Samsung Series 7 11.6" Slate: Breathing New Life Into Tablet PCs

By Andrew Ku
published

Tablet PCs are a dying breed, and Windows 8 is still at least a year away. Until we see what Microsoft's next operating system has to offer, one tablet PC shows us why this form factor is still a winner. Samsung's Series 7 11.6" Slate breaks the mold.

Image Quality Examined: Front- And Rear-Facing Cameras

Camera App

If you've ever used an Android or iOS device, the camera interface should look pretty familiar.

Camera Quality: Rear-Facing, Distance

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Low Light Indoors
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Well Lit Outdoors

The rear-facing camera takes decent shots, but only if you're close to the object you're shooting. Samsung doesn't let you manually set focus, which is a major disappointment since autofocus doesn't really work. Point-and-shoots and smartphones are probably better candidates for group shots from a distance.

Camera Quality: Rear-Facing, Up Close

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Low Light Indoors
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Well Lit Outdoors

Camera Quality: Front-Facing

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While Samsung's front-facing camera is on par with some of the best tablets, you still need reasonable lighting for VoIP-based communications apps like Skype.

Andrew Ku
49 Comments Comment from the forums
  • g-unit1111
    Do. Want. Finally - a tablet that doesn't require a proprietary operating system that needs 1,000,000,000 apps for every website on the internet in order to function properly. It has an SSD and not flash memory. It has a real working version of Windows - with a great interface on top of it. This looks like a tablet I can get behind.
    Reply
  • A very nice tablet! Hoping that ivy bridge will allow faster processers without creating too much heat and saving battery. I'm really looking into getting a tablet in the future to replace my notebook and this looks is very reassuring that things are improving :P.
    Reply
  • friskiest
    A5 vs SB,. hehehe (grinning :D)
    Reply
  • sereng3ti
    The first sentence of this article told me all I needed to know.
    Reply
  • What about the digitizer? I appreciate the comparisons to the Asus EEE Slate, but that has a 256-level pressure sensitive wacom digitizer on top of the screen. And no mention of it or what is on this device?
    Reply
  • joytech22
    Yay finally, I saw this in shops around a month ago and wonder when tom's would cover it. :p
    Reply
  • Gamer-girl
    The UI makes it seem like a smartphone. You keep mentioning the pen but there is no comparison? Does it have palm rejection?
    Reply
  • theuniquegamer
    Instead of current sandybridge (i.e hd 3000) the should give an amd llano which has a better gpu or the ivy bridge mobile cpus (which is with hd 4000 gpu) and a lower TDP.
    Reply
  • alyoshka
    Isn't it a little steep for a 1000$....??? After all it's a Samsung, 11.6Inch Tab.......
    I think it'd be a lot more wiser to buy a laptop for that price and get a much more efficient and powerful piece of tech.
    Reply
  • alyoshka
    I would have given the Note from Samsung a thought had it had 7.5 installed on it..... but again..... it's a samsung.....
    Reply