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[jmone]

I agree - the Samsung Andriod Tablets have GPS, Mobile Networks etc etc as std yet the Ativ can be missing many of these modules - very very odd.  I lookat at all the specs on the other convertables and each seems to be missing a feature or two as well.  AND what is all this plastic... I'm replacing my MBA and these guys still have a long way to go matching the industrial design from Apple.

[gvanbrunt]

I agree with everything you said except for the steel case thing. Apple markets that as "quality" but it is the same quality that the big 3 used to market against imports. They made big metal beasts that were "safer" because they were solid. That perception lasted right up until crash tests were mandated in North America. The foreign markets had them much earlier and already knew that that if the vehicle absorbed the impact, the occupants wouldn't have too. That statistics also proved that to be true.

Same with Apple cases: would you rather the case broke, or the impact was transferred to screen? Also what is better antenna wise? What is better for the pocket book? What is better weight wise. What is better heat wise? More expensive: yes. Better: I guess that is questionable. I do know that in many cases some plastics are better choices than metals. In fact they can even be more expensive. So I guess it really boils down to what plastics are used and how. Most plastic devices I've seen damaged it was the screen that broke, not the case.

And Apple's industrial design isn't quite there either. My Macbook Pro has had more issues than any device I have owned. Even laptops that were half the price. The power supply had to be replaced. At least that was free after the class action law suit that forced them to. Then the latch broke. Twice. Now it won't power on at all. I have several other laptops from the same era and not one has had any parts replaced and they are still functional. I also know of others in the same boat including some that are total Apple fan boys. Even after scores of issues they still claim Apple is better. Reminds me of people that own Mercedes' Even seen the repair records of them and how much is actually covered by warranty? Sheesh.

Man, I'm starting to sound like a bitter old man when the coffee isn't free with the $1.99 breakfast. Just pointing out that what I see is a lot of hype. Personal experience shows me they don't live up to the claims. And for the record I've owned 2 ipods, 2 iphones and a MacBook, so I'm not some Apple hater. I'll also admit the metal does look nice as well. Apple products do look sharp.

As for the hybrids, I really hope someone makes a laptop\tablet. At this point no one has. Close but no cigar. But then again it is only round one. I'm sure great things are to come.

[jmone]

I bought the Ativ and for me it is currently the best format to an all round Laptop/Tablet (Eg the Tablet physically docks into the Keyboard to form a normal clamshell Laptop).  So I'm finding I use it as a normal Laptop with Windoes 8 Desktop for normal "work" stuff, and when doing casual browsing or consumption (eg on a plane) I use it as a Tablet in Modern/Metro UI. 

I'm certainly no Apple Fan Boi and the MBA is the only mac product I've owed (FYI - it was really used as a "Win Book Air" as I removed the OSX partition completely and only had Win8 on it....  Even added a Windows sticker over the glowing apple lid light).  I purchased this as at the time they were the only mfr of Ultrabooks (I would NOT buy one now as there are plenty of real Win based Ultra Books to choose from).  I had zero mechanical issues with it, but the driver support from Apple on Windows was (not surprisingly) very ordinary and you end up with a bunch of hacked drivers.  That said the MBA is light, tough and for the specs even Cheap + I've got it for sale on ebay and would not be surprised if I got $500 for it (and it is the 2gb/64gb model).

Anyway back to the Win8 Touch Screens.  With the Ativ, all the "smarts" are in the Tablet half and apparently they had to add some weight to the Keyboard to stop it toppling over... the odd thing is unlike some mfr, they just added weight not a SECOND battery.  I expect other 3rd party keyboard docks like this will appear.  The other think is when detached you then don't have any cover for the "Tablet" half and I am conscience of its size and weight, scuffing it on rough surfaces and even dropping it.

Thanks
Nathan

By the way you not "starting" to sound like a bitter old man..... 

[gvanbrunt]

The other think is when detached you then don't have any cover for the "Tablet" half and I am conscience of its size and weight, scuffing it on rough surfaces and even dropping it.

I'm not sure if the series 7 and the ativ are the exact same size (I'm guessing they are) but there are a couple of cases for mine that might fit:

http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/tablet-pcs/XE700T1A-A01US-accessories

I'm curious if the are "the same enough" for me to order a keyboard part to create an ativ out of mine.

[jmone]

I doubt it - here is a link to a write up that shows that the connector (and two hooks) look like. http://technewspedia.com/ifa-2012-samsung-tiva-smart-pc-and-smart-pc-pro-at-first-sight/

[DarkPenguin]

Okay.  So have we decided that JRiver is to provide us with Gizmo for metro?

I'm using Gizmo on my kindle to control playback on my Dell XPS-12 when it is in tablet mode.

[jmone]

Okay.  So have we decided that JRiver is to provide us with Gizmo for metro?

I'm using Gizmo on my kindle to control playback on my Dell XPS-12 when it is in tablet mode.

I wish I knew! - Matt/Jim what (if any) direction are you leaning in?

[gvanbrunt]

Oh is that what this thread was about. Sorry about hijacking it for bit. That was a tad sidetracked.

My opinion is for a better html5 webgizmo. That way it could work on just about any device. In addition you can create "wrapper" apps on most mobile OS's. Many apps are done this way. To the end user they look the same as any other app. To the developer it is much less duplicated work. At least that is my understanding. I haven't really done much on the mobile application front or any development in a while for that matter.

[MrHaugen]

Please, no. Not more web stuff. I'm always disappointed in it's performance over local apps. Latency and loading times is a big problems for many "apps". Perhaps it will not be that bad when it's in your local network, but in any case I will never use web versions if I don't REALLY have to.

[gvanbrunt]

Please, no. Not more web stuff. I'm always disappointed in it's performance over local apps. Latency and loading times is a big problems for many "apps". Perhaps it will not be that bad when it's in your local network, but in any case I will never use web versions if I don't REALLY have to.

I'm not talking about a regular "web application". I'm talking about an html5 app. They are not the same thing and most of the "smarts" are on the client side. It does not have to go back to the server for every time you click on something etc. Many iOS and Android apps are actually html5 behind the scenes. 

[fitbrit]

Try setting the size option in Tools/Options/Theater View.  150%, for example.

I was excited about this at first, until I saw that this is a universal setting, not just for roller items. At a reasonable magnification for touch use, eg 120%, the actual number of items shown on the screen (I mean list items - genres, albums etc.) is way too few. I was on 70% because it worked well in getting all my movie genres displayed on screen at the same time. Selecting one of them doesn't require a roller item press so was fine. To actually watch you have to use the roller, and that's where the problem is.
Possible solution: to make roller and roller text size independent of cover art size.

[MrHaugen]

I was excited about this at first, until I saw that this is a universal setting, not just for roller items. At a reasonable magnification for touch use, eg 120%, the actual number of items shown on the screen (I mean list items - genres, albums etc.) is way too few. I was on 70% because it worked well in getting all my movie genres displayed on screen at the same time. Selecting one of them doesn't require a roller item press so was fine. To actually watch you have to use the roller, and that's where the problem is.
Possible solution: to make roller and roller text size independent of cover art size.

Yes. This is a problem. It can be fixed with customization of the skin, but it's not optimal.