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Dell's 'Dual Personality' Laptop

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the i-still-want-one dept.

njkobie writes "Dell was the unlikely star of today's keynote at IDF, unveiling a convertible tablet. While that might sound a bit been there, done that, the Inspiron Duo can be used as a tablet or opened up to offer a keyboard. The screen rotates inside the frame, taking it to the netbook form factor. It runs on an Atom processor and will be available at the end of the year, Dell said."

6 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. breakable? by hey · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I like this but...
    I wonder how many times you can convert it before it breaks.
    Does dirt and stuff get in the mechanism?

  2. Re:Where have I seen this before... by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have mixed feelings, having repaired laptops for a day job and battering plenty of my own.

    The idea looks good at first glance, because tablets use something known cutely as The Achilles Hinge. The dell mechanism that swivels the screen does not depend on friction, but probably a latch.

    But, there are a good number of hinge-related problems, namely cracked cases around the hinge supports. In this case the top clamshell dosen't have the weight and the sturdiness of a fully integrated LCD and, even with a latch, we may be left with a flimsy outer "picture frame" that may be prone to bending and even breaking. You know what I'm talking about if you've ever opened (carefully) a laptop clamshell without the LCD attached. Any hinges which depend on friction will render your gadget useless if they go limp.

    It's all Apple's fault, of course. They had the change to make something more than a glorified, overpriced, locked-down "phone-without-the-phone."

  3. Re:Duo by sabernet · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I want to know if it has or can be upgraded to have a Wacom digitizer. Fingerpainting is fine, and reading books with your fingers has an intuitiveness to it, but I've been waiting ages for a nice thin pen-enabled tablet.

  4. So they've reinvented the Clio? by mbourgon · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Behold its majesty.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vadem_Clio

    I really wanted one when it came out, precisely because of the form factor. Given that it runs Wince 2.1 (Sorry, WinCE 2.1), I was probably better off.
    But a clever design.

    --
    "Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
  5. Re:Where have I seen this before... by sortius_nod · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I must agree with this sentiment. It does look very much like a gimmick. I feel that tablet PCs (the convertible type) are a gimmick. Having bought one thinking it could be used as a tablet, I was sorely disappointed. The size and weight make them cumbersome, and the UI is completely useless (icons, links, menus are too small in Windows 7).

    If Dell were serious about making a tablet they'd ignore the convertible market and leave it up to the ruggedised designs then aim for the iPad/Galaxy Tab market.

  6. Re:Duo by Gilmoure · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Yup. From when I got my first 6x9 Wacom tablet, back in early 90's, have wanted a tablet display on it. At the time, I wasn't too concerned if it had to be hooked in to a parent machine but after seeing what the iPad and similar systems can do with size and weight, am really hoping for a real Wacom tablet.

    --
    I drank what? -- Socrates