If you're not yet enthusiastic about Microsoft's Windows 8, there are plenty of emerging reasons to get excited about the hardware it's inspiring. At the annual Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (IFA) conference, Dell and Asus debuted Windows 8 products that positively blur expectations of what tablets, ultrabooks and laptops should be.
Windows 8 itself is designed to merge the tablet and PC, so logic dictates that the hardware powering it should follow suit. With that in mind, here are the standout announcements from Dell and Asus.
Dell XPS Duo 12
XPS Duo 12 Notebook | Credit: DELL
The newest addition to Dell's XPS lineup is quite literally an ultrabook and tablet in one frame. The 12-inch screen will boast a 1920x1080 resolution protectively covered in Corning Gorilla Glass. By default the Duo 12 will behave like a touchscreen ultrabook, but the display can swivel around, latching into place via magnets, and then be folded down on top of the keyboard to function as a tablet.
Dell hasn't revealed the internal specs or price tag, but expect it to ship with the full version of Windows 8 (as opposed to the ARM-based Windows 8 RT for tablets), an SSD drive, and likely an Intel Core i5 or Core i7 CPU. Dell has promised it will ship in time for the launch of Windows 8 in late October 2012.
I'll be speaking to Dell in September, and will hopefully have more details to share at that time.
Asus Taichi
The Asus Taichi | Credit: Asus
Asus gets points for ambitious design with their upcoming Taichi ultrabook -- a Windows 8 machine with a double-sided display. On one side you have a standard laptop display, but the opposite side features a multitouch-capable, stylus-supported screen. According to Asus, these screens operate completely independent from each other "which means the Taichi can be shared with two users for a host of innovative new applications."
Hopefully app and game developers alike will be inspired by this concept and produce experiences only achievable with this double-sided display.
The Asus Taichi will feature SSD storage and an Intel Core i-series CPU, though the company hasn't delivered any further specifications. One niggling concern I have is keeping both sides of the screen protected, but surely there will be aftermarket cases to address that issue.
Both of these products are complimented by a supporting lineup of all-in-0ne PCs and other tablet and ultrabook solutions for Windows 8, but the Asus Taichi and Dell XPS Duo 12 certainly support the "Bring Your Own Device" mentality, and both have me anxious to experience what Windows 8 can bring to the table.
