[PCWorld]

Post your comments for Samsung ATIV Smart PC review: Samsung hits the Clover Trail here

[dalepl]

Although I agree with many of the comments in the review, I must say, after having the Ativ for the past four weeks and the keyboard for the past two, I think the overall performance is great. No, this is no screamer and if you expect it to be a laptop or desktop replacement, you will be greatly disappointed. This is not a gaming machine and is not a high productivity machine, but it will do what most users would want from it. The main point missed on this review is the fact that at a mid range price between the Windows RT devices and the soon to be released i5/i7 devices, this tablet will run you Windows desktop apps just fine. No, it may not be able to handle a full graphics editing suite, but MS Office does load and run quite well. Also missed was the fact the Ative comes with an S-Pen. It works quite well and docks right into the back of the case. In MS Office, you can use the pen to take notes, create emails or write documents. If you are looking for a device to have full Windows compatibility and be something to augment your laptop or desktop PC, then this device really does fit the bill. Yes, it is a bit large, but cradled in one arm and using the pen or your finger, it is quite comfortable.

[jdavid78]

I agree with a lot of the review, but like the previous comment I think it leaves out some of the good qualities. As a tablet it is awkward and hard to just carry around on the fly. However, it is ideal for what I do, which involves a lot of writing, text-editing and reviewing. The S-pen and handwriting recognition are excellent. It's the reason I went with samsung because it offers full digitizer pen functionality for much less cost than the Surface Pro and other tablets. I take notes in meetings and grade essays on MS Word, usually with the tablet turned on its side to make a tall screen for writing at the bottom and allowing a lot of viewing space for text above it. With the keyboard I can get a lot of writing done and work all day without plugging it in. The only annoyance there is occasionally having to take out the tablet and reconnect when it fails to recognize the keyboard and trackpad, usually after going to sleep.

Some people would compare it to the functionality of the netbook in terms of memory and performance. I think it performs better than that, but I am sure not to have too many demanding apps open at once. It's definitely not for gamers, but writers and teachers should enjoy it.

[Slateguy]

It's a shame that the public has to put up with these types of reviews. Yes the tablet is not an icore machine, we know that because we want long battery life and low heat in a tablet. Its called trade offs and the buyer of this product is looking for a TABLET not an ULTRABOOK. The fact that this author did not mention that this TABLET does not get the slightest bit warm and has an sPen which is an iPad killer feature, and didn't highlight the fact that it can multitask, network to your existing PCS and network drives and share files without being restricted like an Apple product, only shows his intent to push anything Apple. Lyod, its time to face the fact that your iPad is a toy compared to this ATIV tablet that very successfully combines business with pleasure. By the way, you conveniently forgot to mention that this tablet has a sister version that has an i5 processor for those who need the higher speed and are willing to pay more.

[RobSharp]

This is a superior device to the I-toy lineup. It's cool to the touch even while running it hard as you multi-task between desktop or metro apps. I'm fully connected to my home network or I can VPN to work and do what I need there. This is a great hybrid device and its less of a companion device like what you see from Apple or Android, The hardware is great and Windows 8 makes for a wonderful tablet/pc experience.

[ifonee]

What a iBS review. LOL

This is REAL PC device. This is not just a toy. How could you compare ATIV with iPads at all? You should not even mention iPad here iboy.
Yes ATIV 500 is made to have good battery life, but performance is great too. It has more than enough power for 90% of Windows users. Well its not a gaming device(why should even mention it?), but most of the games are going very good on it. It plays most of legacy real Windows apps.
Clover Triel is much , much better than the old Atom.
You even didn't mention that for power users there is ATIV Smart PC Pro with i5. LOL

It must be forbidden to iboys to make reviews. It's always disgusting.

[jamman64]

I am little disapppointed in your review. For starters you dont even mention the spen, snote or wacom digitizer. I have to believe one of the primary markets for this device is students who want to take notes and use full ms office without having to carry around a charger and a wall outlet. I got mine for $599 this puts a pretty serious whoopin on the Ipad products has 64gb with expandle 64gb microsd, and hdmi connection.

[Iqbalhafidh]

All i need is office, on another tablet i cant do this better. But one thing i dont understand is about its display protection. Is it gorilla glass? or something to make it free from scratch?
What do you think?

[robgreenlee]

I continue to see Windows 8 & RT tablet reviews with a bias to how the iPad is designed as always better then anything else on the market. This type of biased review is not good journalism. I own this tablet and an iPad. I have compared them in regular use and for those that are currently Windows users this ATIV 500T is a fantastic tablet that I have been enjoying as my daily PC, yes it is a full PC with Windows 8, not a limited function iOS device that does not even have a USB port or expandible memory. I love the larger screen and the amazing thinness of this tablet. It is amazingly light for a FULL PC computer. I have not seen any issue with playing back video and consuming content on the device. I did have some connectivity issues with the first detachable keyboard, but took it back and got a replacement and it is now working great. This is a dream machine, as long as you don't expect it to encode full HD video fast on it. I love it and would recommend it to any Windows user.

[tommypro]

I've had the samsung ativ 500t for about 2 weeks. I'm actually on my second one. The first had some ghosting on the LCD, and WiFi would not automatically connect to my access point. I have my SSID hidden, and I had to unhide, connect, then hide the ssid, and finally the first samsung ativ would remember the connection. I exchanged it at Best Buy(For all the crud they take, they were extreamly helpful and didn't blink on my exchange!). For this one, the Screen was perfect, no ghosting or issues. This had a different factory build, and looked different when booted. I loaded MS Office pro (Access, word, excel, onenote, etc). These run great. This is not a screamer. Youtube did ok, programs launch ok, The screen resolution is ok (this is not a retina display, it does ok). I primarily wanted a windows 8 tablet with pen input with ok battery life, and ok performance for a minimal cost...this tablet fit the bill.

I added an external Micro SSD to have more storage, no issues here.

One problem is that Windows 8 has an identity crisis. The Metro style apps are ok and mimic the full screen experience (not as polished) as an iPad. I find myself working in desktop mode most of the time. The problem here is that desktop mode is not smart when you try to enter data into text fields. You have to manually launch the keyboard, and it becomes cumbersome to launch, select field, edit text, etc. I created an simple program that I can launch the onscreen keyboard (look in XDA Forum or tablet pc formum for keyboardbutton!) to mitigate some of these issues.

I had some issues connecting to my work network that implements WPA2 Enterprise (more wifi issues). I ended up copying the security certificate locally and adding to personal store, and it finally connected.

One feature that is not well documented is the fact that the device has auto wake/sleep similar to iPad. There is a small magnetic sensor in the upper left of the device, and if you have the correct cover with a magnet in the general vicinity, it will turn on/off.

I have had some lock ups, but I blame windows 8 for this.

The device is a bit awkward with 11.6 display, but I use it mostly for notes, and it does a great job in this respect.

Battery life is pretty good. I don't use it 100%, so the battery easily lasts a full work day and then some, with 30% or more left at the end of the day. If you watch alot of videos or constantly have the screen on, you may only get 6-8 hours.

One comment I see in many posts. UPDATE THE FIRMWARE before doing anything else. The samsung update software is good, but manually update the software. Do the BIOS first. follow instructions, reboot. Then the WiFI, reboot. Then the sound driver, reboot. then graphics driver, reboot. Then the chipset, reboot. Then any of the other installs.

Overall, after issues with the first one, I'm fairly happy with this device, though it was painful to get to where I am now with the settings and software.

[Trt740]

Okay, I own a iPad 4 and was very tried of not being able to use it as a true laptop replacement. So after reading the comments here,I thought I would give this Samsung ATIV tablet without the keyboard ago. I did not get the keyboard because of the loose dock issue, and I own a bluetooth keyboard. I picked up this tablet for 599.00 at my local BestBuy. Then, I went to a AT&T store and bought a nice Belk case. I brought the tablet home and install all the updates and off I went. I have to tell you all, beside my iPad, I have never been a Apple fan. I own a Samsung Galaxy Phone and love it, but this tablet just does not compare to An IPad. It is sluggish in comparison even with a gig more of ram. The screen is larger but Samsung decided to make the on screen keyboard bigger as well negating the larger screen. The screen in desktop mode does not automatically open the keyboard. You have to make it pop up by hitting a button. The Windows OS just does not compare with the ease of use iOS, and again, it is slower to respond. I wanted to like this tablet, and if I had not owned several laptops and an iPad 4 I might have been okay with it but I am not. I love my Windows based laptop but the battery only goes about 4 hours, and I am a college student that takes allot of notes, so my Lappy just does not get it done. I wanted this tablet to be a bridge, but if I have to haul a keyboard around then why not just use my laptop? Why Samsung did not make the on screen keyboard smaller is anyone's guess. I have to say the Spen is great and paired with One Note seems very capable, but even that combo cannot compare to the Apple note taking app Notability, and I do not want to buy an external CD Rom to install Office or pay 9.00 a month for Office 365 since neither were included on this tablet. FYI, Cloudon for IPad does have a full licensed Microsoft version of Microsoft Office that is cloud based and free that is almost Identical to Office 365. This tablet is very well made, and is expandable, but the screen resolution is very noticeable to my old eyes compared to the iPad 4 . The pro version would be better but then again it is about 300.00 more and for that an ultra book would be better All you guys saying the reviewer here is an Apple fanboy are just plain wrong. You will love this tablet as long as you never use a iPad 4. What would have made this tablet great was a straight on full fledged tablet OS, and yes I know it is a Atom PC but non the less the OS is to large. Then the option to make the on screen Keyboard smaller and to make it automatically deploy and not have to hit a button. I would also have made the tablet wider and shorter. This tablet is just odd feeling and Windows 8 is not tweaked correctly for it. I hate to say it because it has great potential but back it goes. Truely with Cloudon, Dropbox and Notability my iPad 4 is a better laptop stand in than this tablet. This tablet is not bad but it cannot compete with my daughters Atom based Sony Laptop. It is just not the right tool for the job, and I am not a Apple fanboy at all.