HP hasn’t had tons of luck in the mobile devices market. The HP TouchPad was an interesting product, but ultimately fell short. Same thing happened with their smartphone endeavors. Luckily, HP isn’t one to give up. They’ve recently pushed hard into the Windows 8 tablet territory, and even released a budget Android tablet, the Slate 7.

So what’s next for HP in the tablet space? The company has now announced the HP Slatebook X2, a 10.1-inch Android slate that works a lot like the Asus Transformer series – combining an Android tablet with a convertible laptop base.

The Slatebook X2 looks very similar to HP’s convertible Windows tablets, with the big difference here being that this impressive looking tablet runs on the power of a Tegra 4 processor, has a 1920 x 1200 resolution display, and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. Other specs include a 2MP rear cam, an HD capable front cam, internal storage up to 64GB, microSD, HDMI, USB 2.0, DTS+ sound and a full-sized keyboard dock.

So how much will this little “netbook meets tablet” beauty cost you? The HP Slatebook X2 is expected to arrive in August with a price point of $480. It is currently unclear whether that price includes the keyboard dock, but if it does – that’s a hell of dell for a device that effectively is both a true tablet and a great netbook replacement.

What do you think of the Slatebook X2, did HP finally get it right in the mobile department?

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After making an appearance at CES 2013 with the IdeaPad Yoga 11S (shown above), Lenovo is reportedly planning to introduce an Android version of the convertible.

The IdeaPad Yoga 11S comes with an 1,600 x 900 IPS screen, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage. Despite these great specs, the Yoga 11S measures only 0.68 inches thick and will run you $799 come this June.

Just in case you were wondering, Lenovo is not planning to introduce an Android-based sports car. Convertible tablets, or notebooks, typically have a screen that is connected to a keyboard. The screen is usually able to rotate 180 degrees and fold down over the keyboard, forming a tablet.

These transformers of modern technology have become more popular with the introduction of mobile operating systems (Android, iOS, Windows 8, etc). Although they may not have caught on as “the next big thing”, Lenovo is planning to build for the specialty market.

Industry sources recently told DigiTimes that “Lenovo’s planned offerings will target the Android tablet segment, meeting Intel’s previous commitment to rolling out Android-based tablets through joint efforts with Lenovo”.

Lenovo has been trying to release an Android convertible tablet since third quarter of 2012 (codenamed mfld_dv10). However, the project had been continually delayed due to iPad and Windows 8 releases.

Do convertible tablets have a place in today’s mobile market? Would you buy an Android based Lenovo convertible tablet? Let us know in the comments below.

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Asus is working on a new Transformer 2 Android tablet. The convertible tablet will allow you to easily dock to a full QWERTY keyboard. The video teaser has all kinds of special effects where eventually the Transformer 2 tablet is raised upon pilars of exploding light. Yes, the gods have descended upon man and brought him the Asus Transformer 2.

We could be looking at a November launch and more than likely with Honeycomb OS. Specs are expected to be a quad-core Tegra 3 processor from NVIDIA, 1GB RAM, 32GB internal storage and a brilliantly lit 10.1-inch display. It would be nice to see it launch with Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, but with a November 7th rumored launch date its probably not going to happen. We’ll keep you posted either way.

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And why not? Asus is is set to release their own re-engineered iteration of the Motorola Atrix 4G dock, riping out the keyboard making a dockable smartphone slate, we have the PadFone. This is a new generation of devices to hit the streets and all they are is just a shell without the guts and brains. Slide your smartphone into the PadFone, and you have just made buying a computer more efficient. Rather than two massively destructive impacts on the earth, you have just one marginally less destructive. We know computers, tablets and smartphone components are made with rare earth metals, by keeping the smartphone as the core processor and simply giving it a shell to transform within, Acer has just lessend your impact on the planet. There’s nothing stopping Asus from making an identical clone of the Atrix 4G dock too, we’re sure that will come soon.

The Asus phone within is with a 4.3-inch display, while the tablet amps it up to 10.1-inches. The Padfone is sort of a tablet dock in a way, it will have its own battery that can extend the life of the smartphone, and the phone will be mirrored to the tablet utilizing all its features. The tablet’s screen resolution is reported to be 1280 x 800. Although specifics weren’t released about the smartphone itself, we can guess that it will come with the 1GHz Tegra 2 processor with 1GB RAM, 16GB flash storage, a 1.2-megapixels on the front and 5-megapixels on the back, gyroscope, compass, GPS and all the trimmings.

Rumours are the PadFone combo could be one of the first devices to run Ice Cream Sandwich, the upcoming Android version which will be used across all sorts of devices. The PadFone could be released at the end of this year. No pricing has been announced for the PadFone but GizMag is reporting it to be in the US$800-1,000 range, probably too much since a consumer could still buy both standalone devices for the same price or less. The “lapdock” for the Atrix is selling on Motorola’s website now for $500.

The post Asus Melds Tablet and Smartphone to make Padfone appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

ASUS has recently introduced some of its new products: the PadFone and the super slim Eee PC X101 netbook. The netbook can run MeeGo or Windows 7 in dual-boot and is powered by an Intel 1.5GHz Oak Trail Atom processor bringing a 600 graphics GMA. Eee PC X101 has two USB ports, a headphones socket and the chiclet keyboard that ASUS always incorporates in its notebooks. The device sports a 10-inch display with a 1024 x 600 resolution and the traditional webcam placed above the display.  The netbook runs on a 6-cell battery.

The full specifications are not available for the time being, but NetbookNews suggests that X101 should weigh less than 1 kg. Users can choose between a red Eee PC X101, a gold one or a white device.

Some press photos were also leaked out of the PadPhone before its announcement at CompuTex Taipei, not much is known about it yet, but we can see that it will dock with your Asus smartphone similar to Motorola’s Atrix 4G laptop dock, sans keyboard.

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The comparison is undeniable and inevitable. The Compufone Smartphone, at least in concept, sounds a lot like the Motorola Atrix. It’s a smartphone, but it’s also designed to power a couple other docking devices too.

Rather than offer a Multimedia Dock like the Atrix, the Compufone has a tablet dock. Shove your smartphone in there and you get a 10-inch multi-touch tablet. Interestingly enough, the tablet comes with a Bluetooth headset, so you can keep chatting too. And again, everything is powered by the phone rather than by the dock.

To get the netbook experience, you combine the Compufone and the tablet dock with a keyboard dock. The screen from the tablet becomes the screen for your pseudo netbook.

Boasting an almost iPhone 4-esque industrial design, the Compufone itself gets a four-inch AMOLED display, Nvidia Tegra 2, 5MP camera, front-facing VGA camera, NFC, aGPS, and 16 gigs of flash memory. It’ll run on Android, but they haven’t decided on which version.

This all sounds terribly intriguing. I just hope that Kosmaz doesn’t follow Motorola’s footsteps for the accessory pricing. That, and trying to sell a device without a recognizable brand name is going to be quite the challenge. Look for the Compufone to launch in Q4.

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The concept of a convertible tablet notebook isn’t exactly new, nor is it all that popular among the popular masses, but that might soon be changing with the presumably more affordable Dell Inspiron Duo. It’s a netbook that can also serve as a tablet.

Most other convertible tablets feature a “twisting” mechanism in the hinge so you can flip flop the display to suit your needs. The Inspiron Duo does it quite differently, as you can see from the pictures. It opens up like a regular netbook/notebook, but the display can “flip” inside its bezel. I’m not entirely sure if this is better or worse, but it is certainly different.

Dell isn’t exactly forthcoming with the nitty-gritty details just yet, though, so we’re left wondering how much horsepower is going to plunked under the hood and how many doubloons we’ll have to put forth to get our hands on one.

We do know that it uses Windows 7 as its OS and, based on what we can see, we also hope that Dell provides a super touch-friendly UI overlay to make the tablet half of the equation a little more user-friendly. Either way, I think the Inspiron Duo is “cute,” and it should be able to carve out its own little niche in the market.

SOURCE: TechnaBob via Blogeee, nDevil

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It’s almost as if Gigabyte has devised a product for the most indecisive person on the planet. Maybe you want the portability of a notebook, the touchscreen of a tablet and the comfort of a desktop. If all of the above apply, maybe you want the Gigabyte Booktop T1125.

It’s not entirely new for Gigabyte to pull off such a move, but the Booktop T1125 is a little different than some of the other products it has released in the past. In the strictest sense, it is a convertible tablet. This means that you’ll likely be using the 11.6-inch display in a notebook like fashion most of the time. The display can then rotate and fold back down so you have a tablet PC experience.

Partly what separates the T1125 from its predecessors is that there is also a “sideways” dock. Planting the system into this dock in a portrait-like fashion, you effectively get a desktop experience. You can presumably connect a primary LCD to the dock and then use the T1125 as a touchscreen-enabled secondary display. You know, for Twitter updates and that sort of thing.

Running through the specs, you’ll find a choice of Core i5 or i3 ULV processors, USB 3.0 ports, Optimus battery-enhancing technology, THX and dual-channel speakers. All of this will start at $1,299 and it ships later this month. This convertible tablet thing has been done many times over in the past, what makes Gigabyte’s Booktop notable is they’ve made a docking bay for it, and that its a netbook. Woot?

SOURCE: Netbook News via Engadget

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Kids Classmate Tablet Notebook Computer

I remember when the standard batch of school supplies I received each September consisted of a yellow ruler, a nub of an eraser, and a #2 pencil. My, how times have changed. These days, even the youngest of students are getting loaded with computers and the Kids Classmate is the latest in this revolution.

Looking like it takes on the Intel reference design, the newest $650 Kids Classmate comes from the good people at Kid Computers. The idea is that this education netbook can be used anytime and anywhere for students in kindergarten clear through to grade 12.  It’s a convertible tablet, featuring a 10.1-inch color touchscreen display that can rotate and swivel to suit the specific needs of each class. They say kids can “scrawl and draw just like they would with pen and paper.”

Other specs include the Intel 1.66GHz processor, 1GB memory, and 160GB hard drive, along with internal microphone, speakers, video chat software, and 1.3 megapixel webcam. Is it groundbreaking? Probably not, but it does look like a great educational tool. Expect the first shipments to happen on June 1… just in time for the end of the school year?

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Rugged Convertible Intel Classmate PC

Kids can be pretty rough with their belongings. That’s why so many gadgets and toys designed for children are outfitted with soft rubber padding and that kind of thing. Computers are no exception. That’s why the Intel classmate PC line has always been pretty rugged, and now it’s been upgraded one more time.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen an Intel classmate PC – not by a long shot – but it seems that Intel is intent on keeping this line alive. The latest announcement shows off an Intel-powered convertible classmate PC reference design. This is supposed to be the most flexible and durable design to date. To me, it looks like much the same thing.

For the newest convertible classmate PC, kids get a 10.1-inch LCD monitor, Intel Atom processor, and tablet PC-like functionality that also allows for easy e-book reading. It does have a touchscreen, after all, but it has a “palm rejection” feature to ignore hands resting on the screen in tablet mode.  Continuing with the rugged design are a water-resistant keyboard, touchpad, and screen. It also has improved ruggedness for drop tests, as well as scratch resistant surfaces. If you’re scared of germs and drool, they’ve got an optional anti-microbial keyboard too.

Kids these days are getting some pretty cool toys. Growing up, I thought the Speak ‘n Spell was hot stuff.

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