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.

Forget HDMI. Intel's WiDi Makes It Easy

Samsung's Slate supports Intel's Wireless Display (WiDi) technology. A few things have changed since our first look at WiDi, because Intel now allows you to play protected video content, and it supports 1080p.

Push2TV HD

Of course, WiDi requires a compatible adapter like Netgear's Push2TV HD. Once you get your hands on that piece of hardware, connecting is relatively simple. Just hook up the adapter via HDMI to your TV or monitor and you're ready to start.

Start Screen

The next step is to connect the display via Intel's WiDi software by entering a PIN.

A video signal from the tablet PC is then streamed wirelessly onto your HDTV.

We've tried connecting WiDi on a few TVs, and the process is easy each time. The only problem we've seen is that the display isn't always proportioned quite right. Fortunately, WiDi lets you adjust the image. The resulting image quality is good, but not great. It’s on par with streaming movies on Amazon or Netflix.

The bigger problem is that streaming video requires on-the-fly encoding, which not only employs Quick Sync's fixed-function logic, but also the HD Graphics engine's encoding units. We didn't have a USB 2.0-based Blu-ray drive to connect, but standard-def DVD playback causes CPU usage to spike to 30%.

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