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Dec 15, 2011

Samsung Series 7 Slate - All Posts


It's time for me to return the Series 7 Slate. I'm not returning it because I don't like it, I am returning it because economically I can't keep it. My mission with the Series 7 Slate was to create useful posts and videos regarding the product. With 42 posts and 32 videos I think I have accomplished the goal.

Information:
 Apps/Software:
 Modifications and Tips:

Additional Software:




Yes I spent my own dollars getting the system. And no I was not supported/paid in any way by Samsung.

There are many technology blogs with a great amount of influence. They will always get the review units first. Other little people like myself have to spend the dollars if we want to play. ;) By the time the little guy produces videos the big tech blogs have already "milked" any possibility of earnings through advertisements.

Economically creating these videos for me makes absolute no sense. Usually I lose money. Manufacturers can benefit greatly from the videos and posts that I created because they inform potential buyers, and help existing owners. I have not made a dollar from selling units on the Series 7 Slate (made 1 sale!), Lenovo ThinkPad X220T, Asus Eee Note EA-800, HP Pavilion DV6T QE, Fujitsu Lifebook T580, BlackBerry Playbook, HTC Flyer, and I think I got like $20 out of effort put into the Lenovo X201T. The money I usually earn comes from annoying google adverts on the videos, small accessory sales through Amazon, and rarely a donation from good-hearted people. I get a good amount of "thank you" messages which in a way is more than enough. :)

I leave you with an advertisement video by Samsung which apparently the French love... it has cool music, cool dancer, cool visuals, and it doesn't tell you anything about the product.

Educational type videos can't compete against emotional exploiting time wasters. hahaha ;)



PROGRAMS / DOCUMENTS / DRIVERS
These are software download URLs. They were extracted from XML files in "C:\ProgramData\Samsung\Easy Software Manager\". These programs were designed for the Series 7 Slate, but they may work on other systems.  Download and run at your own risk.

If you are looking for the touch friendly apps then press Ctrl+F and type "Play Touch".

Hierarchy style:
  • Program name
    • Download URL
    • Possible installation foler

Happy downloading:

Thanks to Canouna at http://www.winunleaked.tk/ for the suggestion.

Email by Stefano
Hi Jesse, my name is Stefano and I'm writing you from Italy.

I found your website simply by surfing the web, and I have to admit that your reviews are very useful and accurate.

My attention was particularly caught by your recent review of Samsung Slate series 7 PC; I'm very interested about this device but unfortunately, due to the recent launch on the market, in Italy there's no way to find it on some physical computer store, so I can't test it or handle it

As I wrote before, your review is accurate and very precious, but there are still some things that leave me perplexed about the Slate, particularly when compared with the MacBook Air (the other solution I'm thinking about in order to substitute my old Acer notebook):

1) the main use of the device will be: 20% of time surfing the web, checking emails, writing on social networks/forums, and 80% of time using Photoshop (or similar programs) in order to modify and organize my photos. As you can easily understand the resolution and the dimension of the screen is very important to handle the photo and apply the right corrections; I perfectly know that professional users own 22-27 inches monitor with incredible resolutions, but I'm not a professionist and since today I used a 1280x800pixels 15,6 inches monitor, so I think that the 1366x768pixels resolution of the Slate can be enough for my goal. The real dubt is about the 11,6inches monitor, that means 4inches less than the actual size I'm using; I personally experienced a Macbook air 11,6" in a computer store, the screen is exactly the same of the Slate and I considered it very very small. But it is also true that, due to the touch facilities, in my humble opinion the Slate has to be used keeping it on hand or on the arm, in order to use the digitizer or the fingers; this means (I think) that the screen is closer to my eyes than a notebook screen, so the 11,6" looks much more similar to 13,3" or bigger monitor...what's your experience about that? have you tried to use applications such as Camera Raw, Photoshop, Lightroom, etc.?

2) specifications indicates that the Slate weight about 860grams but I read in various reviews that, even if the device can be considered very light, long period of utilization can be painful for the arm; what's your experience about it?

3) in various internet reviews I read that Samsung slate is very noisy, especially when heavy operations are required to the system; also in your video I heard the fan working hard during the Windows upgrades installation. Sincerely it's very difficult to understand in a video how noisy is the device, so also in this case I really appreciate if you could tell me your direct experience about it, not only considering the extreme high level noise, but also the frequency with which the fan activates itself for cooling the Slate. P.S.: and what about the temperature of case? does it remain cool, or became it hot?

4) techical specification, as well as the on-line shop, are not very clear, so since today I'm not sure if the Slate support or not the 3G/UMTS connection; in your video you clearly indicate the SIM slot, but I don't understand if it is simply necessary to plug into it a Carrier SIM card in order to use the Slate with a 3G connection.

And finally, waiting the opportunities to touch the Slate with my own hands, I kindly ask you a personal advice for the substitution of my old notebook; as I wrote before the choice is between a Macbook Air 13,3" 128GB and the Samsung Slate 128GB, and please consider that I will use the device on a sofa or on the bed, and only in very rare cases over a desk

Many Many thanks in advance for your disposal and for your support, and kindly apologize me for the time I'm wasting you, and also for my not perfect english

Bye bye

Stefano


Stefano,

Hi Mr. Italian. I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can.

1. For professional level Photoshoping I wouldn't use the Series 7 Slate or the Macbook Air. I would go for the the Lenovo ThinkPad W520 because the screen quality is the best I have seen. It will give you a really amazing color range. http://www.jessebandersen.com/2011/06/many-systems-lenovo-thinkpad-w520-x220t.html Yes it's a bigger system compared to the thin Air and Series 7 Slate.

I'm not a Mac guy but I have played with the Macbook Air. It's very convenient because it's very light. I guess the same could be said about the Series 7 Slate. The advantages of the Series 7 Slate come with the digitizer and touch input. With these you can experiment. http://www.jessebandersen.com/2011/12/samsung-series-7-slate-autohotkey.html So... it's really up to the way you work.

2. Anyone that holds anything on their arms for a long period of time (ie 8 hours) will feel some strain. As you can see on almost all of my videos I rarely hold the system and instead use a stand. If you were to use the tablet for Photoshop you would probably put it on a table. If carrying things on your arms for a while is too hard then it may be time to "pump iron" and change diet to build muscle. ;) hahaha

3. I have an HP Pavilion DV6T Quad Edition (gaming laptop) and comparing noise levels I can say that the Series 7 Slate is very quiet. If the Series 7 Slate is compared to the iPad then yes it would be noisier because of the fan noise. This system has a Core i5 which does need a fan because it's a powerful CPU, the iPad has a mobile processor which runs a very light operating system and apps. Both the iPad and the Series 7 Slate can overheat if given the right conditions (ie block air vents or being in a place were air is static http://www.jessebandersen.com/2010/06/ipad-in-your-car-not-good-idea.html ). As long as there's good ventilation the system will be fine.

Warm = Comfortable in hands
Hot = Uncomfortable in hands

Both the iPad, Macbook Air, Series 7 Slate, and just about any electronic device can reach warm and hot level temperatures. But most of the time these devices will be at the warm level.

4. Apparently the systems have the SIM card slot, but they do not have the 3G card. Samsung may begin selling 3G capable models later on, but as of right now it would require manual modification. I wouldn't recommend trying to add a 3G card because it's not easy.

5. The Macbook Air has the benefit of being a laptop which means a full keyboard and a stand. In both sitting and being in bed the Macbook Air wins at being more convenient. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96edTWKx3hA

6. The Series 7 Slate does have a microSD card slot which can be used to add storage memory. Last time I checked the Air doesn't have any way of adding a microSD card (at least without an adapter).

7. I think the laptop form factor is overall better for most people. The tablet form factor has it's very specific uses like handwritten notes (math geniuses love pen enabled tablets because they can draw their formulas.). I'm a fairly visual guy and prefer to draw ideas and plans on things like tablets and whiteboards, so tablets suit me very well. In a way it really depends on how you want to work.

Hopefully that answers your questions. Good luck making your decision.

Jesse B Andersen
http://www.jessebandersen.com

Note: I may post this email on my blog because it holds a good amount of information.


FYI. CDW is an inefficient monstrosity of a company. I ordered a case and dock about a month ago and have not received it. Their phone customer service is good though.
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17 comments:

  1. Did you have to pay a restocking fee?

    I'd love to try out one of these things, but the vague threats of restocking fees (Lenovo's, for one, is 15 percent!!!!) are scaring me off.

    ReplyDelete

  2. Since I ordered from Amazon and the screen separation issue was not caused by me I did not have to pay a restocking fee. On the Kindle Fire I did have to pay a restocking fee because there were no problems with it.

    Amazon rules at dealing with return items. They scheduled a pickup through UPS, and paid for the shipping expenses. Jeff Bezos created a wonderful company.

    I'm not sure what restocking fees are for some of these other tech companies, but I'm sure they charge those fees because they have to polish and fix the machines before they try to resell them.

    ReplyDelete

  3. Hi Jess,

    I have purchased the samsung slate series 7 pc. The thing is, I forgot my password and couldn't log on. What should I do? Please please help. Huhuhuhu...

    Filipina Lady

    ReplyDelete

  4. Filipina Lady,
    One way of dealing with this problem is by using Linux. Here's a guide - http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/change-your-forgotten-windows-password-with-the-linux-system-rescue-cd/

    Make sure to read the comments for even more tips.

    ReplyDelete

  5. Hi Jesse,

    I'm not very technical when it comes to machine. And I am hoping that if there is easiest way possible to reset the password. When I tried to ask some professional help they are intimidated with the whole tablet concept which they refused to even try work with it.

    So Jess, trying the given solution, will be needing some optical dic drive right? I wish you could be online and have the privilege to just discuss about this real time. You are great Jess, and More Power! You actually convinced me to get this slate, but grrr! lol

    Filipina Lady

    ReplyDelete

  6. Filipina Lady,
    Well a USB Flash/Thumb drive with linux on it would do the job. I think if you are still under warranty and do not want to become a "hacker" returning the system for a replacement can also be an option.

    There are also tutorials on Youtube on how to reset/retrieve the password. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EASPkAFOv70

    Jesse

    ReplyDelete

  7. Hello, Jesse....
    Your Link is error...(Swype, social dashboard & tiwwiter)....
    Can you send me your zip file(sywpe, social dashboard)??
    My mail is : [email protected]

    ReplyDelete

  8. The Swype and a few other links has been removed by Samsung.

    ReplyDelete

  9. Jesse.....I'm too sorry...
    Can you send me your zip file(Twitter And Social Dashboard Apps)?? If you haven't that zip file, can you send me your "Twitter and social dash board folder"??
    In addition, Swype Installer worked very well... Thankyou So much
    My mail is same to before([email protected])

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. hola.
      I need Swype

      ...Thankyou

      Mail: [email protected]

      Delete

    2. Do not expect me to be a file sharer for much longer.
      (-1m)

      Delete

  10. I'm sorry but I can't send those files because I don't have them. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Can you look for that file??(Twitter and Social Dashboard)

      Delete

    2. I'm sorry but I can't. You could ask on forums (like tabletpcreview) and maybe someone has the installers for those apps.

      Delete

  11. Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I have also forgotten my password on my Samsung Slate Series 7. I'm using a different password unlocker, but I'm not sure how to get to the BOOT Option without the keyboard.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Dr. Google can help you more than I can. Also visit Samsung's support page for the Series 7 Slate (there are a lot of useful tips in there)

      Delete

    2. Do you have any idea where I can download the Play Touch Camera software? I've accidentally uninstalled it on my Slate and can't find a downloa anywhere online.... help! Thanks :-)

      Delete

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