The Need for Tablet PC/Laptop Convertibles

Originally, when the netbook was first developed, "they" said it would kill the laptop, but it did not. Then, the Apple iPad came along, the first ever tablet PC, in April 2010, and "they" again claimed that the tablet would kill the laptop., Alas it did no such thing, although it did get a bit closer to doing so than the netbook did. The laptop lives on and at this point, no matter how many devices are released that fulfill the capabilities of the laptop, it will never die, but it is still quite funny that so many companies want the laptop dead, especially since most of those same companies make laptops. This is where the laptop convertible comes in to play.

The Latest Convertibles

Take Dell for instance. Dell has created one of the most popular lines of laptops ever manufactured, the Inspiron. Nevertheless, it too wants the laptop dead, as evidenced by its Inspiron Duo hybrid line. Then came the Lenovo ThinkPad, which is also a hybrid, albeit much pricier than the Duo and the HP Elite Book, but you can completely remove its cover instead of simply swiveling it to become a tablet as the other covers do.

Smartphone Hybrids

Even smartphone companies are getting on the Hybrid bandwagon. Take the Motorola Atrix 4G for example. It is the first ever smartphone that sort of turns into a laptop, albeit with a pricy accessory that costs more than the phone itself does. While this is not a true hybrid because it does not have a dual unction without adding an accessory, it is a nice try. On the other hand, plans were leaked claiming that Samsung is once again expanding its Galaxy line with the Galaxy Q, a supposed convertible Smartphone/Tablet PC that is said to be released the first week of August.

If the rumors are true and it is released, it will be the second real hybrid smartphone. That is it has two functions in one package without adding anything to make it work. The first was the XP Phone, which was a laptop/ smartphone hybrid. It was a 5 inch smartphone complete with a screen and it functioned as a laptop did while running Windows XP. While it did not make in the U.S., nor was it offered in the U.S., it is still out there to be admired somewhere.

What Do Hybrids Have That "Normal' Laptops Don't?

For one thing, hybrids can literally function as two devices in one. The Dell is a Tablet PC/netbook hybrid, and the Lenovo is a Tablet PC/Laptop hybrid. Admittedly, the Tablet PC itself, any tablet PC really, can do everything these hybrids can, but in a smaller, sleeker package. Some tablets even come with cellular service, such as those 3G and 4G tablet PCs do these days.

Nevertheless, the downfall is that even though tablet PCs are almost as powerful as computers are, since they have the same processors and web-browsing capabilities as the laptops do, the tablets are limited by design. Check out the following design "flaws" that limit today's tablet PCs on the market.

Limited Storage

Many tablet PCs have limited storage in that they mostly use Flash Memory as its storage base. While some tablet PCS offer expansion slots for SD cards and similar expansion slots, many are not expandable. Even of those that are expandable, they have their limits and currently, those limits are quite small. Currently, the maximum that an SD expansion slot can expand is to 64 GB. A laptop on the other hand can expand as much as you can afford it to expand and, currently, the limits are about 2 TB, maybe more. Do you see the difference?

Non-Expandable: iPad and iPad 2 are definitely not expandable and it is doubtful if Steve Jobs will ever allow expansion on any of Apple's products. Additionally on the non-expandable list include the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the G-Slate, the BlackBerry Playbook, HP TouchPad, and Motorola Xoom, which falls in the non-expandable because while it does have an expansion slot, it does not yet work. In fact, if you want it to work, you have to "jailbreak" the device to activate it.

Expandable: Most tablets with expandable memory are of the Android OS variety. Some of the Tablet PCs that do include expandable memory by way of SD expansion slots of some sort are the Asus Eee Transformer, Toshiba AT100, Acer Iconia and many others.

No DVD/CD Drives: Not one single Tablet PC has a DVD or CD drive. While it is true that most tablets offer a USB connection, or a connection for an MP3 drive, that is simply not enough to play movies or music as you can on a laptop. Without DVD or CD drives, you cannot download files and other media, or burn movies.

Other Limitations: Other fatal flaws in Tablet PCs are that they cannot be upgraded to include more RAM as laptops and computers can and the tablet you purchase is stuck with 1 GB or 2 GB of RAM, period. In the worst-case scenario, many tablets also do not offer Flash capabilities as laptops do. On a laptop, it is a simple thing to download the Flash application or plug-in so the user can experience the full realm of the Internet but on the iPad, iPad 2, Motorola Xoom and others, it is impossible because the operating system is simply not capable.

Overall, almost any tablet PC would be an awesome, efficient piece of technology, offering hundreds of thousands of users the experience they crave when surfing the web. However, there are those who prefer something heavier, more full-bodied, and for that, they need the convertible. The ability to scale down to a tablet when it is convenient and full laptop capability, just like a desktop computer when necessary. Overall, even the priciest of convertibles or even hybrid smartphones are up to the task and certainly worth the money.

Sources & More Information:

Tim Bajarin, "Is the PC Dead?" PC Magazine

"Apple iPad Tech Specs, "Apple.com

Inspiron Duo: The New Convertible," Dell.com

Shane McGlaun, "Report: Netbooks are Killing the Laptop Market," Daily Tech

Dannny Allen, "Windows XP Pone: A First Look at its Touchscreen Interface," Gizmodo

Donald Malansan, "HP EliteBook 2560p laptop, convertible tablet surface in more leaked docs," EngadgetShane McGlaun, "Samsung Galaxy Q phone/tablet hybrid details leak ahead of IFA," Android Community