Samsung has released its latest hybrid Windows 8 PC which reminds me somewhat of the Acer Aspire R7, it’s called the ATIV Q.
The company is touting the ATIV Q as having the world’s highest resolution screen, with a 13.3” QHD+ 3200×1800 display, which means it has a pixel density 2.8 times higher than 1080p.
If you thought that was the only thing that made the ATIV Q special, then prepare to be amazed as Samsung has managed to bring the Google Play store to this Windows 8 tablet.
We’ve seen Android running on Windows tablets before, but the implementation by Samsung is something truly special.
When we tested out the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean environment on this device, we found that rather than running the OS completely separately, it’s simply running as a desktop application — although we’re not sure if this will be the case when the device launches to the public.
What’s even more impressive about this two OS approach, is that Samsung has made it possible to pin any of the 800,000 applications you download from the Google Play store directly to your start screen.
Many people complain about how bare the Windows Store is looking and we find Samsung’s approach of fixing this by utilising their favourite asset, Android, to be rather positive but also troubling. If Microsoft is having a hard time attracting developers now, then it’s going to have an even harder battle on its hands when all of Samsung’s Windows 8 customers have no need for Windows 8 apps.
On the hardware side of the ATIV Q, we’re seeing an incredibly thin and light device, coming in at just 13.9mm thick and weighing just 1.29kg.
ATIV Q in stand mode
Samsung also took the opportunity to remind us about the Acer Aspire R7 which, like the ATIV Q, can be used in a multitude of ways, with Samsung boasting four modes of use.
Those modes are, tablet (which is when the screen is rolled all the way back covering the keyboard), floating (which is like tablet mode but hovering in the air), typing (which is utilising the device as if it was a laptop) and stand (which is the exact same as typing, but with the screen flipped outwards).
Unlike the Aspire R7 though, you’ll have to endure having a nipple rather than a full trackpad — even if the R7’s trackpad is behind the keyboard.
The ATIV Q’s nipple
Upon using the ATIV Q’s nipple, we have to say it’s not the nicest experience in the world, but you do have a touchscreen so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Under the hood we have an Intel Haswell Core i5 processor with 4GB of DDR3L RAM and a 128GB SSD.
On the side of the ATIV Q you’ll find a plethora of ports, but sadly only 1 USB 3.0, which is coupled with a second USB port, but of the 2.0 variety. There is also HDMI-out, a MicroSD slot, an S-pen and even a port for your ethernet cable — and who said wires are dead?
For a device with those kind of heavy specs, as well as having an incredibly high-res screen, you would assume that the battery life would be poor… right? According to Samsung the ATIV Q can run for a full 9 hours — although we’ll let you know if that’s the case when we get some time with the device when it launches later this year.
Pricing and specific retailers have yet to be announced.