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Review of Dell Inspiron Tablet/Laptop Hybrid
Barence writes "It's rare that Dell breaks new ground in terms of design, but the new Dell Inspiron Duo changes all that, according to PC Pro. First revealed at IDF earlier this year, the Dell netbook has a screen that swivels in its own lid, turning the Windows 7 device into a tablet. 'The Duo's relatively modest premium over a high-end netbook buys you the touchscreen and slick conversion to the tablet format, as well as full Windows 7 and a decent hard drive. If you were thinking about buying either a netbook or a tablet, the Duo does both, though it doesn't do the tablet bit as well as an iPad,' PC Pro's reviewer, Jack Schofield, concludes."
To all those thinking this doesn't sound new, and that we've had swivel laptop/tablets for a decade or more, you have to realise, this swivels on a different plane. A DIFFERENT PLANE.
Tablets are better for showing photos/artwork... well most kinds of presenting really. Consumption rather than production.
Don't tell the TSA!
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
Really, they lost me at "full Windows 7". As an OS, the interface is complete crap for use on a tablet. So this is a small netbook that converts into a barely usable tablet. No thanks.
This release will probably hurt both iPad and MacBook sales drastically. Better operating system and the ability to function as both a laptop and a tablet will appeal to a large group people.
Maybe all I want is a book and movie player, so I can catchup on old entertainment in my hotel room? Or surf the net? Or stream the radio at work?
My main beef is the magazine calling this "innovative".
The laptop which converts to a tablet is nothing new.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
The tablet fad will end with small convertible laptops (or "netvertibles" as they're called now).
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Amateur. I do all of my presentations by having everyone crowd around my iPad. It gives the whole thing a more intimate feel, especially when I have 50 people jostling each other trying to see the screen.
You want me to use an archaic device like a projector? Copping a feel on the hot intern in Accounting is damn near impossible if you're not crammed around a tiny device straining to see what's going on. Think, man!
You need to do more research. The connector is a measly $29. http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC552ZM/A
I'm dead serious about that. If it will run something I can install KDE onto, I'm sold.
Anybody want my mod points?
$29 is peanuts when you are talking about the corporate world and large presentations. They spend more than that just in printing out the handouts for the presentation, not to mention travel, hotel, meals, and other expenses. Corporate presentations can easily run into the thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars for large companies.
A one-time cost of $29 for a connector that will be used dozens of times a year? Yeah, it's chump change.
Sapere aude!
If you were thinking about buying either a netbook or a tablet
Then you are an idiot, because tablets are suboptimal for all kinds of use except as book/movie players.
I'd say that netbooks/notebooks/laptops are suboptimal for all kinds of use that don't have you sitting at a desk/table/chair-type setup.
I am not a crackpot.
Measly, eh?
For an Apple accessory, yes.
I am not a crackpot.
It's a hybrid. When the battery runs down, its gas engine kicks in.
It puts the lotion on it's skin, or else it gets the hose again.
I can see this as a potential win if you really need a keyboard for some things, but would want the tablet factor for others. This might have been on my wish list last year before I purchased an acer mini-laptop (11.6" Timeline), save for the weak processor.
I'm torn, as the specks make it look pretty weak for running full Win7, and experience tells me that the touch interface with Windows is going to be a real bear. Still, the dock and ease of having a keyboard for "work" or slate for couch surfing might be nice.
I guess it will come down to the software, which is where it will ultimately fail. What makes the iPad/Android Tablets so useful is the finger-centric UI. It's what I hated about the older windows phones (which were built for a stylus and very difficult to manipulate with a fat finger).
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
$29 for what amounts to a dongle?
Order of magnitude price inflation --> rich punk. Or corporate shill, if you prefer. Or sucker who paid $29 for a $2 dongle.
Oh, and even with the dongle, the ability of the iPad to act as a presentation device is pretty damn limited due to some poor implementation and feature choices. It works to a very limited degree in very limited cases spoon-fed to you by Apple, and god help you if you needed to do something else. It doesn't play nice with others.
While true, there are some things you leave out. First, notice the presenter view on the iPad. It displays slide number and.... well that's it. I'm used to the power point presenter view, which displays the slide, your slide deck, notes, a timer, and drawing tools. For the iPad you have to constantly turn around to see the screen. Also you can't annotate the screen. These are seriously limitations to presentations.
Further, as I mentioned, VGA output is enabled on a per app basis. For example, you can't plug the iPad into a TV and watch shows using the ABC player, while this functionality is standard on any netbook with a web browser. For presentations, this means you can't open a web page to show your audience, a common enough task, as safari doesn't support VGA out.
So, while you assume the parent was referencing an inability to connect his iPad to a projector, he was actually alluding to the anemic presentation functionality it offers.
As a lecturer, I have a presentation every other day. I find my iPad is awful for them, as you can't annotate the slides. Further, developing presentations in iPad Keynote is an exercise in patience, while exporting from Power Point to keynote is a crapshoot, especially if you have complex animations. I resort to my trusty Dell Latitude XT for presentations. Even if it is heavier, it offers much more functionality.
You can just use the laptop to hide your junk while going through the new scanners. Let be real, that's all that anything Dell produces is good for.