Q Thoughts

[twospirits]

Sooo... I recently sold my Galaxy Note 10.1 and I really miss it but since I hardly used it for the last few months I figure it was time to bid adieu. In its place I bought the Samsung ATIV 500T since I really needed a Windows laptop replacement for my dying Dell Inspiron.

It was between the 500T or the 700T and since the 700T (at the time was no where to be found) I decided to get the 500T to hold me over till I get the next big thing. It was around this time that the ATIV Q was announced, but with that device not being sold anytime soon, I felt I did okay with the 500T.

As I play with the 500T since getting it I noticed a few things...

The good...
1-its almost like a laptop replacement (key word almost)
2-Detaches and becomes a tablet ala Transformer
3-battery Life is awesome compared to my Note 10.1
4-Same S-Pen and it works very well

The Bad,
1-I missed the Android Market and its Apps
2-Getting used to Windows 8 has not been easy.
3-The apps in the Windows market are way more expensive.

The Ugly
1-No backup battery in the keyboard dock
2-With only 2 GB of ram, doing to many things will slow it to a crawl

Still I like the device. Then the announcement of the ATIV Q.

A dream come true, both a Windows Tablet/laptop/Hybrid that is powerful enough yet allows me to run both Android (for fun) and Windows for work). Looking at the specs its like a wet dream come true lol. But then reality set in.

The more i see it and (really want it) the more I see the issues.

1-There is no cover to the display.
its not a typical laptop or a Transformer, the screen is exposed and regardless of Gorilla or Godzilla glass, i am sure i will find a way to scratch it.
2-That 4 GB of ram is really stressing me out, how can Samsung even think that should be enough in this beast.
Although historically they may offer a more ram and ssd version, but who knows if that will be true.
3-With Android being in a VM, how would it be updated, would there be Roms/mods on such a beast.

So I am still on the fence on getting this device. The 500T is fine for now, but nothing compared to the Q. My Android desire will have to be suffice by my Note 2. If Samsung would have made a true update to the 500/700T that is detachable (and with an extra battery in the dock) I would be on that in a heartbeat. But for now i will have to forgo my natural desire to get the latest thing yesterday and just wait till the reviews are in and maybe see it in person in a store before throwing my money at someone. lol

So, anyone else have similar thoughts? Post away.

TS

 

[breadnatty08]

Wait, you don't have access to the Play Store while it's on Android?

 

[twospirits]

Yes you would, but I am referring to Android Versions itself, like Version 4.2 to 4.3 etc etc, not the apps.

TS

 

[drexappeal]

Woah...I didn't realize that they only put 4gb of RAM in this beast of a machine. My laptop and the dock is starting to really have issues, but it has the same amount of RAM, running only on a core2duo processor. It's still fast enough, for my needs at home, but I'd hope for 6-8gb of RAM on the Ativ Q, considering the dual operating systems and loading up all of the Android tablet apps that I currently use on my Note 8.0.

One of my main thoughts on the ATIV Q, is if Samsung is going to integrate some of the great software that they have on all of the Note series phones and tablets. I think that was the biggest thing that held me back from buying the 700T. It didn't have any of the hover view integration (w/ S-Pen) that any of the Android tablets had. Since the ATIV Q is both Windows and Android, I hope they find a way to integrate that software. I love being able to hover over emails and just read the quick preview.

 

[twospirits]

I'm no expect by any means, but here are my thoughts on your questions.

I didn't realize that they only put 4gb of RAM in this beast of a machine. My laptop and the dock is starting to really have issues, but it has the same amount of RAM, running only on a core2duo processor. It's still fast enough, for my needs at home, but I'd hope for 6-8gb of RAM on the Ativ Q, considering the dual operating systems and loading up all of the Android tablet apps that I currently use on my Note 8.0.

yeah, having only 4GB is a bummer and what's funny is that besides the forum posters everywhere complaining about that oversight, the media is starting to complain as well. Granted, maybe with the new Haswell processor 4GB may be enough for this beast of a machine, but still, I would have loved for Samsung to have given the customers the option of ordering this device with more ram, higher processor (i7), larger SSD, backlit keys, etc.

One of my main thoughts on the ATIV Q, is if Samsung is going to integrate some of the great software that they have on all of the Note series phones and tablets. I think that was the biggest thing that held me back from buying the 700T. It didn't have any of the hover view integration (w/ S-Pen) that any of the Android tablets had. Since the ATIV Q is both Windows and Android, I hope they find a way to integrate that software. I love being able to hover over emails and just read the quick preview.

I may be wrong in this but if I am not mistaken, some of the things you mentioned such as hover view, plus multi-view windows in Android etc are only useful in Touchwiz. Not in stock Android that the Q was demo'ed in. We won't know until a reviewer actually does a full blown in-depth review of the apps, OS's etc of the tablet.

Like I mentioned elsewhere, I can probably dismiss the 4GB ram part, but like you said, with dual OS, alot of that would be used by the system. The more I look at the device the more I get frustrated that Samsung really messed up.

btw, phonearena has updated their video review to add more info.

TS

 

[drexappeal]

I may be wrong in this but if I am not mistaken, some of the things you mentioned such as hover view, plus multi-view windows in Android etc are only useful in Touchwiz. Not in stock Android that the Q was demo'ed in. We won't know until a reviewer actually does a full blown in-depth review of the apps, OS's etc of the tablet.

I think you're right because I remember people saying that the Google edition S4 didn't have hover function or the other software touches.

I'm figuring, if this is a dual OS system w/ Windows, then the Android portion would already be "rooted". Or is there a way for the software to be split where the Windows portion is accessible (as normal windows would be) and the android partition is locked. The more we talk, the more questions come up for me.

As awesome as the concept intially sounds, it might be the smarter play to wait it out for the 2nd generation of the Q. I was intending on waiting for a "good deal" on it anyway, so we'll see what more reviews say leading up to the official release.

 

[twospirits]

I am really truly hoping that since the specs page of the ATIV Q is not fully outlined on Samsung webpage, that it may be an indication that they have read the posters (here, there and everywhere) complain that the device has too little ram and may be making a secondary one with more ram.

Considering that the ATIV 9 series has both a lite and regular version (lite with 4GB of ram) and the regular with 8GB, I see no reason for Samsung (maker of many ram modules) to not make a ATIV Q version that has 8GB of ram.

Either way, Like I said elsewhere, I will still have to wait and see the full blown benchmarks and reviews before deciding to get it or wait out for the 2nd generation. Only then would anyone know if 4GB of ram would be enough for this beast of a machine.

TS out

 

[drexappeal]

I am really truly hoping that since the specs page of the ATIV Q is not fully outlined on Samsung webpage, that it may be an indication that they have read the posters (here, there and everywhere) complain that the device has too little ram and may be making a secondary one with more ram.

Considering that the ATIV 9 series has both a lite and regular version (lite with 4GB of ram) and the regular with 8GB, I see no reason for Samsung (maker of many ram modules) to not make a ATIV Q version that has 8GB of ram.

Either way, Like I said elsewhere, I will still have to wait and see the full blown benchmarks and reviews before deciding to get it or wait out for the 2nd generation. Only then would anyone know if 4GB of ram would be enough for this beast of a machine.

TS out

That would be amazing. My laptop has been acting up lately, especially with the Toshiba satelite dock that I use.

I'm just hoping it'll last long enough for me to get a good deal on the ATIV Q w/ increased RAM.