If you’re dying to have a Windows 8 tablet that’s also a full-powered ultrabook-level PC, and you also want to have said tablet come with its own full-featured keyboard, there are other pastures beckoning beyond the Microsoft Surface Pro.
Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
And while the Surface Pro might be the most recognizable of the PC-tablets in this early Windows 8 era, Samsung’s ATIV XE700T (or, Smart PC Pro 700T) is a Core i5 tablet, too -- and it also has its own keyboard dock that turns it into a laptop-style machine, much like the HP Envy x2.
But is it better?
Make no mistake: you're paying up for the full-fledged ultrabook-level specs on the ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T, especially compared to Atom-powered Windows 8 alternatives. The HP Envy x2 can give you a tablet-plus-keyboard experience for $850, albeit with a far less powerful Atom processor; the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro 700T sells for $1,199. Sure, the Surface Pro makes you pay up for design, too, but I liked the Surface Pro's design better.
Price that out next to the Surface Pro, and it's pretty similar. The Pro's $999 128GB configuration plus a $129 Type Cover (not included) comes to $1,128. The Surface Pro is a little less expensive, but the ATIV has a larger 11.6-inch screen. This Smart PC Pro also comes with a pressure-sensitive S-pen, although Microsoft packs its own Surface Pen in with the Surface Pro, too.
The top-heavy ATIV Smart PC Pro is a clever little device, but it feels too low-rent for its high-end aspirations. Samsung makes better-designed ultrabooks, and better tablets. The Smart PC Pro feels best as a laptop...in which case, why not simply buy a laptop?