News - HP reveals pair of hybrid laptops; the Split x2 and SlateBook x2

[HEXUS]

The Split x2 runs Windows and the SlateBook x2 is an Android device.

Read more.

[crossy]

Just did a quick calc and that $479 price point for the Android box works out at less than £320. Even adding VAT, that's still less than £370 which seems pretty reasonable.

Less convinced by the price of the Windows8 based box - but surely that'll steal some customers from the Surface Pro. If I had the money, (and the need), then I'd be tempted.

[Bagpuss]

That Splitx2 would make an awesome A4 sized magazine and comic book reader, I find the likes of Kindle or any other tablet with a 10 inch screen or less too small for comfortable reading of the small text.

[miniyazz]

Just did a quick calc and that $479 price point for the Android box works out at less than £320. Even adding VAT, that's still less than £370 which seems pretty reasonable.

Less convinced by the price of the Windows8 based box - but surely that'll steal some customers from the Surface Pro. If I had the money, (and the need), then I'd be tempted.

You know VAT is 20% right?

[davesom555]

Why does the much less expensive 10.1 inch tablet have a much better screen resolution than the 13.3 inch one? The windows one doesn't sound very next gen to me with its 1366 x 768 display.

[Animus404]

The low screen res on the windows version puts me off. 1366x768 just isn't enough and hasn't been since the 90's

[Biscuit]

Why does the much less expensive 10.1 inch tablet have a much better screen resolution than the 13.3 inch one? The windows one doesn't sound very next gen to me with its 1366 x 768 display.

Its unbelievable isnt it?

They keep releasing these tablets and laptops with dreadfully low PPI and wondering why people aren't buying them. Yes ok that isn't the only reason and the reality is that the level Apple are working on with the retina screens and Google with the nexus 10 and the chromebook pixel are a bit OTT, but people want high resolution. It doesn't matter what MS say about dynamic range, super close bonded glass and all the other stuff, people like numbers and real estate!

Take the 10" 1920 x 1200 IPS screen, put it on a windows tablet/notebook and bring it to market, at that point i might show some interest... not with RT though.

The Android model does seem nice though, i hope HP set themself out to be a company that does regular updates and keeps their devices up to date. At the moment they are a bit of an unknown entity.

[kingpotnoodle]

1.9KG? For a 2013 13" ultraportable? That's pretty poor, if it is 1.9Kg joined then tablet half must be getting on for 1Kg, that's way too heavy to be comfortable and carriable.

Next entrant please...

[crossy]

You know VAT is 20% right?

I did, but that's what comes of using online currency convertors. My copy of Convertor Pro on my phone says roughly £376.

Yes ok that isn't the only reason and the reality is that the level Apple are working on with the retina screens and Google with the nexus 10 and the chromebook pixel are a bit OTT, but people want high resolution. It doesn't matter what MS say about dynamic range, super close bonded glass and all the other stuff, people like numbers and real estate!
Take the 10" 1920 x 1200 IPS screen, put it on a windows tablet/notebook and bring it to market, at that point i might show some interest... not with RT though.

First off, the Split x2 comes with "full fat" Windows 8, not the "RT" Android/iOS wannabe. Split x2 is Intel powered and wasn't RT exclusively designed for ARM-compatible processors?
Secondly, Apple are pushing Retina screens because that's the only way to justify their high prices. PPI numbers - aren't they like camera pixel counts - mere numberism. High resolution doesn't necessarily equal "better". And as to the "real estate" comment - is that why everyone seems to be rushing to 7-8" sizes?
And if you want a 1920x1200 screen (but not with Windows) then there's always the Asus Transformer Infinity (daft name!) which is less than £345. So from that point of view, if anyone's going to do what you want (Intel-powered, large screen, tablet/netbook hybrid) then I'll earnestly suggest that it'll be Asus rather than HP.

1.9KG? For a 2013 13" ultraportable? That's pretty poor, if it is 1.9Kg joined then tablet half must be getting on for 1Kg, that's way too heavy to be comfortable and carriable.

Double battery - so there's one in the dock too. And I'm hoping (not that I've seen the specs) that HP have learned from Asus and made that keyboard dock heavier to stop the whole assemblage from tipping backwards. And the best way to do that is to put a large (and therefore heavy) battery in the dock.

[Biscuit]

I dont think I was perhaps as clear as i could have been

First off, the Split x2 comes with "full fat" Windows 8, not the "RT" Android/iOS wannabe. Split x2 is Intel powered and wasn't RT exclusively designed for ARM-compatible processors?

Yeah, it was more of a general statement rather than directly focused at the Split X2. The more i play with RT in shops the more i dislike it, i don't consider it a usable platform for anything i would want to use it for. Full fat win 8 i can deal with.

Secondly, Apple are pushing Retina screens because that's the only way to justify their high prices. PPI numbers - aren't they like camera pixel counts - mere numberism. High resolution doesn't necessarily equal "better". And as to the "real estate" comment - is that why everyone seems to be rushing to 7-8" sizes?

Quite, like i said its OTT, but that's what people are buying into, exactly the same as with cameras. You cant tell people that the high res screens aren't important when Google, Apple and the media are trying to push 1080p, 2K and 4K onto us, even if it Is impossible to discern on such a small screen.
Even with that in mind, 1366 x 768 is just stupid for any size screen above 8", it looks nothing short of crap. Ok so colouremetry, dynamic range etc do factor into how good a screen is, but its not as easy to sell.
I have said this time and time again, i know some companies are going OTT, but there are almost no products that are getting the balance of screen size and resolution correct at the moment.
When im talking about real estate im talking about GUI desktop real estate. Even though it makes everything really small, its just nicer to have the extra space on a desktop to work with. My work laptop has 1366 x 768 and its just not enough space to actually do stuff on, i find myself constantly scrolling around documents and webpages and you can forget about running multiple windows on the same desktop at once.

And if you want a 1920x1200 screen (but not with Windows) then there's always the Asus Transformer Infinity (daft name!) which is less than £345. So from that point of view, if anyone's going to do what you want (Intel-powered, large screen, tablet/netbook hybrid) then I'll earnestly suggest that it'll be Asus rather than HP.

Its a Tegra 3 device though, bit late to be buying something like that now when there is likely to be a whole swoop of newer processor powered machines coming. Im sure Asus will have something up there sleeve and I will be looking out for it, but the moment I'm somewhat uninterested in whats available.

[ET3D]

The low screen res on the windows version puts me off. 1366x768 just isn't enough and hasn't been since the 90's

I agree. I don't want to pay a large price premium for a Windows device only to get a low res screen.

Though I think 1366x768 wasn't around in the 90's.

[crossy]

I dont think I was perhaps as clear as i could have been

Nah, just me being dumb.

Yeah, it was more of a general statement rather than directly focused at the Split X2. The more i play with RT in shops the more i dislike it, i don't consider it a usable platform for anything i would want to use it for. Full fat win 8 i can deal with.

RT makes sense if it's a "one click" operation to port a Windows 8 app to it. But one or two of the developers I've talked to have claimed that it's "not worth the effort", which has me wondering if porting is that simple. Perhaps it's one of those cases where if you follow ALL the rules then it's simple, otherwise it's a pain in the posterior. Certainly I've not seen a flood of companies advertising RT compatible versions of their apps.

One question I've got though about the Split X2 is around it's use as a tablet. Most of the tablets I've seen used have been as "always on" devices. Now, I know that's readily doable with Android, iOS, webOS because they're designed for low-power ARM-based devices, and the OS's themselves are heavily slated towards battery conservation. On the other hand, the Split is Intel i3/i5 and a desktop OS - a combination that doesn't scream "low power" to me.

So if you do get a Split X2 and decide to operate it as a tablet, are you going to be forever (or at least every day) reaching for the mains charger or have to get used to it being discharged/unusable. I guess what I'm asking (badly) is how good the automatic deep sleep/hibernate features are in Windows 8. Anyone with an ultrabook that they leave on all the time care to comment?

[Noli]

Split x2 but with Haswell and higher res and keep the affordability and I'd so be interested...

I know you have to pay a premium for hybrids vs their laptop/tablet counterparts and that's ok as long as it's reasonable. I just want, as others have said, a bit more screen real estate and Haswell will just improve performance/watt which is also crucial.

Still, it's a step in the right direction HP!