Samsung ATIV Confusions and Problems

Samsung is dishearteningly inept at describing their own products. This post is an ongoing list of oddities in the Samsung ATIV product line.

Samsung's website listed the Leather Slate PC Sleeve (AA-BS3N11N/US) as compatible with my ATIV XE700T1C-A04US Tablet PC that I reviewed last December.  It is not compatible.  The A04US tablet is slightly too wide and too tall and does not completely fit inside the sleeve. It sticks out just a little bit, as shown in the photo above.

While trying to understand this, I quickly identified several other marketing confusions on the Samsung website.  The tablet works fine.  I just wish I did not have to learn about it through trial and error, such as the $100 detachable keyboard not being included with the A04US model. Read more reviews of Samsung's ATIV XE700T1C

ATIV means many things

As of June 2013, the ATIV product name refers to the 500T Tablet PC, 700T Tablet PC, Notebooks series 2 through 9, All-in-One PCs series 5 and 7 (touch and non-touch).

These products have different form factors and functionality. They target different types of customers. Samsung calls all of them ATIV.

Beware 700T1A

My first Samsung Tablet PC purchase was actually made in error. I purchased the older model XE700T1A, which has Windows 7, not its replacement XE700T1C model. Luckily I realized my mistake and was able to cancel the order without penalty.

The XE700T1A product is still available and makes comparison shopping difficult, especially for accessories. I wish I did not have to work so hard to figure out what product to buy. If it has not become apparent yet, these two different products differ slightly in the suffix "A" or "C".

Secret Differences Between XE700T1C Models

As I wrote about my confusion last December, there is a significant price difference between the A04US model and its alternatives but no clear technical differences. I even contacted Samsung's pre-sales support. They were nice.  But they were looking at the same Samsung web page that I was.  They were not helpful.

Here is another Samsung secret that I discovered: The ATIV XE700T1C-A04US model that I purchased has different dimensions than the A01-A03 models.  It is a slight difference, but big enough to be seen when trying to use the Samsung Compatible Sleeve. It does not fit!

Technical Problems

This is an ongoing list of technical problems I have experienced with this tablet.

• WiFi networking disconnects after driver update.