While IFA 2012 is full of tablets and hybrid devices, vendors did not wholly forget the humble laptop-- HP launches the TouchSmart Ultrabook series, all running on Windows 8.

As the name suggests TouchSmart ultrabooks carry carry multitouch displays, making them ideal for use with the latest Windows version.

The series currently has two different offerings-- the 14-inch Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook 4 and the more premium 15.6-inch Spectre XT TouchSmart.

The Envy model carries the "latest" Intel Continue reading...

Fact-- Windows 8 tablet-laptop devices are big news at IFA 2012. So far Toshiba, Samsung, HP and Dell have hybrid devices at their stands, all to be available after the official Windows 8 launch.

One device at Berlin even reminds us of "Cove Point," (aka Letexo) the slick Intel Ultrabook-tablet hybrid reference design first seen at IDF 2012 back in April 2012.

That device is the Toshiba Satellite 925t-- a 12.5-inch hybrid device with a sliding mechanism holding display and keyboard instead of a more simple hinge. It allows users to either "fold" the display against the keyboard or slide it out and and bend it into a laptop-style standing position.

Global tablet shipments "set a new record" in Q2 2012, reaching around 25 million units with 77% Y-o-Y (or 36% Q-o-Q) growth according to ABI research-- leading the analyst to forecast shipments will reach over 100m in 2012.

It is good to note only 27% of tablets shipped in Q2 2012 carry mobile broadband (3/4G), a -12% Y-o-Y decline as consumers prefer to stick to wifi in order to keep device costs down.

Apple continues to lead the WW tablet market, surprising exactly noone with 69% Q2 2012 shipment Continue reading...

Games on a tablet are all well and good, but some customers might prefer buttons-- enter Archos and the GamePad, a 7-inch Android 4.0 tablet with physical controls as well as a touchscreen.

It runs on a dual-core 1.5GHz processor and a Mali 400mp quad-core GPU, and storage comes through 8GB internal and microSD card slot.

In addition to x2 analog sticks and a full set of buttons, Archos provides "automatic game recognition and mapping tools" to ensure the controls are compatible with most (if Continue reading...

"Ready to be smart?" Samsung asks in a Facebook with the picture of a mysterious device it will reveal at IFA 2012-- a tablet-laptop hybrid running on Windows 8.

What exactly will this Samsung offering be? Most probably (if not certainly) it is a finalised version of the Series 5 tablet prototype first seen at Computex 2012.

The Computex prototype is similar to other hybrid devices from the likes of Acer and Asus-- a transforming tablet with an 11-inch display and an attachable keyboard. It also Continue reading...

Lenovo announces a replacement for the current Android-powered ThinkPad Tablet with the ThinkPad Tablet 2-- a Windows 8 device for both enterprise and consumer use.

It has a 10.1-inch 1366x768 IPS display handling both touch and stylus (via optional pen accessory) input and runs on Windows 8 Pro. Ports include full-size USB 2.0, mini-HDMI, combination mic/headphone jack and MicroSD, while connectivity comes through wifi and Bluetooth.

The front-facing 2MP camera is paired with a built-in mic array Continue reading...

While Lenovo already has a number of consumer Windows 8 devices waiting to hit the market, the Wall Street Journal reports the company also has a consumer tablet running Windows RT on an Nvidia Tegra processor.

What kind of tablet? One with a "keyboard that flips around," the WSJ says.

ABC News confirms the WSJ report and claims the Nvidia-powered Lenovo tablet is a Windows RT version of the "flexible" IdeaPad Yoga, an ultrabook-tablet hybrid first seen CES 2012.

The Tegra-powered Yoga joins Continue reading...

That Microsoft upset its OEM partners by producing a tablet by itself is not really news-- so what Acer CEO J.T. Wang tells the Financial Times about the Surface only provides further confirmation.

Wang believes the Surfaces will be "negative for the worldwide ecosystem" causing other vendors to "take a negative reaction." He nearly begs Microsoft to "...think it over... please think twice."

"If Microsoft is going to do hardware business, what should we do? Should we still rely on Microsoft, or Continue reading...