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.

Samsung's Optimized UI And Lots Of Preloaded Apps

We covered the basic tenets of how Windows 7 enables tablet functionality in our Eee Slate review. That's is why we're skipping directly to Samsung's UI enhancements.

Samsung put in an obvious amount of effort to facilitate tablet-like usability. In addition to the standard Windows 7 Input Panel, you also have a custom Swype keyboard and shortcut toolbar.

Swype Keyboard

Shortcut Toolbar

Samsung's Touch Launcher is perhaps the most unique feature of any tablet PC that we've ever seen. You can launch it by selecting the taskbar icon or pressing the physical Home button. This program is effectively a pseudo-Android/iOS home screen. You swipe to move between panels, and while some of the apps listed are just desktop shortcuts, others (like the RSS Reader, Twitter, Social Dashboard, and Weather apps) have a simplified touch screen UI, just like Android and iOS. 

Frankly, we think Samsung created a better touch screen interface than the version of Microsoft's Metro UI that shipped with the Windows 8 developer build. It's home screen operates as an interface layer that's separate from the familiar desktop environment. It's incredibly intuitive for anyone, even those who have no experience in Android or iOS, to use. If I can't find or don't want to use the digitizer pen, this is the interface I turn to for quick navigation.

Touch Launcher

Touch Launcher, Panel 2

Changing APs

Twitter

Weather
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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