<NEWLY ANOUNCED> SONY'S hybrid-style ultrabook
We've just gotten our first look at Sony's VAIO Duo 11, a "hybrid-style ultrabook" with a hinge that slides the keyboard in, turning it into a Windows 8 tablet. The touch-equipped device looks light as a notebook, but it's hefty as a tablet. The 11.6-inch device is supposed to weigh about 2.9 pounds, a little more than Microsoft's Surface, but it's not too difficult to hold with both hands. The display units have a separate supplementary battery, which adds significantly to the weight. The final battery time isn't set yet; Sony promises us a "full work day" with the supplementary battery attached once the tablet has been released. The version I saw used an Intel Core i7 processor with 8GB of RAM, but customers will be able to select an i5 or i3 as well.
The screen slides smoothly into the keyboard and slots in place when raised, and the prominent spring-loaded hinge gives it a different feel from other keyboard-equipped tablets. The screen accepts touch and stylus input whether it's in tablet or PC mode, but you can also control its mouse with a nub in the center of the keyboard, using the buttons on the edge to click. The mouse felt a little jumpy when I tried it with the smooth, metallic nub, though using it may get easier with practice. In tablet mode, the screen supports palm rejection with apps that implement it, and it's designed for pressure-sensitive input.
While the keyboard is generally spacious, the keys themselves are pretty small, with wide spaces between them. The dark metal around the keyboard looks quite nice, changing from a smooth to matte texture inside the key tray. The black screen bezel matches it well, although with nothing but some thin plastic covering it, the reverse side of the screen section looks almost unfinished compared to the metal hinge holding it. We wouldn't be surprised if some small changes were made to the version we saw, since it won't be launching until Windows 8 is out in October.
Source theverge.com
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