Surface Pro 2 with Type Cover keyboard.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
Microsoft and Intel want you to buy 2-in-1 devices in 2014. I'm still uncertain about the category, though.
As I said last week, I've been using the Dell Venue 11 Pro, a Windows 8.1 tablet that's designed to be used with two detachable Dell keyboards.
So far, I see the promise but have some issues with the practicality.
The good news is: Dell has designed a fast, responsive Windows 8.1 tablet with a gorgeous display. Windows 8.1 is surprisingly smooth on top of Intel's Bay Trail Atom processor with only 2GB of memory.
And the Venue 11 hits a sweet spot among 2-in-1 devices. With a 10.8-inch screen, it's not so small that the size renders it impractical as a high-productivity (work) computer. And it's not too big. Any detachable with a display over 12-inches almost defeats the purpose of having a tablet.
The bad news: I'm not so sure that for the majority of consumers a detachable design has clear, irrefutable benefits over the traditional laptop design (though new designs could change that assessment in 2014).
Laptop on lap issues: Both the Surface Pro that I owned (briefly) before and the Venue 11 have compromised keyboards. The compromise is between offering a very light keyboard and offering something that's also practical.
Both fall short of touch typing on my Dell Adamo, but I eventually got used to the Surface Type Cover keyboard -- and ditto for Dell's Tablet Keyboard (the lighter, thinner model that doesn't integrate a battery).
Via: Cnet
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