcally above top of tablet). If every slate that comes out featured this combo along with the incredibly snappy Win8, these things will sell like crazy. I'm running Win8, spark, bria3 (voip softphone), Zune, Office, browsing the web, etc and everything opens quickly, runs quickly, etc so they've got the right combo with the i5, 4GB of RAM and the SSD. No complaints from me as far as performance.

Power connector. I've been trawling the forums and it's hard to find an extra power supply. I bought a $12 foldup stand thingy from Amazon and it'd be nice to leave the charger with it. I passed on the official dock. The only advantages are RJ45, a dedicated power port (no supply), HDMI and I think audio...totally not worth $100. I'm also hearing about the screen raising from the bezel a bit and i suspect it may be related to that dumb dock putting pressure on the bottom of the screen but I'm not sure. The stand I bought provides tons of support evenly across the bottom and the back of the slate so I recommend it. It's $12, just search for "iPad stand" and you can't miss it. I think it's got a 5 star rating with 450 reviews...

HDMI, haven't used it. Headset jack, use it all the time for streaming music using Zune. Bluetooth, sync perfectly with my Microsoft 6000 keyboard and mobile mouse, no problems there. Wifi signal seems to be pretty good, decent signal strength and reliability (often a problem with mobile devices). The auto rotation works really well (better in win8 than win7 - once you load the sensor drivers). It's nifty.

Battery. If I'm not using bluetooth and just browsing the web, checking stuff out, listening to some tunes and watching the random video...I get 3.5-4 hours which is fine for me. I end work around 5pm, I have no kids so I lounge around until 9 or 10 so when I go to bed, I charge it up. When i wake up, I dock it so it's charging all day. I have, in my situation, no issues with the battery. Now, on an extended flight or a long trip, that could be a problem so take it into account.

There are some Win7 specific things that I can't touch on because well, I didn't use it win7...what's the point? Win7 is not a touch OS. You can shoehorn functionality into it but at it's heart, it's not meant for slates which leads me to win8 :-) There are some things you should know:

1. Win8 is not ready for everyone. At this point (11/2011), it's just avaible as a dev preview. It's buggy, not all of the apps work, you have no way to load more "metro" apps other than to build your own or download source code and compile. It's a test version and it's not ready for general consumption yet.

2. I'm an IT Consultant. I have a Core i7 with 6GB RAM, Radeon 6970 with 3x24" HP LA2405wg monitors. It's not the best but its pretty darn good but I have a Lenovo Core i3 laptop with hinges that seem to get looser by the day (no offense to Lenovo, as far as laptops go, they build some of the best) and an HTC Arrive (/me hearts WinPhone7). This slate is meant to replace my laptop and for the last 3 weeks...it has and then some.

3. Driver support and application compatibility. It's an issue. Windows 8 isn't out yet so not everyting works with it. Finding and installing the drivers for this slate with win8 wasn't that bad of a hassle as long as you do some research (install everything in compatibility mode, etc). Some things, like VZAccess, DisplayLink monitors, etc simply will not work (i'm working on VZAccess...that ones important to me) but many thing simply will work once you figure out the process.

4. Windows 8 has 2 modes... Desktop and Metro. Desktop is your normal windows experience. Metro is your tablet/slate experience. It's like WinPhone7 but better because of course the screen is larger and it's meant to be developed for with flexibility in mind. WinPhone's have to be strictly bound to a set of design ideals because of the form factor. Slates/tablets/desktops are much more flexible so the developers will have a lot of leeway with how they design their apps but there is still going to be some consistancy to how they function in Metro mode. So, metro mode = finger friendly, desktop mode = legacy and keyboard/mouse. You can of course use touch in desktop and k/m in metro but who really wants to?

So here's how I use my device...

When I'm on the couch, I use metro and switch to desktop apps if I have too (Office, Zune) because there aren't any metro equivalents yet (win8 isn't released, there's no appstore yet (there is a tile for it though) but there will be when win8 comes out so metro will get much more usable). Apps that were developed for WinPhone7 can be easily imported back into Metro on Win8 so there should be a huge amount of apps available immediately or shortly after Win8 comes out. That being said, you can fall back to your old traditional applications in Windows Desktop until the Metro equivalents come out so you're not completely SOL. I found myself to be content with what I had in front of me...I mean, most of what i do when I'm on the couch is browse and IE Metro was up to the task and then some. It was easy to open new tabs, type the url's, browse normal (non-mobile) websites...pinch to zoom works perfectly...nice and fluid. Actually, nice and fluid pretty much describes metro mode in a nutshell on this slate. I haven't run into a single performance issue other than graphics. This could be corrected by updated drivers but if I leave the Zune software running in its graphical mode on the desktop, switch to IE Metro and browse the web, IE Metro starts to stutter a bit when scrolling. Again, I think that'll be eliminated when Win8 full comes out so I'm not concerned...just minimize Zune and the rendering speeds will return to normal.

Now, when I'm not on the couch is where the flexibility of this device and win8 really shines. I "dock" the slate with the stand and use Mouse without Borders to turn the slate into a virtual screen on my main pc. I launch my chat software, softphone, etc on the slate and do my work on the primary monitors. I can drag and drop files between the two devices, share a single keyboard and mouse on them, etc and then when I'm leaving to go somewhere, undock the slate and bring it with me wherever I go (meeting, client, lunch, etc). I have a laptop case that I fit the S7 into (the S7 is in a sleeve too), along with a BT keyboard, mouse, headset, etc and if I need to setup to do some REAL work, I can. I put the slate in the stand, break out the keyboard, mouse, headset and I have an instant win8 workstation in desktop mode running all of my traditional software and I can do practically anything I could do on my main workstation minus the screen real estate. When i start walking around, I switch to metro and browse the web. When i return to my "station", I open the desktop and pick up where I left off.

When it comes to mobility...what mobility is all about and what it's meant to me, this is it. If you're in the enterprise, ditch your iPad for a win8 slate, any win8 slate, when it comes out. You'll have the fun casual media consumption of an iPad in Metro mode and the full functionality of a workstation in Desktop mode. That's what Win8 on slate's is all about. It's an iPad and a workstation all in one...one device to rule them all.

To sum it up, Win8 is meant to be on this tablet and this tablet, it's hardware, it's functionality and everything about it does NOT stand in my way and that's good design. So why 4 starts out of 5? Because there are some QA issues apparantly. If you check the tabletpcreview.com forums, there are some complaints about screen separation from the bezel. Also because it doesn't have 3G/4G(at least mine doesnt) and because of the no full size SD slot. Apart from that, it's a pretty slick slate or at least, it will be when win8 comes out but I just can't seem to give it that 100% out of the park 5 star experience. The battery's a little light on the power, the unit is a bit heavy and I really think that for the price, it should have come with a folio, dock and possibly a keyboard like the HP 500 did (I think it did). Once you have all the pieces to the puzzle though, the experience is amazing but I'll attribute that mostly to win8 and not the device. The device like I said, doesn't stand in your way but you do feel a little caged in by the battery.

Take from it what you will.

I received this tablet at MS Build conference, but it is the same device.
I rated this device 4 instead 5 for a couple of factors.
1. The hardware build quality is excellent, but the windows button being placed in the middle of widest side makes it awkward to use. This may be more to prevent litigation with Apple, but still an annoyance.
2. The battery life is at best 5 hours unless you go crazy with the power management settings.

I also received the dock, bluetooth keyboard, and stylus with it. These are extremely valuable as they make it almost a laptop replacement. I have very large fingers and found the keyboard very easy to use. What is so great about the keyboard it is the same width as the tablet and the sleeve we got at the conference is big enough that I can put the tablet, keyboard, and stylus all in it.

The performance of this tablet is very good. The touch screen is very responsive and has a natural feel to it. I have an iPad 1 and it is has the same great feel. The USB port on the side was very valuable over the last month as I have had to download some things over the 3G that is built in since the local network was restricted. Since it only has a 64 GB internal SD Drive it is nice to have the micro SD card.

Bottom line is that if you are considering a netbook or low end laptop then this may be just what you are looking for.

The real potential of this device lies in Windows 8. I am running the developer preview of Windows 8 and the Metro interface they introduced with Windows Phone 7 is so natural and fluid. This coming from an iPad owner and fan. They kept saying at the developer conference was they wanted Windows 8 and this tablet to be "Fast and Fluid" and they achieved their goal. Having said that Windows 8 is definitely for the techie community and has some bumpy spots, but come release day they will have a very competitive product with IOS and Android.

This Slate is Awesome!!! It has battery life and more power than my existing bigger laptop. The Screen is beautiful and the touch is much improved over the other tablets on the market. I can only imagine Windows 8 on this slate providing even better touch. You can install any application that you would normally on a PC which the IPAD is limited. Great Product by Samsung and Microsoft.

First the Bad: It's expensive! This model comes with only the device, pen, power cord and documentation (and discs). It would have been nice if they included a 2 dollar mini HDMI to HDMI convertor. Now I have to buy it myself, pay shipping, handling, vat and duty. Since I'm a developer I immediately installed the Windows 8 Developer preview; which installed very fast. When doing compute intensive tasks the CPU fan spins up to keep that wonderful CoreI5 cool, but it can get hot enough to make it uncomfortable. You know it's a real computer just by how hot it gets. The smooth finish at the back is difficult to grip with one hand; especially with very dry hands. I would have preferred a textured rubberized finish. The user experience with Windows 7 feels very lacking.

Now the Good: Inking is good, Touch input response is good. Start up time is excellent (courtesy of the SSD). Clear and very bright screen (however the brightest setting will drain battery). Battery lasts longer than my laptop, which has a 9 cell battery and is not as powerful. Sturdy build; I already managed to get my leg caught in the power cable while I was getting up in a hurry causing the device to fling to the floor (wish these things had magnetic power connectors). All it got was dusty. One Note doesn't have a visible lag but some other inking applications did. I'm convinced that lag during inking is specific to the application that is being used at the time.

Strategy Gaming:
Running Gratuitous Space Battles on the device (a strategy game, not designed for touch or inking), was such a good user experience that I think I'll play the game more often now. Civilization V (a newer strategy game) can only be played on the lowest of settings, but it still gives a great user experience.

Background: The device was purchased after discovering the online reviews of several units that were given away at the M$ build conference. Thus far the user experience has been the same as I saw in the videos.

Samsung Series 7 XE700T1A-A01US 11.6-Inch Slate (64 GB, Win 7 HP) ordered from circuit city, couldn't wait for Amazon to restock. arrived in two days via UPS. first impression: awesome tablet. possibly the closest thing to my dream tablet. for some time i've been holding back from buying the convertible laptops/tablet because of size, weight and lack of processing power. was planning to get the ep121 until this came out. right now it's adequate for my needs such as drawing and multimedia. applied tweaks I found reading through the tablet PC forums and they helped a lot dealing with the loss of pressure sensitivity in programs like sketchbook pro after you install the recommended asus tablet pen driver to get pressure sensitivity in other programs like painter. that forum is a lifesaver.
re. bezel issue: I observed my tablet has this problem upon unboxing, but thankfully it's very negligible on my device. it's been 3 days since I got it and it hasn't gotten worse like some other owners reported. other than that everything is perfect so far.now if only they release those accessories posthaste.
note: typing this using the Swype application, pretty cool.

Is this device perfect, of course not, but it is a very excellent piece of equipment, and compared to the competition out on the market, this think is leaps and bounds ahead. With that said, I think it is ahead of its time, given that most of the features of it can be gotten from a cheaper laptop. I wanted the device, but as a novelty...so why the five stars, well, because it is worth it for the device's ability to replace my laptop, and deliver almost no loss of function (no CD -Rom), the outstanding battery life, and the sturdiness of the device (my 3-year bumped it off my desk once....oops). Would I recommend it to everyone, nope....not until we get a Win 8 beta, but I DO highly recommend it for any PC enthusiast and early adopters. The 800-lb gorilla, iPad, has apps, which are very touch friendly, which is an advantage over Win 7 programs so far, but considering the price of a fully loaded iPad to a slate with dock and keyboard, it comes strictly down to preference. Overall, I am loving this device, and on long flights, it is a dream!

Samsung brought a Windows tablet, which are known to be huge and wonky, to the non-Windows level of thinness and responsiveness.

Looks: Beautiful! Along with a sub 2 pound weight to boot! Also this thing cries to be put in the dock for storage are recharging.
Performance: This has the latest iteration of i5 processors. That along with the speedy SSD it can run circles around Windows tablets. However once you start pushing it, the fan will start blowing pretty hard! (it doesn't get unbearably hot however). Also from cold start to log on, is fast on Win 7, but not as fast as Samsung claims. However on win 8 it might actually be faster that Samy's predictions.

Battery: Better than most. Samsung claims 6 hours. It is probably true but only with wi-fi, bluetooth and brightness all the way down. I get about 4 1/2 with 30% brightness and moderate use.
Price: Its not a cheap one but if you NEED a real tablet that can run use a REAL digitizer pen, look no further.

Build Quality: I was rather disappointing with the use of plastic on the back. Also BE WARNED the front of the tablet has been known to be prone to screen lifting. It's basically the glass screen lifting above the bezel. This is due to Samy's decision to use plastic to glue the front of the screen on ( most likely for weight reduction). Mine has not exhibited any of this but since I'm just passing a month of ownership I will keep my eye out. Also this is just reinforced glass, nothing more. SUMMARY: This thing needs to get babied.

Other: Pretty much Windows 8 developer edition ready out of the box! If you're a developer this is pretty much the closest thing to the //Build one that Samy gave out.

Summary: Great device and reasonable price, however build quality deducts serious points from this being an no-brainer purchase.

I am more than an "experienced Windows user", I'm a IT professional (14 years now as a profession) and have been involved with computers my whole life. I'm approaching this review with a market comparison of what is available today and my experience with slate/tablet form-factor.

For this device, the hardware is strong feeling and well assembled. It's a professional quality piece of technology.

I have in my home an Android tablet, an iPad, the BlackBerry PlayBook & now the Series 7 Slate.

The screen: Outstanding clarity & brightness. Every bit as nice as the iPad. Touch capabilities are excellent, more accurate with the stylus.

The specs: Hardware is top-notch for a slate. This is such a powerful piece of hardware, rivalled only by high-end desktops/laptops. The i5 is a great performer and 4GB of RAM is plenty for the next several years. I have 2 of these, the 128GB & 64GB, the capacity is really user preference but the SSD performance is great.

The docking station: Compact, folds flat, size of a cigarette pack so you can carry it with you. 1 USB port (- ding).

The charger: Seriously, a brick. Odd voltage and I'm looking for a thinner alternative. (- ding).

Compatibilty: Everything you can do on your home PC, you can do with the Series 7 Slate. I happen to have a few USB DVD burners, wireless desktop (keyboard & mouse) setups, so you can dock this and attach it to your desktop monitor, work with dual screens and you're good to go. Microsoft Office OneNote really shines on the Slate.

Accessories: Lagging to hit the market. I'm really, really interested in a high-quality leather stand case (similar to the AYL case that I have for the iPad). I don't have the Samsung Stand case for this yet, or any case for that matter. I'm using a Wenger note folio case currently and I slip the device behind the cloth that holds the pad of paper. Can't get the brick charger into that case those. (- ding).

Windows 7: I have the developer preview of Windows 8 on a Wacom only tablet now and it really looks promising for the slate form factor. Windows 7 isn't the most user friendly slate OS but it is very manageable with a bit of practice. I can't ding the slate's capabilities, but the OS is left a bit wanting. (- ding).

Overall, this is simply the best I've seen from any slate form factor. I've had touch-screen Windows in the past (Viewsonic slate from 2004, HP AIO touchscreen desktops, etc). The iPad is very nice but the OS seriously drags it down, not in a user-friendly way, but is an overall capability way. The Android OS, while more open and customizable, is really best left to the techies and while I really like my tablet, I wouldn't recommend one to my parents or my CEO. The PlayBook, while a really brilliant piece of hardware and a fantastic display, RIMs venture into the QNIX OS really took an enterprise market down a couple of notches with a hobbled tablet.

This slate can satisfy the portability needs of the business traveler, the home user and the tech-hungry as a whole while not sacrificing the much needed Windows functionality. Windows 8 and the availability of aftermarket accessories will really make this a superior device.

As a Lenovo laptop fan, I was dissappointed 1) to read that Lenovo was only going to put an Atom processor into their IdeaPad P1 Windows slate line and 2) that their P1 is not going to hit the US market. Other tablets such as Acer & ASUS just do not compete well with the quality that Samsung put into this device.

Hi everybody

when i get my Samsung Series 7 XE700T1A-A01US 11.6-Inch Slate (64 GB, Win 7 HP)
i forget my ipad2 in full use it at home at office Always with me
it's Really the best tablet i use very fast to open/close
i download windows 8 it is perfect working with my samsung tablet

but i have point with the battery live it's not 8 hours it's Almost Between 4 or 5 hours

Thank you