AT&T's Samsung ATIV Smart PC Drops November 9 For $800

AT&T has priced up Samsung's ATIV Smart PC running Windows 8, and the docking tablet doesn't come cheap: $799.99. The 11.6-inch tablet will come with 64GB of internal storage and a dual-core 1.5GHz Intel Atom processor when it drops on November 9, and run Windows 8 as standard with the option of a Windows 8 Pro upgrade. Buyers will be able to add the tablet to a Mobile Share plan, or take out a specific data plan for the slate.

There's also a microSD card slot – good for up to another 32GB – and a special digital pen that, like the S Pen on the Galaxy Note 10.1, can be used for more accurate note-taking and sketching. [Update: AT&T tells us that it won't be including the digital pen]  Connectivity includes WiFi and Bluetooth, but from AT&T's perspective it's the 4G that's most important.

Your $799.99 doesn't also demand a two-year agreement, which is a boon, though you will of course need a smartphone first in order to sign up to an AT&T Mobile Share plan. However, nor does it include the docking keyboard Samsung showed off alongside the slate.

$800 strikes us as a lot for a tablet, and we've a suspicion that many would-be users will think the same. Microsoft is also yet to price up the Surface Pro, its full Windows 8 version of the Surface, and though the RT version is competitive with the iPad, the Pro iteration is likely to be considerably more. Even Samsung priced the WiFi-only model at $749 including keyboard dock when it announced it back in August.

AT&T will also offer the ATIV's Stand Dock, which charges the tablet, and adds USB and ethernet connectivity, for $49, along with the VGA Adapter, for $40; each will go on sale in late November. There's more on the ATIV Smart PC back in our hands-on from IFA.