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wodin · 01-08-2013, 12:35 PM

I've had my Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T for about a month now. It’s an 11.6” Windows 8 (x86) tablet with a dual core Intel Atom CPU, 2 GB RAM and 64 GB SSD; and I’ve added a 64 GB micro SD card. The resolution is not as high as the purported Visio, but otherwise the specs are very similar.

After a month of use, my experience is very favorable. It’s a bit on the large size, but if it were any smaller my ancient eyeballs would have difficulty reading the screen, especially in the desktop (as opposed to the new (Metro) style UI). But then I have large hands, so it’s not much of a burden.

I find myself running it mostly in desktop mode, as most of my software is legacy windows rather than the newer RT apps. And even when both RT and x86 versions are available; for instance Internet Explorer, and Outlook vs. Mail/Calendar/Contacts etc. the x86 version is very much more capable. I believe I would not be satisfied with a ARM powered Windows RT tablet.

The Tablet does not have 3G/4G connectivity, but I have an old EVO 4G smartphone on Sprint with an unlimited data plan, so I loaded up FoxFi on the EVO and tether the ATIV with Bluetooth. It works well with a minimum of hassle.

I bought it from Best Buy, the day after Amazon dropped the price to $599. Best Buy price matched Amazon, so I got it for $100 off their regular price; I was quite happy about that.

My Win 8 experience has been generally positive, as with any Windows version change there is a bit of a learning curve, but I have been able to figure out how to do most things with a bit of hunting a pecking. There is, however a bit of a problem with peripheral drivers. I expect peripheral manufacturers to slowly catch up as happened with Vista, but at this point I have things that just don’t work. Most notably the scanner feature of my MFP, and my Livescribe Smartpen.

01-08-2013, 12:35 PM	#13
wodin Illiterate Posts: 10,279 Karma: 37848716 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: The Sandwich Isles Device: Samsung Galaxy S10+, Microsoft Surface Pro	I've had my Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T for about a month now. It’s an 11.6” Windows 8 (x86) tablet with a dual core Intel Atom CPU, 2 GB RAM and 64 GB SSD; and I’ve added a 64 GB micro SD card. The resolution is not as high as the purported Visio, but otherwise the specs are very similar. After a month of use, my experience is very favorable. It’s a bit on the large size, but if it were any smaller my ancient eyeballs would have difficulty reading the screen, especially in the desktop (as opposed to the new (Metro) style UI). But then I have large hands, so it’s not much of a burden. I find myself running it mostly in desktop mode, as most of my software is legacy windows rather than the newer RT apps. And even when both RT and x86 versions are available; for instance Internet Explorer, and Outlook vs. Mail/Calendar/Contacts etc. the x86 version is very much more capable. I believe I would not be satisfied with a ARM powered Windows RT tablet. The Tablet does not have 3G/4G connectivity, but I have an old EVO 4G smartphone on Sprint with an unlimited data plan, so I loaded up FoxFi on the EVO and tether the ATIV with Bluetooth. It works well with a minimum of hassle. I bought it from Best Buy, the day after Amazon dropped the price to $599. Best Buy price matched Amazon, so I got it for $100 off their regular price; I was quite happy about that. My Win 8 experience has been generally positive, as with any Windows version change there is a bit of a learning curve, but I have been able to figure out how to do most things with a bit of hunting a pecking. There is, however a bit of a problem with peripheral drivers. I expect peripheral manufacturers to slowly catch up as happened with Vista, but at this point I have things that just don’t work. Most notably the scanner feature of my MFP, and my Livescribe Smartpen.