Comments on: Convertibles: The new laptop bling?

As more PC makers twist around conventional designs, tablet PC capabilities could be the next "it" feature in notebooks.

[Bizplanman]

It's official...

The word "bling" has officially jumped the shark... please, please.. make it stop.

[corelogik]

Yay...

One more gadget on a computer to break,... that rotating reversible
hinge has GOT to be weaker than a normal one.

[TV James]

I'll buy one when...

I'm pretty impressed with the hinge on my boss' Toshiba. Seems pretty sturdy. There is a technical glitch, though, with the little catch that locks it in tablet mode. Sometimes it doesn't register that it's locked and doesn't change the display orientation, or while he's using it, if he jostles it, it sometimes changes orientation. I wonder if there's a way to turn off the automatic reorientation. Pressing a button would be far less annoying than having it occasionally flip on you.

I'm still waiting for Dell to offer one. And for prices in general to drop. Then I'll buy one. Until then I'll stick with my desktop. But eventually, I'll get a new computer, and it's going to be a tablet. The design is convenient and much easier to use on the couch kicking back watching TV than a regular laptop.

[M C]

"Bling"?? Nice way to get cheap page views, CNet.

Quick slang lesson: "bling" means a visible trapping of success; something someone else sees and envies.

Yeah, kids everywhere are gonna want to flip their screens around and start scribbling on their tablet PCs like hospital nursing assistants.

Always giving your readers credit for intelligence...

[Montevale]

Stuck in the yesteryear...

I have been usin my Tablet PC (HP TC1100) for quite some time now. I now think differntly when it comes to managing info on a pc.
The biggest striking difference is of course the pen input. It is not perfect and can get cumbersome at times, but hey even after so many years in development your regular off the shelf PC would still require a huge amount of skill before it can actually be used.
There needs to be a shift in thinking from computer programmers on how to design new applications, and how to redesign the old ones with the Tablets in mind.
Right now we are stuck in a yesteryear of Keyboard and Mouse as the only way of interfacing with your PC. Yah, I know the voice is coming one day... however for that your PC is way too underpowered. Maybe in 5-6 years if Moore's law holds true. Even then you will have to train everyone how to use it... You pc today however has enough horses already to be a Tablet and voice is never going to replace your pen, it will add to it but your pen is still going to be your pen.
Tablet has this form and it is the most natural way of using it. Think about it as a pad of paper, a book, a binder with documents, your daytimer... you can make notes, draw, highlight important sections etc. and never loosing it's digital form.
Students all over are starting to use them. Have you ever seen a program called Go Binder? from agilix.com . It will actually run on you regular laptop. Or Mind Manager?... if you think that Microsoft's One Note works great on your PC wait till you use it on your Tablet PC

[tvwill]

Tablet PCs - hinge

I have had my Toshiba Portege for two+ years. I love it. It is a joy to use. The hinge has never been a problem. I spilled tea on the keyboard and cracked the screen, Toshiba repaired them in good time. This laptop fell off the bed, 30 inches, and is still working. It is great and very versatile. Even when I get frustrated with the touch mouse keypad I can use the pen to get around the screen. I just wish Toshiba would go back to using the eraser head pointing device.

[billhennigan]

Convertibles

It makes it possible to use them on the airplane despite the bozo in
front tilting his head into your lap and the airlines willingness to
get 400 seats on a 200 seat airplane.
Regards,

[askirk87]

Hinges are tough

I've actually just played around with a Gateway convertible notebook, and the hinge is just as tough (or tougher) than a regular notebook hinge. I picked it up by the screen, and it felt completely secure. It never made me worry about the hinge. From everything I found, the convertible notebooks ought to be taking over the world of notebooks.

[Hydrofirex]

Price as a barrier to entry.

I think the writers premise is flawed. Laptops are viewed by general consumers as a step up above a standard desktop - and the pricing up until recently has reflected this. Touchscreen/convertable/tablet PC's are generally seen as more sophisticated. As is often the double edged sword to this perception, it is both viewed as a premium and also presents a learning curve. Yes, this is going to present a slight barrier to entry.

However, as the pricing drops and microsoft pushes (As well as all the other teeming manufacturers pushing for primary demand to soar - after all, these features will still probably command some premium for a while yet.) the market for this product is only going to explode. Laptops have only themselves come in big since manufacturers started providing advanced features for a low price. There is no reason to expect any different diffusion pattern for this line extention.

The good news is that the early adopters are finally being heard by someone. I know a lot of people just hate, hate, hate microsoft, but I am extremely pleased to see them actively leading (From what I've heard here on news.com)the way for once (Yeah... it was really good that they got the 64-bit windows out in time for AMD - I mean Intel's 64-bit launch.) with pretty sophisticated advancements in the next version of windows. This is going to substantially increase acceptance by users who already view the ability to write and interact with the view screen as a dersireable feature.

After looking over the laptops featured with this article, and thinking about the advancements that will soon be avialable, my upgrade cycle seemed like it was desperately looming.