I was set on getting the Thinkpad Tablet 2 (really want an x86 tab for legacy programs) but got impatient with the neverending delays and decided to get whatever I could get my hands on. That turned out to be the Samsung Ativ Smart PC through AT&T. Here are some of my thoughts on it:
The performance is actually pretty decent. I had an AMD C-50 netbook that I upgraded to Windows 8 and this was a step up from that. It opens Office 2010 programs and files without any significant hiccups (I haven't tried any crazy powerpoint presentations though). App switching is fast, web site rendering is fast, overall from a performance point of view I have no complaints. Also I haven't really gotten too involved with gaming on it-- that's what I have an Xbox for.
The size is a mixed bag. It's very thin, no complaints there. The Clover Trail fanless processor is much appreciated in this regard. However, for me personally, 11.6" is probably too big for a tablet. I already have a desktop for heavy lifting, so screen size, keyboard size, etc. are less important to me. I want legacy compatibility in a compact package, and unfortunately this tablet doesn't quite meet my needs. I could live with it, but it's not my first choice. 1/2 a strike.
I have some complaints specific to the AT&T version. I knew when I bought it that it doesn't come with an S-Pen (their version of the Wacom pen), but what I didn't know is that it most likely doesn't even have the digitizer in the screen (no evidence in device manager that it exists, plus the Wacom driver that is supplied repeatedly fails to install). That's bad because even purchasing Wacom pen on the side wouldn't help. Full strike for this.
The second issue is the microSD slot. Yes, it's there, but it only supports SDHC, which means only up to 32GB. That's not a ton of storage, especially once you start adding music, TV shows, etc. Again, not an absolute deal breaker, but not ideal. Another 1/2 strike (up to 2 strikes now)
FInally, and this is huge, the pricing is kind of outrageous compared to the wifi version, especially considering that the digitizer is probably absent. It's a full $150 more (off-contract price) just for the addition of an LTE radio (and subtraction of the digitizer). Sorry AT&T, but that's highway robbery. Again, at the time of purchase it didn't seem completely outrageous, but the digitizer thing really bothered me. One more strike, that means it's out and I'm returning it.
It's too bad, in the three days I've had it I really like the tablet idea, Windows 8, and the processor/battery life combo. The good thing is that this scratched my itch in the short term, so I can now wait patiently for the perfect hardware combo that I'll be happy with.
Speaking of which, I think I'm now going to consider the Dell Latitude 10 in addition to the Lenovo. The Dell doesn't have a pen silo built-in like the Lenovo, but it does have a swappable battery and a full-size SD slot. And the 4G radio is up in the air. I guess I'll have to see.
-R
The performance is actually pretty decent. I had an AMD C-50 netbook that I upgraded to Windows 8 and this was a step up from that. It opens Office 2010 programs and files without any significant hiccups (I haven't tried any crazy powerpoint presentations though). App switching is fast, web site rendering is fast, overall from a performance point of view I have no complaints. Also I haven't really gotten too involved with gaming on it-- that's what I have an Xbox for.
The size is a mixed bag. It's very thin, no complaints there. The Clover Trail fanless processor is much appreciated in this regard. However, for me personally, 11.6" is probably too big for a tablet. I already have a desktop for heavy lifting, so screen size, keyboard size, etc. are less important to me. I want legacy compatibility in a compact package, and unfortunately this tablet doesn't quite meet my needs. I could live with it, but it's not my first choice. 1/2 a strike.
I have some complaints specific to the AT&T version. I knew when I bought it that it doesn't come with an S-Pen (their version of the Wacom pen), but what I didn't know is that it most likely doesn't even have the digitizer in the screen (no evidence in device manager that it exists, plus the Wacom driver that is supplied repeatedly fails to install). That's bad because even purchasing Wacom pen on the side wouldn't help. Full strike for this.
The second issue is the microSD slot. Yes, it's there, but it only supports SDHC, which means only up to 32GB. That's not a ton of storage, especially once you start adding music, TV shows, etc. Again, not an absolute deal breaker, but not ideal. Another 1/2 strike (up to 2 strikes now)
FInally, and this is huge, the pricing is kind of outrageous compared to the wifi version, especially considering that the digitizer is probably absent. It's a full $150 more (off-contract price) just for the addition of an LTE radio (and subtraction of the digitizer). Sorry AT&T, but that's highway robbery. Again, at the time of purchase it didn't seem completely outrageous, but the digitizer thing really bothered me. One more strike, that means it's out and I'm returning it.
It's too bad, in the three days I've had it I really like the tablet idea, Windows 8, and the processor/battery life combo. The good thing is that this scratched my itch in the short term, so I can now wait patiently for the perfect hardware combo that I'll be happy with.
Speaking of which, I think I'm now going to consider the Dell Latitude 10 in addition to the Lenovo. The Dell doesn't have a pen silo built-in like the Lenovo, but it does have a swappable battery and a full-size SD slot. And the 4G radio is up in the air. I guess I'll have to see.
-R
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