With the arrival of Windows 8, various convertible devices have shown up on the market. While they come in various shapes and sizes, they all fundamentally pair the touchscreen operation of a tablet with the physical keyboard of a laptop. Due to Windows 8's touch-optimised interface, convertibles allow for a good mix of casual swiping and getting on with some real work when needs be. Let me give you some pointers on what to look out for if you'd like to get hold of one.
If you're yet to lay eyes on Windows 8 then take a look at our review. In short, it's a drastic change from the Windows you've become so familiar with over the years. The classic desktop and Start menu are gone, replaced instead with big, colourful live tiles. Those tiles and the reliance on gestures as a method of navigation show that Windows 8 has been built with touch interaction at its heart -- using a traditional keyboard and trackpad combination isn't the best way to get around.
The first choice you'll have to make is whether to go with full fat Windows 8 or opt for the lighter RT version. Windows RT runs on the low-powered mobile processors that you'd find in phones and you can't install any normal desktop software alongside it. You'll only be able to get apps from the app store, which at the moment isn't particularly well stocked.
Full fat Windows 8 is the version you'd expect to find on any regular desktop computer -- you can install and run programs such as Adobe Photoshop onto it as well as download apps from the store. Full Windows 8 machines run on the same chips you'd find in normal laptops so you'll get a much bigger serving of power -- at a higher price, of course.
Except for the Microsoft Surface, all models listed below are full Windows 8 machines. The Surface will be available in a Pro version early next year. Lenovo's Yoga will soon be available in an 11-inch RT version.
In terms of design, each manufacturer has its own take on what they think is the best way to turn the devices from tablet to laptop. Dell's XPS 12 employs a screen that flips over inside its frame, Lenovo's Yoga bends completely back on itself and both the Sony Vaio Duo 11 and Toshiba Satellite U920T use a slide-then-lift method.
Microsoft's Surface meanwhile is much more tablet than it is laptop, but you can buy it with a laptop-style keyboard that attaches to the device. Samsung, Dell and Asus all offer similar keyboard docking tablets but are yet to put any physical products in my hands so I can't recommend these just yet.
Take a look through the five devices listed below and see which style would suit you best. Be sure to check out our full reviews of regular laptops too -- you can still get a better performing laptop for less money if you don't want a convertible touchscreen.
Any other questions? Pop them in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.
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Comments 9
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davefromwales 29 November, 2012 17:06
you`d have to be insane to consider the sony! a grand and a half for a 11.6" screen `laptop` with just 256gb storage (allbeit SSD).
There are some manufacturers no putting 32Gb MSATA drives (basically small SSD`s) and 500Gb+ HDD`s. this is by far the better combo, fast speed for windows with good storage too.
As for the Surface, your right, its a non-contender until the Pro version comes along and will run full windows8 apps, only problem is, the 32Gb surface only has 16Gb storage, so as soon as you throw some apps and media on it, youve got no room to save your work. oops.
Also i think its fair to point out that at £399 the Surface isnt a convertible laptop, its simply a tablet. to have a keyboard will cost your pockets an extra £80 which makes it look even less of a value proposition.
anonymous 30 November, 2012 15:46
@davefromwales
The Surface Pro comes with 64 GB or 128 GB, so your comment regarding storage is not relevant to the Pro. Not sure if you are aware of that - you referred to both Surface models in the same sentence so it wasn't very clear.
Ben Adamson 2 December, 2012 13:18
I find it quite worrying that you could get a MacBook Air for less than the price of some of these Windows 8 hybrid plastic-fests.
Perhaps Windows 8 could be the best thing that's happened to Apple since it launched the iPad?
anonymous 2 December, 2012 15:25
Think I may trade in my macbook........ Not!
watervole2525 2 December, 2012 18:56
I don't think Convertible and Hybrid laptops are there yet in terms of power
MichaelBond 3 December, 2012 12:18
I wasn't aware that a MacBook Air was a convertible laptop/tablet device.
anonymous 3 December, 2012 12:33
Oh dear, more misleading advice from those who surely can't have spent much time with Windows 8. I totally agree with the other user's comments on the Sony. Far too expensive and actually, not a great build quality.
Surface RT is getting beaten up in the press, but it's actually pretty damn amazing. The problem is that people confuse it with a laptop so they are comparing apples with oranges. You have to appreciate that it's a TABLET and like any tablet device, it runs APPS that you purchase from an online store, rather than full-fat programmes. Loaded with the latest (and greatest) version of Office it has all the apps most people would ever need, unless you're needing Adobe products or specialist accounting packages and the like. If you fit into this category, then a tablet isn't what you'll be looking for anyway, so don't compare the two.
The Surface RT is affordable, sleek and can do more than any other tablet - plus it's so easy to add files to. It's relative lack of storage (32GB version) is offset when you remember that it is designed to run with SkyDrive (cloud storage). PLUS, it has an SDXC card reader so you can bump the storage up another 64GB for £40 - albeit that Music and Pictures works off Libraries rather than removable storage.
The comment that the classic desktop has gone is simply not true. It's absolutely still there (on RT as well as Pro) and this is another of Windows 8's tricks. Has all the convenience of 'apps' for quick access to information and games whilst retaining the traditional layout of Windows 7 for programmes and more in-depth settings for day to day computing. Great!
The removal of the Start button is really no big issue. All that did was gave a portal to your programmes and settings (via a long list of programmes you had to scroll through and select with a mouse). Windows8 does away with that by simply allowing users to simply begin typing from the Start screen to find a programme (or file, music track, game, control panel setting, internet search or anything else). Couldn't be easier!
I agree that traditional laptops without a touch screen won't benefit so much from this hybrid mix of tablet-meets-PC and after using my Surface RT I find myself wanting to touch the screen on other's laptops (and mine for that matter) but newer laptops are coming with touch screens and Windows 8 really starts to make sense then.
Whether there will be one device that does everything is yet to be seen but those laptops with detachable screens could be the answer. For now, I use a full-fat high-end Ultra Book for day to day work and my Surface goes with me everywhere else (meetings, shopping trip, holidays) thus saving the need to take my heavier laptop with me. I can connect to all my files from Surface RT via SkyDrive.
One final point, Surface Pro will be heavier, fatter and have half the battery life of Surface RT. Essentially, it will be a micro-laptop rather than a proper tablet and you will pay for the smaller form factor without necessarily benefitting from the higher spec of a full-fat laptop. But that's the choice consumers need to make and there will certainly be a gap in the market for this (especially when the likes of Sony charge so much for their hybrids!). Despite their names and looks, the Pro and RT are not one and the same and serve a different purpose. I do wish these articles were based on experience (use) rather than simply drawing conclusions based on manufacturers specs.
anonymous 24 January, 2013 17:48
anyone own a Toshiba u920t? I read the review but am intrigued by the Widi and the mechanism. But, can't find one in the store
anonymous 15 February, 2013 10:54
Hello
i am looking for a laptop /tablet, i need a straight answer not a Best Buy or PC Ricahrd answer,
i am looking for i7, 8m ram, at least 500 harddrive, it needs to be able to use a pen and draw, it alsoo needs to have the capibility to plug in to a remote monitor/desktop with full usage, sync with my windows8 phone wirelessly, so anything i do on either device is synced,