Samsung Galaxy Book 12in 128GB Windows 10 Tablet, Verizon + GSM Unlocked (Renewed)

I'm a long time "Tablet PC" user, since 2004, and I've always wanted a light but powerful Windows tablet with great digitizer, stylus and keyboard option that could "do it all" so to speak, but just wasn't willing to pay full freight for the latest Surface. I own a number of touch plus stylus devices including the Samsung Tab 10.1 (Android), HP Envy 5000 8" Win 10 Tablet, and my latest "Tablet PC", Lenovo Flex 5 14". While all good and useful devices, none met my desire for a sleek and light weight "do it all" device.OK, so this is a >$1000 Samsung Book 12 LTE for under $500! Good processor, full windows, super thin, 12" display... Wow, perhaps this is the one? So far, yes!Given the price disparity, I was concerned that "refurbished" would mean most were lemons. WRONG! My unit is running perfectly so far. Total time as of this review is 3 weeks, but I've been working it hard for my intended usage as a laptop replacement away from home and a large screen tablet at home. While it ships with almost nothing but the tablet, adding accessories makes a very complete 2:1 Windows 10 machine with good processing power, reasonable RAM and storage, and a fabulous hi res super AMOLED screen that is better than the screen on any of my other devices.Will I keep my laptop, the Lenovo Flex5? Yep, as it has much more storage (I've got it fitted with 5TB of SSD) and the storage is much faster than the SSD in the Book 12. However, MOST of the time, the Book 12 can now go with me when I need a "Tablet PC" out of the house, with a much smaller and lighter carry, and a heavy dose of cool!Positives:+POWERFUL ENOUGH FOR WIN10. 7th Gen i5 and 4 gig RAM powerful enough to run my common Windows tasks including full Office, a bit of photo editing, stylus based note taking, video playback and light editing, etc. with the same speed and responsiveness as my full laptop, i.e., no *trade offs* in everyday speed and responsiveness.+GREAT SCREEN. The 2160x1440 AMOLED screen is superb! Hi res when you want it, great clarity, contrast and color saturation, absolute blacks, and highly visible outdoors (we have an all glass sun room in our house where this feature really shines).+EXCELLENT INKING. Wacom digitizer with an S Pen or other compatible stylus (there are many, I own about 10 so the fact that the S Pen is NOT included with this refurb was no issue for me) means outstanding inking/drawing capability. I take hand written notes in OneNote all the time, very important in my usage, and inking is outstanding. For more on Stylii, see Accessories, below.+EXPANDABILITY. Just enough ports for connectivity and storage expansion. While I could always use a couple more USB, two is the minimum for easy usage for me, and the Book 12 has two USB C gen 2 ports.>I've expanded connectivity with a USB C multi-function adapter, see details below.>The other critical port is the microSDXC/SIM slot. I've added a fast Samsung 256GB microSDXC card for data and redirected all my Win10 libraries to the SDXC card, so the 128GB C drive is for progams and apps only. If this were not possible, I would not have purchased this machine, as 128GB is too limiting.>Finally, I've added a Verizon nanoSIM and put the tablet on my unlimited family plan for $20/mo. I've always wanted a tablet or laptop with both cellular data and WiFi for maximum connectivity away from home, and this is working great! Now if I feel the WiFi somewhere is sketchy, or there simply isn't any, I'm still on line with cellular data. Very handy, and a nice bump in security to go with my VPN plan. The two combined is about as secure as you can get and still be online these days.+KEYBOARD COVER. Keyboard cover (purchased separately) is EXCELLENT, I was REALLY surprised at how well it works for both typing and as an adjustable stand. Is my Lenovo laptop better? Yes, but not so much that I feel compromised in using the Book 12 for email, text editing, etc. The touchpad in the keyboard cover is good as well, good size, responsive to double taps and tap and hold, but could use better palm rejection.+DRIVERS. Samsung Update installs a VERY complete driver package for the Book 12, I found this essential to get the best use out of the device. Downloads from the Microsoft store as a Modern App. Works well.Negatives-No access to SSD or RAM to replace/expand storage that way. Boo! Hence the critical importance of the micoSDXC slot.-SSD is SATA speed, not NVme, so read write speeds are mediocre compared to the latest SSDs, kind of like a first/second gen SSD, but usable and much faster than rotating drives (who uses those anymore? Well, for some things, but NOT this). See below for Crystal Diskmark speed results.-WiFi speeds are not up to my expectations either, not sure why, but I get less than expected speeds for an 802.11AC device, especially when writing to my NAS. If I ever find a way to improve this (drive, settings maybe), will update this review.-Included a crap, underpowered (for this use) Samsung Adaptive Phone Charger. This charger works great with Galaxy phones, like my S8, but at 14W max output, it won't even keep up with Book 12 battery discharge under steady use, takes hours to charge when the tablet is off or asleep, and gets REALLY HOT as it works it's little heart out trying to power a device for which it was never intended. See below for the chargers I use instead.-No place to store a stylus on the device (see solutions below).-No Windows Hello biometric login support (would have like IR camera for face or finger print reader).To get the most out of the Book 12, especially the bare bones, tablet only offering here, there are both some tips and tricks that help, and some essential accessories. Note that of the accessories listed below, I would have purchased all but the keyboard cover anyway had I purchased a full priced Book 12 that included keyboard cover and S Pen, so I still consider this refurb unit a great value. Here are the details...Tips and Tricks-STYLII. Pretty much ANY un-powered stylus that works with a Wacom digitizer will work with the Book 12. Having been a stylus user on PC and tablets for so long, I've used many a device with Wacom hardware in the screen, and had many to try. I can confirm that the following all worked for me, all with some level of pressure sensitivity and good ability to ink notes: 3 different S Pens, including one from an old Samsung Note 2 as well as new ones for the Note 8, 3 different pens for the Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga S1, and 3 out of 4 of my HP Stylii, including the one that came with the Envy 8". Even an old Wacom PEN from a Bamboo pad worked. Nothing with a BATTERY works, including the HP Professional Stylus, and the new Lenovo Active Pens like my Flex 5 uses. Still, this provides LOTS of choices for a stylus, you're not stuck with S Pen option unless you really love it. See below for my favorite of all, the Staedtler!-WIN 10 PRO UPGRADE. Used one of my many Windows 7 Pro keys from decommissioned laptops and desktops to update the included Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro. Very helpful, as this then gave my BitLocker, which I used to encrypt the SDXC card where most of my data is stored.-SECURITY. Used Windows settings to boot into the UEFI bios and add a supervisor and boot password that is pre-OS load. This plus the lack of physical access to the SSD and the encrypted SDXC card will make it reasonably difficult to get to my data should the device be lost or stolen. Eventually I'll encrypt the full device as well, but am wrenching around in Windows to try and be sure device encryption uses hardware based Full Disk Encryption on the SSD instead of software. Am concerned software encryption will slow me down too much, not to mention possible software glitches that are just not an issue with FDE.-FLEXIBLE CHARGING. You CAN get some usable level of power into the Book12 from any power brick or bank that supports Qualcom's Quick Charge 3.0. While it may not charge the device under load, it will when the Book 12 is asleep or turned off, albeit slowly. The only reason I mention this is that if you're like me, you have a bunch of QC 3.0 bricks and power banks around that could be used in a pinch. Wouldn't use these as my primary charger, but nice as a backup since I usually have one with me for my phone. AND, they all work better than the crap charger included with this refurb unit.Essential Accessories (for me)^hard glass screen protector. The Omotion works GREAT, I have it on more than one device. This means I don't worry about the keyboard case pressing on the screen, or other everyday risks to that fabulous AMOLED display. - OMOTON Samsung Galaxy Book 12'' Screen Protector, Tempered Glass Screen Protector with [9H Hardness][Bubble-Free Installation] [Anti-Scratch] [Easily-Install] For Samsung Galaxy Book, 12 Inch^keyboard case. I purchased the Samsung one used for about half price here on Amazon, turned out very well. Not sure why the seller had such a good condition keyboard case but good for me :-). - SAMSUNG GALAXY BOOK KEYBOARD COVER FOR 12" TABLET, BLK, NEW- (EJ-CW720UBEVZW^Stylus. While I have many that already work with the Book 12 because I've used many Wacom devices over the years, I really wanted to try the Staedtler Noris Digital Pencil for Samsung, just because it was so funky cool to have a real wooden pencil wrapped around a digital stylus! It is now my favorite stylus of all. - Staedtler Noris Digital Samsung Pencil, EMR Technology, Yellow Black (GP-U999ERIPAAB)^Stylus attachment. I really strongly prefer to have my device stylii attached to the device. The Book makes no provision for this, so I purchased this nice, inexpensive Fintie S Pen Holder that has a big elastic band that wraps nicely around the Book12 in the Keyboard Case. I punched a hole in the flap so my Staedtler Digital Pencil (which is much longer than an S Pen) would fit. See in the included pictures. - Fintie S Pen Holder for Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 9.7, Premium Vegan Leather Cover Sleeve Pouch Compatible with Galaxy Tab S3 9.7(SM-T820/T825/T827) 2017 Tablet Cases, BlackI've also rigged a way to keep a small S Pen attached to the tablet full time, see final attached pic. This is a Note 8 S Pen attached with a stylus bungee and a DIY loop made with aluminum HVAC tape. works great, does not impede access to port, very tidy and unobtrusive. Still, Samsung should have just included a S Pen slot in the device. Stylus Tether 10 Pack of Detachable Elastic Coil Tether Strings/Lanyards with 3.5mm earphone jack for Stylus Pens (Black 10)^USB PD (Power Delivery) charger of at least 45w. For full speed charging, 60w+. I bought several to sprinkle around my cases and places where I sit at home. Favorite for travel is the "Nekteck USB-IF Certified USB Type C Wall Charger with Power delivery PD 45W Built-in 6ft USB-C Cable" for it's very small size, built-in cable, folding plug, reliability and reasonable charge rate. I also own the 60W Neckteck with multiple additional USB charge ports, good for fixed location where multiple devices need to charge, and the 45w car charger with a PD port AND a QC 3 port, can charge both the Book and my Galaxy S 8 fast and simultaneously. - Nekteck USB-IF Certified USB Type C Wall Charger with Power delivery PD 45W Built-in 6ft USB-C Cable for Macbook 12-inch/ Pro 2016, Google Pixel 2/ Pixel/ Pixel XL Galaxy S9/ S9+/ Note 8/ S8/ S8+ More -[USB-IF Certified] USB C Charger, Nekteck 4-Port 72W USB Wall Charger with Type-C 60W Power Delivery PD Charger Station for 2017 MacBook Pro, Pixel 2/ Pixel/Pixel XL Galaxy Note 8/ S8/ S9 Plus, Black -Nekteck USB-IF Certified USB Type C Car Charger with PD Power Delivery 45W & USB-A 12W for Macbook 12-inch/ Pro 2016, Pixel 2/ Pixel XL Galaxy S9/ S9+/ Note 8/ S8/ S8+ More(USB-C Cable 3.3Ft Included)^ USB PD external battery for those times you just can't (or don't want the hassle of) finding an AC outlet. I bought two, but the better one for the Book 12 is the 45W "ZMI USB PD Backup Battery & Hub". Again, 45W is not quite max speed charging for the Book 12, but it's close enough given the small size and high total power this battery, adds many hours to the Book 12 run time. - ZMI USB PD Backup Battery & Hub MacBook 2015/MacBook Pro 2016 Later/Pixelbook/Nintendo Switch/Pixel/iPhone 8 Fast Charge External Battery Pack Portable Charger Powerbank iPhone/iPad/Samsung^USB Expansion hub. These are not docking stations, rather, hubs that take one USB C port and add a bunch of other useful connections. I like the "Lenovo USB C Hub, Ultra Slim Aluminum USB C Adapter with 3 USB 3.0 Ports, 4K HDMI, SD/TF Card Reader". This one works well, is VERY slim, and has the ports I consider essential - more USB 3, HDMI out, and a full size SDXC card reader. It would have been handy if it also had ethernet, but I have a bunch of small Anker USB 3 to ethernet adapters so I just threw one of those in my case. - Lenovo USB C Hub, Ultra Slim Aluminum USB C Adapter with 3 USB 3.0 Ports, 4K HDMI, SD/TF Card Reader, for 2016/2017 MacBook Pro Google Chromebook Nintendo switch and More USB-C Devices^Book12-sized travel case. I found that I could REALLY go down in size from even my smallest travel bag for my 14" Flex5. Tried a bunch at Microcenter, and wound up with the CODI 12" bag as my fav for my "carry everything I need" bag, and the "Tomtoc Original Laptop Shoulder Bag with CornerArmor" from here on Amazon as my fav "Just the essentials with a little more style" bag. - Tomtoc Original Laptop Shoulder Bag with CornerArmor, Compatible with MacBook Air 13.3 | 13" MacBook Pro Retina 2012-2015 | Microsoft Surface Laptop, 360° Protection with Handle & Accessory BagDataSSD Speed - Note my unit has a LiteOn SSD, NOT Samsung. Go figure! 🤔-----------------------------------------------------------------------CrystalDiskMark 6.0.1 x64 (C) 2007-2018 hiyohiyoCrystal Dew World : https://crystalmark.info/-----------------------------------------------------------------------* MB/s = 1,000,000 bytes/s [SATA/600 = 600,000,000 bytes/s]* KB = 1000 bytes, KiB = 1024 bytesSequential Read (Q= 32,T= 1) : 525.332 MB/sSequential Write (Q= 32,T= 1) : 507.280 MB/sRandom Read 4KiB (Q= 8,T= 8) : 351.760 MB/s [ 85878.9 IOPS]Random Write 4KiB (Q= 8,T= 8) : 167.792 MB/s [ 40964.8 IOPS]Random Read 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 162.376 MB/s [ 39642.6 IOPS]Random Write 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 136.006 MB/s [ 33204.6 IOPS]Random Read 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 21.696 MB/s [ 5296.9 IOPS]Random Write 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 50.205 MB/s [ 12257.1 IOPS]Test : 1024 MiB [C: 40.4% (43.8/108.5 GiB)] (x5) [Interval=5 sec]Date : 2018/08/20 16:35:41OS : Windows 10 Professional [10.0 Build 17134] (x64)Samsung microSDXC 256GB with BitLocker Encryption (estimate encryption cuts speed by about 1/2)-----------------------------------------------------------------------CrystalDiskMark 6.0.1 x64 (C) 2007-2018 hiyohiyoCrystal Dew World : https://crystalmark.info/-----------------------------------------------------------------------* MB/s = 1,000,000 bytes/s [SATA/600 = 600,000,000 bytes/s]* KB = 1000 bytes, KiB = 1024 bytesSequential Read (Q= 32,T= 1) : 59.364 MB/sSequential Write (Q= 32,T= 1) : 14.915 MB/sRandom Read 4KiB (Q= 8,T= 8) : 6.269 MB/s [ 1530.5 IOPS]Random Write 4KiB (Q= 8,T= 8) : 2.832 MB/s [ 691.4 IOPS]Random Read 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 6.230 MB/s [ 1521.0 IOPS]Random Write 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 2.816 MB/s [ 687.5 IOPS]Random Read 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 5.264 MB/s [ 1285.2 IOPS]Random Write 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 2.413 MB/s [ 589.1 IOPS]Test : 1024 MiB [D: 34.1% (81.3/238.5 GiB)] (x5) [Interval=5 sec]Date : 2018/08/20 17:17:54OS : Windows 10 Professional [10.0 Build 17134] (x64)Weights of stylus enabled tablets and keyboard cases as I measured them with my devices, along with opinions on the weight/performance tradeoffs.Galaxy Book 12 (all the goodness of Windows 10 and fast processor with 65% of the weight of my laptop)Tablet only: 1lb 10.5 Oz/753 g,Tablet plus keyboard case: 2lb 9.1 Oz/1165gFor comparison:Galaxy tab 10.1 (Android tablet with S Pen and good 10.1 screen, a bit smaller than the Book 12, but almost as heavy and MUCH slower, minimal storage) -Tablet only: 1lb 4.8 Oz/591gTablet plus Fintie keyboard case: 2lb 10.5 Oz./1206gLenovo Flex5 14" Convertible Laptop with Active Pen (Do it all laptop,5TB storage so I have everything with me, BUT much heavier than the Book 12, without the flexibility to remove the keyboard when tablet form is all I need) - Lenovo Flex 5 14-Inch 2-in-1 Laptop, (Intel Core i5-8250U 8GB DDR4 128 GB PCIe SSD Windows 10) 81C90009US3lb 15.4 Oz /1797gASUS 10.1” Transformer Mini T102HA-D4-GR (Great form factor, removable keyboard, but Atom processor makes it SLOW, and screen resolution is LOW) - ASUS 10.1" Transformer Mini T102HA-D4-GR, 2in1 Touchscreen Laptop, Intel Quad-Core Atom, 4GB RAM, 128GB EMMC, Pen and Keyboard IncludedTablet: 1lb 3.1 Oz/542g,Tablet plus keyboard cover: 1lb 12.8 Oz/818g

Overall a great PC that is the perfect size between a typical small tablet and a full size laptop. I bought a refurbished keyboard for it along with a case and smart charger at the same time and take it everywhere. It's the perfect portable compared to tablets that are too small and laptops that are too big and bulky. It's reasonably fast but not a gaming PC (which I wasn't interested in anyway). I watched a Netflix movie on it once and there's no fan so it gets pretty warm/hot. Not recommended for movie/TV watching. It works and graphics are awesome, just gets to hot which will shorten its life span dramatically. For everything else it'll do a great job! It's lite weight but hefty and the screen resolution is awesome. I have no regrets.I am disappointed though as my only complaint is with Windows 10 when in tablet mode. It doesn't work too well so I just keep it in PC desk/laptop mode and all is fine (which is why I bought the keyboard-case for it anyway). Seems MS tried to emulate 2 OS's in one. A tablet OS and a desktop OS. You'd expect it to be the same layout when you rotate the screen but it doesn't fit correctly, things are out of proportion and place as well as no start menu as expected like the desktop, taskbar icons change or disappear etc. A wonky setup if I ever seen one.You can configure it for either and be satisfied, but once you rotate it everything goes wonky. Hard to explain. It works but it's not consistent when rotating the screen. Just choose tablet or PC mood, set it up the way you like, don't rotate it, and you'll be fine. Works for me as a small portable desk/laptop. I had hoped it would act like a tablet with the desktop manager and keep its integrity when rotated, but that's not the case. MS was working on their own hardware of a similar concept/design then called the "Surface" and I really wonder if the funkiness on the Samsung Galaxy book was intentional via an update after the fact? Maybe it's just me and I don't know anything. What I do know is you either use it as a tablet or a desk/laptop. Otherwise it'll drive you batty trying to figure out why it acts the way it does. Did me... Like I said, for what I needed and paid, it's a great deal!Update 9/6/2020:Two years later and still no improvement regarding the tablet to desktop transition when rotating, even with all the latest Windows 10 updates installed. Outside that it's still an awesome PC and does what I need it to do. Nothing compares at $430. 1/3 the original retail price! I'm okay with a certified factory refurb. Out of the 20+ refurbished products I've purchased over the years, I can only recall one that was bad and I had to exchange. I don't think this is a bad one regarding the rotation issue. I think it's code conflict (or intentional idk), or possibly a firmware issue. Either way it works perfectly fine for whichever way you set it up and use.

I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise that this item from Kanga Supply is total garbage being that it was so cheap... they advertise it as a totally certified (by Samsung) and checked out device but the one they send me sounds just like the one that the other 1 star reviewer got sent to him and I'm not at all happy about the fact that they now want me to pay to ship this POS back to them!?! They had to know this device was defective if they had even bothered to try to charge it or use it for more than 10 min. I had the device on the charger all night (8hrs) after I received it thinking it maybe just needed a full charge up... woke up in the morning and it was at 50% NOT ACCEPTABLE! Certainly NOT certified by anyone IMO. I would steer clear of this seller and any and all similarly (supposedly) refurbished items... I guess it just goes to show that if it sounds too good to be true.... in this case at least it definitely was too good to be.