Samsung ATIV XE700T1C-A04US 11.6-Inch 128 GB Tablet (Black)

I chose this tablet and keyboard dock as a replacement for an old Sony laptop and as an auxiliary to my Dell desktop which I had updated to Windows 8. I also have Windows 8 phone on my Lumia 920 and now all three devices can be synced using SkyDrive. The tablet is a truly fast device, with easy setup, and complete compatibility with my other systems. In dock mode it performs admirably as a laptop (once you get used to the slight difference in balance point) but does better sitting on a table top. In tablet mode it is noticeably heavier than my wife's I-Pad, but for a man with strong hands and forearms, it can be held in one hand to do other hand typing. For serious typing of documents laying flat on a table top is necessary using the touch keyboard if you don't have the dock available. Screen resolution and speed are excellent for photos and screening of movies or instant videos. Coupling with the dock is not wonderful and takes a little practice, and the touchpad on the dock can be a little too sensitive. This is a software weakness which may need an improvement update. I look forward to taking it on future travels and testing it in more rigorous environments.

Good.1. Strong machine with strong processor that can handle legacy applications such as photoshop or illustrator. I5-3317U is adequate for most situations, heavy multitasking, gaming, and some graphic related tasks.2. Lightening quick SSD. Loads up applications fast for a tablet pc. Transfer files like a boss. Believe me, it will make you smile.3. Accurate pen. I am an art major grad student and this does the job! Also the pen can pinpoint some of the tiny buttons which you will encounter while enjoying full windows 8. Also, It is great that pen can be inserted into the tablet so that I don't have to bring the pen around(I lose things a lot).4. 1920 x 1080 Display in a 11.6 screen? Pictures and text are crystal clear and laser sharp.5. Dual boot capability!!! Dual boot Android IA 4.2 and Windows 8! Installation is easy just google it and follow the installation.Bad.1. Ugly! Man this thing is ugly. It looks worse than the picture. It is made out of plastic, has holes, quite thick. I was previously using HP Envy x2 and I miss the look of it so much. I might just go back to HP product just for the design. Believe me, I am an art major, the design matters the most.2. Heavy, most of ladies won't be able to hold this table with one hand for a long time without hurting.3. Colors seem to be little less saturated and brighter. Can be adjusted through display control.4. Annoying fan. It gets quite loud and hot. Fan for a tablet? Wasn't expected.5. Relatively short battery life compared to other tablet pc. I had much better battery life with Asus Transformer T100.6. Hard to use while holding it with two hands. What I mean by this is that because it is a quite big horizantally, you will have hard time to stretch your both thumbs to tab center area. I am 6'1" male and have big hands and I found it quite challenging.Not recommended to:- If you are just going to use for daily tasks such as checking email, internet browsing, it is not recommended. First of all, it is a very expensive machine compare to its performance. You can buy cheaper and better looking products like HP Envy x2, HP Pavilion x2 or Asus Transformer Book T100.Recommended to:- If you want a tablet-pc that can handle legacy apps and heavy multi-tasking, this will do the job. It is the best tablet-pc on the market right now (soon the title will be handed to Surface pro 3 with I7 processor).

Easily this is the most complicated software I have ever experienced. We run some pretty big software in our company and this purchase was designed to ultimately replace a paper auditing system with a Microsoft based system. We upgraded all systems software last year in anticipation of Windows 8. This includes Exchange, CRM, Sharepoint.It has proven almost impossible to conclude if the Samsung device is good or not because you cannot at times even turn it on. Windows 8 seems to be built to be a toy.

Having a lot of trouble with the screen freezing up.

I bought this machine for business purpose and have just started the return process. Context of use: need a tablet to carry on client sites that will run a proprietary application without glitches and allow for note taking/photo uploads as I go. Ultimately, three stars because it performs well but just comes up short on the price versus quality comparison. Read other reviews to balance what you see here if the context doesn't meet your needs because some have really loved this item. Here's a quick summary of the good and bad:Pros:1. Win 8 Pro - hard to find on these tablets without this kind of price tag and I really like the Win 8 experience and design. I disagree with other reviewers and believe it's fairly intuitive for those used to touch screens. There are lots of features to adjust too (swiping back to previous apps, closing from the top down, settings on each app when swiped from the right) but they are easy to learn.2. Overall Specs - solid machine, ran smoothly with limited exception for load times. It's got the hardware to do the job (but so does the Surface pro at $400 LESS).3. 5mp rear camera - one of the better cameras on the market if you need this, but still no flash and the image stabilization feature didn't seem to do much.4. Writing: I really do prefer the writing experience and having an on-board storage option to the Surface Pro experience, but that's not a reason to spend $400 more when everything else feels flimsy.Cons:1. There are 4 versions of this tablet, so you've got to be careful to know which one you're buying. The A04 is the only one with Win 8 Pro and is actually slightly larger than the others.2. Brightness adjustment: It changes regularly even if I'm just changing sitting position with this in my lap. I had the same problem with the 500t (which came out of the box with tons of issues -my review is up there, too). Not sure if it's sensor placement or technology related, but it really got annoying to have the screen adjusting all the time. Far as I can tell, this was a defect in both the Ativ 500t and 700t models.3. Runs hot: This thing got really hot in my opinion. Fans blow out of the top and are easily audible from the moment I turned it on. Maybe this is normal, but when the screen got hot to the touch after just an hour or so of use I got concerned. Not sure how it will do when I spend 3 hours at a client site with this in my hands.4. Build Quality: the casing is plastic and if you hold it level with one hand on the side you can literally see the casing give way on the back. Now... plastic is malleable and prone to give... but again, at $1400 I just expected a little more.5. Size: This one is very much a personal issue so please consider that when rating feedback. Some people may like the overall size, but I think coming from an iPad I'm just more comfortable with the 10' screen range than this. It feels much longer and holding/using just isn't that comfortable. Since this is for business, I have to be considerate of how it will work in the field and not just on my desk.6. Battery Life: In fairness, I might be spoiled here, but when I left it sitting on my desk at home for a day unplugged (without any use during the day and at least a half charge), I came home to find it almost out of juice. It just sat there. All day. When I got back, the fans were running. I know these units won't have the same life of a true tablet, but really? Without use? What happens when I USE the thing for 3-4 hours on site? Do I have to use my clients electricity to get the job done?General Concerns - not product specific, but related:1. Lack of accessories2. Not available in any retail physical location for testing (I couldn't find a place that even had it in store, here or anywhere else).3. One of four models with confusion about the specs on those models even from the manufacturer site. Seems like Samsung is pumping them out to be on this bandwagon, less concerned about the actual quality that getting a piece of the tablet PC pie.4. Longevity. Having purchased the Ativ 500t and being really disappointed, I was a little concerned about this and felt backed into a corner by the lack of features and specs on other tablets. I'm still concerned about what happens two months down the road with this thing - will it be working? Will it be supported? Will I just be out $1400?I'm going BACK to the Surface Pro for quality and design preferences. Hopefully, the next year will bring a lot of innovation and improvement to this market and, thus, cheaper and better options.