Samsung Ativ Smart PC

INTRO

If you're like me, then you've been waiting for a tablet that enables productivity as much as media consumption. I've owned both the Motorola Xoom and iPad 3 and although both are great for media consumption, neither were very good for productivity. With my Motorola Xoom, I even combined a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse with a couple of different office productivity suites, but I still couldn't keep myself from going back to my trusty Windows PC. It was just too much of an effort to try and produce work products on the Motorola Xoom. I found it even worse on the iPad 3. So when all the hype rolled out about Windows 8 tablets, I was anxious to get my hands on one. The first one to become available to me was the Samsung Ativ Smart PC, which was selling at a local Media Markt, a German electronics retailer (yes, I'm in Germany) for the paltry sum of €699.


BUILD QUALITY

If you prefer your technology wrapped in nice brushed aluminim, e.g. iPad, Asus Transformer Prime, then the Samsung Ativ Smart PC might no be for you. Other than the glass screen, everything is plastic. That's not to say that the build quality is bad...it's just plasticky. Although I haven't had my Ativ Smart PC for very long, I decided to keep the clear plastic protective sheet on the back as I'm afraid it will get scratched-up otherwise. I've looked for protective covers on Amazon.com and Amazon.de, but with the Ativ Smart PC being so new, there aren't very many aftermarket products for it yet.


In order to give the plastic back a bit more of a high-quality look, it seems like Samsung coated it with a glossy enamel. It does give the back a nice looking shine to it; however, it makes it very difficult to pull out the S-pen from its slot. It's seems like Samsung didn't take into account the added thickness the enamel paint job was going to have on the tight fit of the S-pen in its slot. I had to use a small spoon to pry out the S-pen.



FUNCTIONALITY


Build quality aside, I was very pleased to have a tablet with a fully functional Windows 8 OS. The real test of the the Ativ Smart PC's ability to enable productivity, was when I plugged in a smartcard reader to authenticate into my Exchange email account at work via Outlook Web Access. Windows 8 had no issues automatically loading the drivers for my smartcard reader. Then after I logged into my Exchange email via OWA, I then installed the S/MIME plugin without any issues. Being able to send and receive signed and/or encrypted emails is key aspect of my productivity requirements.

Additionally, I was able to set up my wife's Cisco VPN client connection to her work account. She was able to conduct business just as she would on her regular Windows 7 laptop. This is something she couldn't do on either the Motorola Xoom (VPN connection issues) or her iPad 3 (can't run Java runtime). Needless to say, she wants to replace her laptop with my Ativ Smart PC.

Just for grins, I also installed Gimp 2.8 to see how well it would run on the tablet. Aside from taking a while to load fonts and filters after initially starting up the program, it ran surprisingly well. However, I don't know if credit goes to the Ativ Smart PC or to good coding for Gimp 2.8. I also installed VLC media player and it ran without any hitches, as well. The few games I downloaded from in the Marketplace also ran fine, such as Cut the Rope, Jetpack Joyride, Soulcraft, and Pinball FX2. The dual-core Intel Atom Z2760 (aka Clover Trail) has been running without any hiccups so far.

Samsung Ativ Smart PC Unboxing

Samsung Ativ Smart PC Hands-On Video

SPECIFICATIONS

Camera	2.0 MP HD(Front)
Weight	1.68 lbs
Tablet Memory Speed	SSD
Warranty	1 year
Audio	HD SoundAlive Audio
Tablet Screen Size	11.6"
Tablet Operating System	Windows
Tablet Memory Size	64GB
Connectivity	802.11 b/g/n
Dimensions	11.97" x 3.52" x 0.39"
Video Playback	Intel HD Graphics
Tablet Memory Expandable	no
Tablet RAM	2GB
Bluetooth	v4.0
Battery	4-cell 40w lithium-polymer
Tablet Processor Speed	1.5 GHz
Tablet Processor	Intel Atom Z2760
Tablet Display Type	HD LED Touchscreen
Tablet Aspect Ratio	16:9
Tablet Resolution	1366 x 768

CONCLUSION

So far, I'm very pleased. The Samsung Ativ Smart PC provides tablet portability without sacrificing the ability to do real work. I think the price is a bit steep, but I think it'll stay at a premium at least until Spring of 2013, when there should be significantly more Windows 8 tablet choices and competition brings down prices. If you already have an Ultrabook or a lightweight laptop that meets your current needs, I'd recommend you wait a while. If you're looking for an alternative to the iPad and Android tablets for the sake of productivity, then you might want to make the jump to the Samsung Ativ Smart PC.