IFA 2012: Windows 8 Laptops Take on Look, Feel of Tablets

Manufacturers at IFA 2012 in Berlin are showing off devices powered by Windows 8 that blur the line between laptops and touch-enabled devices. Here’s a look at some of the devices you can expect starting in October, when Microsoft’s new OS rolls out.

HP’s Envy X2 looks like a regular notebook, but it’s also a Windows 8 tablet once you slide out the latch from the side. The 11.6-inch screen has a 1366-by-768 pixel resolution. Inside there’s an Intel Atom processor, 32GB or 64GB flash drive options and even an optional stylus.

The Spectre XT touch-enabled laptop has a 15.6-inch display and is HP’s first device with a Thunderbolt port. USB 3.0, HDMI and optional flash storage are also on board for this 0.7-inch thick laptop. It’s expected to ship in December starting at $1,400.

The Vaio Duo 11 is a Windows 8 tablet with a slide-out keyboard and an 11.6-inch screen. The device is quite chunky but it packs two USB 3.0 ports and SD card reader. Inside there’s an Intel Core i7 processor with 8GB of RAM and 256GB flash drive, and it’s set to arrive from October.

Similar to Sony’s Vaio Duo 11, Toshiba’s U925T is an Ultrabook and tablet hybrid with a 12.5-inch display that slides over the keyboard when in tablet mode. It has a 256GB flash drive, two USB ports, HDMI and SD card readers.

Dell’s Windows 8 convertible hybrid sports a 12.5-inch display, which looks like a regular laptop until you flip the display inside the aluminum frame surrounding it. Processor options include Intel Core i5 and i7, but Dell hasn’t given out more details.

The Samsung Ativ runs Windows 8 on an Intel Atom chip, with 128GB of flash storage, 2GB of RAM and a USB port. The display is 11.6-inch with a 1366-by-768 pixel resolution. There are also dual cameras (8MP, 2MP) microHDMi and SD card slot, and the keyboard dock includes a couple of extra USB ports.

The Pro version of the ATIV doubles-up on storage at 256GB SSD, RAM at 4GB, and has a higher 1980-by-1020 pixel resolution. It looks identical to the Ativ, but it’s slightly thicker, and the battery is expected to last 13 more hours. Surprisingly, the cameras are less capable than on the Ativ, with just 5 megapixels for the back camera and 2 megapixels for the front one.

Lenovo’s IdeaPad S300, S400 and S405 laptops come with Windows 7 but they are upgradable to Windows 8. They come in three color options (red, grey, pink) and all three are 0.86 inches thick, with screen sizes of either 13 or 14 inches. The S300 and S400 work on Intel Core i3 or i5 chips, while the S405 will run on a quad-core AMD processor. Prices start from $499.