Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T Review

Hi,

I’ve been using the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T solidly for a week for work purposes while travelling, so I thought it was about time to put up a brief review.

What is it? A hybrid laptop/tablet from Samsung that runs Windows 8. It’s a hybrid as you can undock it from the keyboard (similar to a Microsoft Surface, but the docking/undocking mechanism is nowhere near as nice) and use it as a tablet.

Here’s the Samsung site for it: http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/tablet-pcs/XE700T1C-A01US

…and here’s the specs from the same site:

 

Processor
Processor
Intel® Core™ i5-3317U Processor
Speed (GHz)
1.70 GHz
CPU Cache
3MB L3
Display
LCD Size
11.6"
Type
LED Full HD
Resolution
1920 x 1080
Brightness
400 nits SuperBright™ Plus Technology
System Memory
System Memory
4GB
Memory Type
DDR3 (1600MHz)
Max. System Memory
4GB (On Board)
Storage
HDD
128GB SSD
HDD RPM
SSD
SATA
SATA2
Graphics
Chipset
Intel® HD Graphics 4000
External or Integrated
Integrated
Maximum Graphics Memory
Shared
Sound & Camera
Speaker
Stereo Speakers (1 W x 2)
Sound Effect
SoundAlive™
Web Cam
2.0 MP HD(Front)
 5.0 MP HD (Rear)
Internal Mic
Yes
Wireless
Wireless LAN
802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth
4.0
WiDi
Yes
I/O Ports
HDMI
Micro HDMI
Headphone Out
Yes (Headphone/MIC combo)
Microphone In
Yes
USB Ports (Total)
1 x USB 3.0
Multi Card Slot
1 Micro SD
Docking Port
Yes
Input Devices
Touch Pad / Track Point
Available with Keyboard Dock Accessory
Power
AC Adapter
40 W
Number of Cells/Cell Type
4 cell / Li-Po
Watt Hours
49
Dimensions
System Dimensions (L x W x H, Inch)
11.97" x 7.46" x 0.47"
Weight
System Weight (w/Std. Battery, lb.)
1.96 lb.

 

As you can see, it’s grunty enough with an i5 CPU and has the current standard Intel graphics chipset, but the screen runs at a rather high 1920 x 1080 for an 11.6″ screen. For general day to day use, this is just makes text a bit too small, and makes the cursor difficult to use with a small trackpad and a lot of pixels to cover distance wise.

The undockable keyboard is quite nice to use (I’m typing on it right now) so no complaints there, but due to the weight of the screen being a stand-alone tablet, there are two annoyances. First, it’s top heavy so can easily fall backwards as the keyboard is quite light. Secondly, the joints that hold up the screen aren’t tight enough so if you’re trying to type in bed on your back, the screen will just collapse onto you.

Other things like battery life were adequate at 3-4 hours, screen orientation detection works quite well and the 3 USB ports are again adequate, but 1 or 2 more wouldn’t go astray. There’s only one USB port on the tablet, and an extra 2 on the keyboard. The touchpad is nice to use, but I kept triggering right clicks when I didn’t intend to.

Overall a decent device depending on your needs, but in my eyes the Surface is a better pick.

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