The touch screen is okay if you’re just using the tablet to read or whatever, but I recommend you find the AutoHotkey script called ArtDock for it if you plan to use it for artwork. This allows you to toggle the touch screen on/off, as well as place all of your Photoshop hotkeys on a moveable panel on the side of the screen that you can hit with your fingers while resting your hand on the screen to draw. This one thing is the reason I refuse to upgrade to more modern hardware, it’s just too damn convenient.

Pros:
Portable, even with the charger this thing can be stuffed into a little satchel and carried everywhere.
Decently powerful. I have my power settings on Max Performance, but Photoshop rarely lags unless I’m using complicated brushes on a large canvas.
Cheaper than any of the Wacom crap, like the Cintiq, and it’s ACTUALLY portable unlike the Wacom HD Companion.

Cons:
Crap battery life, only lasts about 2 hours. Probably more if you’re just using it to browse the internet.
Delicate. I’ve dropped one of these and had the touch screen stop working completely. They’re not sturdy when sitting in the keyboard, the screen tends to flop around. The screen also likes to detach from the keyboard in-transit, so be careful that you’re pulling BOTH pieces out of your bag, or you might launch the important part across the room.

I have had my Samsung Series 7 Slate Tablet Computer for 3 months now, so it is time to write a review.I bought this tablet PC to fill a multi-purpose role.I am a management consultant, and I need a computer everywhere I go, but I want to minimize the weight and footprint of my PC.I find laptops are too big and intrusive at a boardroom table.In order to do my job, I must have a fully capable Microsoft Office equipped system, and iPads and Android tablets (basically just toys) are not up to this task.When I am not working, I still want an book e-reader and a web browser.I am not a shoot-em-up gamer, so I don’t care about gaming capabilities, but I do use Adobe Photoshop for both work and my photography hobby.The Samsung Series 7 Slate Tablet Computer, together with the bluetooth keyboard, the optional dock (see my separate review), and a generic mouse fit the bill perfectly.

PROs
====
– True Intel i5 computer with genuine Windows 7 PC in a slate form factor
– Crisp display
– Good capacitive touch screen interface
– Choice between normal touch-screen keyboard and Swype touch-screen keyboard
– Stylus hover sensor
– Full-blown computer when equipped with a Dock and mouse
– Micro SD chip adds extra memory
– Very quiet operation

CONs
====
– Short battery life between charges
– Glitchy screen rotation sensor
– Erratic shimmering auto-brightness management
– No manual screen brightness adjustment
– Difficult to get precise touch-screen taps without the stylus
– No embedded GPS
– No charging from a USB port

Review
======
4.25 Stars out of 5
– 0.5 penalty for brightness control brain damage
– 0.25 penalty for screen rotation problems

The Samsung Series 7 Slate Tablet PC is one of the very few fully functional multi-role tablet PCs available.As a genuine Windows machine, it offers all the same capabilities a desktop PC or laptop can provide.Since purchasing the SS7 Slate, I have retired my laptop from customer visits.I use only my tablet PC.In addition to the keyboard and Dock, I always carry with me:
– a generic mouse
– a very small and slim 4-port USB hub
– a USB-to-VGA adapter
– a USB GPS receiver.

All this equipment fits in my Black Pindar Edition Messenger Bag Protective Tablet Carrying Case (see my separate review).I never take my slate alone – I always keep it in my carrying back for protection.

When I use the SS7 Slate at meetings, I often use it alone – no Dock or keyboard – flat on the meeting table.This lets me take notes without a laptop screen fencing me off from the other attendees.When onsite at a customer office, I set up the Dock, keyboard, and mouse.If I have a large screen monitor available, I connect it via the VGA-to-USB adapter.I also use the VGA adapter to project PowerPoint presentations in meetings.

I use the SS7 Slate as I would a full PC for emails, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, Adobe PDF files, graphics and Photoshop images. I develop PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and complex and long Word documents on the SS7 Slate – exactly as I would on a desktop PC.

When I am not working, I use the SS7 Slate as a Kobo e-book reader.I also surf the web, mostly for news. I don’t play a lot of games.

On the road, I connect the USB GPS and use Microsoft Streets and Trips to make a kick-ass large screen in-car GPS map display.I find this very helpful when traveling in unfamiliar regions.I use my dedicated GPS for turn-by-turn instructions, and I use the SS7 Slate as a map overview to verify that my car’s GPS isn’t taking me somewhere I don’t want to go.My car has a 110V plug, so I can keep the SS7 Slate running indefinitely.

I use DropBox to synchronize non-sensitive documents between my SS7 Slate and my desktop in my office.I use a SecondCopy utility on my office file server to back-up my SS7 Slate’s hard drive.The same system backs up my laptop hard drive.

The power-up and Windows Resume sequences are quick and smooth.I have had no problems in this area.Without a keyboard, the BIOS settings page is a bit tricky, but the manual does explain how to access the BIOS settings page upon boot-up when the touch-screen keyboard is not yet active.

The touchscreen is intuitive and easy to use.The right-click function takes a bit of getting used to.I like the five-finger touch that brings up the keyboard.Speaking of which, there are two touch-screen keyboards in the SS7 Slate: the standard keyboard, and a Swype keyboard.The standard keyboard is a press-per-key (you have to press the keys M,E,M,O to spell memo), and the Swype keyboard also provides the same press-per-key as well as a swipe function (you drag your finger from M, then to E, then to M, then to O without lifting your finger).I find the Swype keyboard easier to use in some cases, but it does not have the dedicated number and cursor control keys like the standard keyboard does. Once the Swype keyboard is activated (and sometimes I activate by accident), it becomes the default keyboard, and I have not found a way to deactivate it without going to the Windows Task Manager and killing the Swype process.

I am really impressed with the handwriting input tool.Even someone with penmanship as sloppy as mine can write in your text and have the SS7 Slate recognize your handwriting with uncanny precision.

Samsung bundles a “Touch Launcher” that pops up when you press the dedicated launch button on the bottom of the Slate.I do not use it, because (1) I already find the windows application launch interface intuitive; and (2) I cannot customize the applets on the left side of the Touch Launcher screen.Other SS7 Slate users have told me they love the Touch Launcher – personally I find it adds an unnecessary layer.

The Stylus is a Wacom enabled system, meaning you can hover the stylus over the screen without touching the screen, and the SS7 Slate senses where the stylus is pointing.This is great for mouse hovering, pull down menus, and for precise cursor positioning, since you know exactly where the mouse cursor is pointing before you click.You do not need to use the stylus – I use my fingers most of the time – so I keep my stylus in my carrying case most of the time.

The screen presents a good quality image. The colors are sharp, and the refresh is quick enough to eliminate ghosting.I HATE the brightness control.Many people in SS7 Slate forums have complained about brightness, and this is by far the weakest part of the SS7 Slate package.There are no manual brightness control buttons – you must control the brightness using the Windows interface.A built-in light sensor detects the ambient light, and adjusts the screen’s brightness accordingly.Unfortunately, this logic is a little psychotic, because the screen brightness frequently jumps from dark to bright, and back, without any external lighting changes.Like many other SS7 Slate owners, I have disabled the automatic brightness system through the Windows Control Panel.I have tried to find a way to re-map the audio volume control buttons to brightness control buttons, but it does not seem possible.I wish I could control the brightness using dedicated buttons on the side of the SS7 Slate.

The screen is supposed to rotate like the iPad screen does as you rotate the slate itself.Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t.It has a screen orientation lock button that works sometimes.Sometimes the screen orientation locks by itself, and the only way you can unlock it is through the Windows Screen Settings interface.I have locked the orientation in the landscape mode and disabled rotation.

The SS7 Slate draws 40W of power from the charger.That is a clue about how long battery this tablet will last between charges.Design is always a trade-off, and one of the things you trade off when you get a full-powered Intel i5 based tablet PC is battery life.The system lasts 90 minutes, or two hours tops, between charges.That is not long enough to work through most flights. There is nothing that can be done – this puppy uses a lot of power.It is not a failing of the SS7 Slate, but simply a constraint of the trade-offs that went in to making this product.Fortunately, 110v power sources are more and more plentiful – on planes, in cars, at coffee shops, etc.

All of the above factors – pros and cons – make the SS7 Slate Table PC a very good product for those of you looking for a full-featured PC in a slate form factor.I am stunned that there are still professional reviewers who compare the SS7 Slate to the Apple iPad – it is like comparing a convertible sports car to a pick-up truck.One is a toy, whereas the other is used to get real work done.

If you are a mobile professional who needs to pack the full power of a PC in a slim form factor, based on my research, the Samsung Series 7 Slate Table PC is the best product you can buy for the money – hands down.But if you think that, by paying more for the SS7 Slate, you will somehow enjoy a more meaningful recreational experience than your iPad can offer, then you simply don’t understand the tablet PC market.To witness, Samsung does not even list the SS7 Slate under “Tablets” on its corporate web page – you have to go to “Business Products” to find the SS7 Slate.You should take that is a big clue about what to expect from the SS7 Slate Tablet PC.

While expensive, the Samsung Series 7 Slate PC delivers solid value for the business tablet user.The fact that it also does most of the iPad things (email, games, e-book, etc.) means you only need to carry around one tablet PC on business trips.

Having an i5 with a full version of windows 8 meant I could run tablet apps and word/excel along with all the specialized Windows software I had for analyzing wireless networks.Very light and portable with enough battery life (4+ hours) that I never worried about running out of power.I do plug it in to power when in my office.

I liked this device so much that when I switched jobs and had to turn it in, I purchased an amazon returned unit, knowing that no one would really like Windows 7 on a tablet, and saved a few dollars.Immediately wiped it and installed Windows 8 Pro. Very happy with the result.

The flip case available for this tablet is great. Full size USB port has worked with everything I’ve attached including keyboards and a radio spectrum analyzer.I picked up the Samsung mini-hdmi to VGA adapter allowing me to display data in meetings.(Also use a mini to full HDMI adapter.)

Now that Microsoft the Surface Pro is out I think the price should come down.

I carry this around everywhere and it has held up very well.

One down side is the lack of a charging indicator light.