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Earlier this year, the company released the Galaxy Tab Pro S, a tablet hybrid device built to compete with the iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4, as well as the Notebook 9 Ultrabook aimed at executives and road warriors. Joining the Samsung family are two versions of the Notebook 7 Spin -- a device that combines the traditional structure of a notebook, with a flexible display for tent-mode or tablet-mode.The Notebook 7 Spin comes in 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch models, each aimed at a different type of business user. The 13.3-inch model features an Intel 6th Generation Core i5 processor and fast-charging technology and is designed for what Samsung describes as an office knowledge worker. The 15.6-inch model features an Intel 6th Generation Core i7 processor, nVidia 940MX 2GB graphics, fast-charging and a hybrid drive and it's aimed at office power users. Both devices feature Samsung's quick charge, boasting two hours of battery life off a 20-minute charge and a full charge in under 100 minutes on a completely dead device.
Samsung points to IDC number that predict a steady decline in traditional notebook sales and a year-over-year increase in convertible sales between now and 2018. Jen Langan, director of Mobility Product Marketing, says that Samsung has seen an increase in the consumerization of IT as more business users turn to convertible options over traditional business notebooks.samsung notebook 7 spin 740u5le 015 dynamic silverSamsung
Langan says enterprise users are looking for something that combines the traditional clamshell notebook with the flexibility and collaboration options that come from a flexible touch-screen display. While the Tab Pro S was aimed at what Langan calls ultra-mobile users, the 7 Spin series is for employees who want more flexibility, but still typically work from home or the office more days than not.
The entry-level 13.3-inch device boasts a Full HD PLS touch display, the option of either 4GB or 8GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, Intel HD graphics, a backlit keyboard, an estimated 11-hour battery life, as well as HDMI, USB-C, USB 3.0, USB 2.0 and MicroSD ports. The device measures just .78-inches thick and weighs in at just under 4 pounds.
If you need a little more power in their device, the 15.6-inch model features a Full HD PLS touch display, 4GB or 8GB of RAM, a hybrid drive with a 128GB SSD and a 1TB HDD, a battery life of around nine hours, as well as HDMI, USB-C, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, Gbit Lan and 3-in-1 card reader ports. The device is the same width as the 13-inch model at .78-inches, but it weighs a bit more at five pounds. The hybrid drive gives power users -- especially those who may have large documents, data sets or creative files to store -- the speed and efficiency of an SSD for apps and programs, with the added reliability of a HDD for storage.
Samsung also included business ready features in both devices -- including extended service contracts, dedicated business support and a buyback program. The buyback program will allow IT departments to send in any old devices -- they don't have to be Samsung -- to a third-party vendor that will assess the value. That money can then be put towards the purchase of Samsung enterprise convertible devices, like the Notebook 7 Spin. There will also be a dedicated service queue for businesses, so they won't be stuck on hold waiting among consumers when it's time for service.Both devices will be available July 18, with the 13.3-inch model starting at $899 and the 15.6-inch model starting at $1,299.
At first glance, the Samsung Notebook 7 Spin is the most beautiful convertible 2-in-1 on the market. When you really take a good look (and go hands-on), that facade starts to crack. The $1,199 ($999 to start) laptop's shallow keyboard, poor-quality webcam and lackluster battery take away from that initial glow. But if you care about style, the Notebook 7 Spin has it in spades, and the performance from its Core i7 processor and Nvidia GeForce 940MX graphics card may be enough for you to overlook its shortcomings
The Notebook 7 Spin is the most beautiful 2-in-1 Ive laid my eyes on to date. The silver aluminum chassis is built solidly and the rounded edges are inviting and attractive. Opening the reflective plastic lid reveals the 15.6-inch, 1080p touch screen and a full island-style keyboard with number pad. Unlike the smaller Samsung Notebook 9 Spin, which has two hinges, the Notebook 7 flips around a single hinge with the computers name on it. The whole package looks quite a bit like a MacBook but Apple doesnt make a 2-in-1.Samsung Notebook 7 SpinAt 5 pounds and 14 x 10.1 x 0.8 inches, the Notebook 7 is heavier than the rest of the field, but a little smaller than most of its competitors. Lenovos business 2-in-1, the ThinkPad X1 Yoga, is both thinner and lighter (2.8 pounds, 13.1 x 9 x 0.7 inches). But among consumer models, the HP Spectre x360 15t (4.2 pounds, 14.8 x 9.8 x 0.6 inches) and Dell Inspiron 15 7000 (4.6 pounds, 14.9 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches) have larger footprints.
The 360-hinge allows for the Notebook 7 to be placed into four different modes: a laptop, a tablet (by folding the screen all the way around), a tent (placed as an upside down V) and a stand (by placing the keyboard facedown and the monitor standing straight up). The sides of the Notebook 7 Spin feature all of the ports you need for work and play. The left is home to the power jack, an Ethernet jack, HDMI output, USB 3.0 and Type-C ports and audio output. The right is where youll find two USB 2.0 ports, an SD card slot and space for a security lock.The display on the Notebook 7 Spins 15.6-inch, 1080p display is extremely sharp but not as vivid as its competitors. When I watched the trailer for Assassins Creed, it was easy to see specks of fire during an attack and grime on the assassins faces. Some charging soldiers red, flowing capes appeared far too dark, and the screen had a bit of a blue tint overall.
Samsung Notebook 7 SpinThe screen covers 72.2 percent of the color gamut, less than the mainstream notebook average of 88 percent. The Dell Inspiron 15 7000 was worse at 62 percent, but the ThinkPad X1 Yoga (102 percent) and the Spectre x360 (119 percent) were far more vivid.In our color-accuracy testing, the Notebook 7's screen had a Delta-E score of 1.8 (zero is best), far below the average of 4.2. The Spectre x360 (4.1) was just below the average, but the ThinkPad X1 Yoga (1.0) and the Inspiron 15 (0.9) were both more precise.The Notebook 7 Spins display has an average brightness of 260 nits, which also happens to be the mainstream average. The Spectre x360 (246 nits) and the Inspiron 15 (244 nits) were dimmer, but the ThinkPad X1 Yoga (279 nits) was a bit more luminous.
The keyboard on the Notebook 7 is too shallow for my liking with just 1.36 millimeters of travel, and the 56 grams of force required to press the keys down made me bottom out frequently. When I took the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I reached 105 words per minute, which is about average for me, with my standard 2 percent error rate. I didnt get to those speeds easily; it hurt when I was done typing.Samsung Notebook 7 SpinThe 4.2 x 3-inch touchpad is nice and responsive. The smooth glass felt comfortable under my fingers and I had no problem navigating, scrolling, zooming or performing any of Windows 10s gestures.The speakers on the Notebook 7 dont get as loud as I'd like. When I listened to the Eagles Hotel California, the speakers just filled our medium-size conference room. The drums and cymbals came through the speakers clearly, as did the songs iconic guitar and bass. The vocals, however, were shallow and didnt stand out on the track.
The Notebook 7 we reviewed came with a 2.5-GHz Intel Core i7-6500U, 16GB of RAM, an Nvidia GeForce 940MX GPU with 2GB of VRAM, a 1TB, 5,400 rpm HDD and a 128GB SSD. That was more than enough for heavy multitasking; I had 15 tabs open in Google Chrome, one of which was streaming 1080p video from YouTube, with no lag at all.On the Geekbench synthetic benchmark, which measures overall performance, the Notebook 7 notched a score of 7,132, just under the mainstream laptop average of 7,521. Still, it outperformed its competition, including the ThinkPad X1 Yoga (7,064), the Inspiron 15 (6,499) and the Spectre x360 (6,376).Samsung Notebook 7 SpinThe Notebook 7 copied 4.97GB of mixed-media files, including photos, music and videos, in 1 minute and 5 seconds, a speed of 77.5 megabytes per second, which is sluggish compared with the mainstream average of 181.1MBps, as well as the Inspiron 15 (122.6MBps), the Spectre x360 (149.7MBps) and the ThinkPad X1 Yoga (a blazing 186.2MBps).On our spreadsheet macro test, the Notebook 7 matched 20,000 names and addresses in 1 minute a 5 seconds. While thats quicker than the 1:29 category average, the Spectre x360 (0:34), the ThinkPad X1 Yoga (0:35) and the Inspiron 15 (0:41) were far faster.