The Windows-related announcements are flying fast and thick from the IFA electronics show in Berlin this year. We've already taken a look at HP's offerings and some of the Windows RT devices, but there's still a lot of ground to cover. Looking at all of these products at once shows us not just what the store shelves are going to look like this holiday season, but also how PC OEMs are responding to Microsoft's fundamental rethinking of how Windows should work. Windows 8 uses touch to redefine the operating system for better or for worse, and in the same way, touch features are also redefining what we can expect from our PCs in the next few years.
Sony
The first computer we'll look at is a convertible PC from Sony, the Vaio 11 Duo. The Duo has an 11.6" 1080p screen that slides into and out of tablet mode, as well as a stylus and digitizer to enable handwriting support. It includes Ultrabook-class Core i3, i5, and i7 processors, Intel integrated graphics, NFC technology, and either 128GB or 256GB solid-state drives. Despite being a convertible, the computer sacrifices some of its utility as a laptop to be a better tablet—the keyboard looks cramped, and it forgoes a standard trackpad in favor of a pointing stick-style mouse (though there are some who would argue that this is actually a positive change). The convertible will be available at the end of October for an as-yet-undisclosed price, which will be a common refrain throughout this roundup.
Sony's second entry is an all-in-one with a twist: its Tap 20 is a 20", 1600x900 touch-enabled all-in-one when the kickstand is out, but it will also lay flat on a table, and includes a battery that will allow it to be used as a gigantic tablet when desired. This is an interesting use case not really possible with the other all-in-ones we'll look at, most of which are just standard PCs with touchscreens attached—I could see the Tap 20 being great for touch-enabled board games, for example. Otherwise, the hardware in the Tap 20 is unsurprising: Ivy bridge i5s and i7s, integrated graphics, and NFC accompany the normal allotment of wireless connectivity options, ports and card readers, and the webcam.
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from Ars Technica http://arstechnica.com
