There can be no doubt that mobility is a trend that is growing, and is here to stay. From the proliferation of smartphones to the rise of the tablet and the evolution of ever more lightweight, portable and powerful notebooks and ultrabooks, portability and the ability to work on the go are essential, says Farhad Alli, Dell Consumer product specialist at DCC.
However, this phenomenon has led many users to carry around a variety of different devices, most commonly a notebook or Ultrabook and a separate tablet, in order to cater to different requirements in different situations. This practice can be cumbersome and frustrating, especially when it comes to ensuring seamless continuity when working between devices.
Fortunately, technology has the answer in the form of full-featured two-in-one ultrabooks that combine the power of a notebook and the portability and convenience of a tablet in a single device.
For many business users, productivity on the go has become an essential tool. Even for students, teachers, lecturers and anyone else on the move, mobility is now a critical deciding feature with regards to selecting new technology.
Tablets have become increasingly popular, as they allow users to check email, keep up to date on their calendar, browse the Web and perform basic computing functions on the go.
They offer excellent portability, instant on power and superior battery life. What they often lack is a keyboard for extended input, and the power to multitask and handle intensive applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, compiling presentations, utilising photo editing software and so on.
For this reason the majority of users will have both a notebook and a tablet. However, carrying around both a laptop and a tablet is inconvenient, and synchronising applications (apps), documents and other files between the two requires the use of a cloud service which in turn needs constant Internet connectivity. The limited functionality of a tablet often makes it suitable for only the most basic of tasks.
The emergence of two-in-one notebook/tablet hybrid devices is a result of this challenge, bringing the best features of both devices together in a single form factor that is ideal for business users, students and other users on the go.
Two-in-one Ultrabook/tablets devices feature the power and specifications of a business notebook, as well as the convenience of a keyboard, enabling users to perform any function they would on any PC or laptop computer. In addition, they feature touch screens for intuitive input and solid state drives (SSD) for instant boot up.
These devices can also be converted to a tablet in seconds, either by swivelling the monitor, folding it a complete 180 degrees, or completely detaching it from the keyboard, depending on the make and model. This ensures that two-in-one Ultrabook/tablet hybrids provide full speed on the go, offering business-ready functionality, enterprise-class security, and the convenience and intuitive operation of a touch-screen tablet.
Other features of two-in-one Ultrabook/tablets include the latest generation of Intel Core processors for enhanced performance as well as hybrid hard drives that combine the speed of SSD with the capacity of a regular hard drive, providing many times the storage capacity of a tablet. This ensures users have plenty of storage space available for apps, documents, photographs, multimedia and more.
In addition, many two-in-one devices feature standard compact Ultrabook sized screens up to 13-inches, which provides greater screen real estate and ease of use when it comes to tablet functionality. They also feature extended battery life and energy efficient processors and graphics, to ensure that users can continue to work on the go for many hours.
Another benefit of the two-in-one Ultrabook/tablet hybrid is that it offers many more input ports when compared to a standalone tablet device. With the addition of high-speed USB 3.0 ports, standard USB 2.0, media card readers, HDMI ports and more, there is no need to use adaptors to connect a variety of peripheral equipment to the device.
These devices also typically feature integration with cloud storage, to ensure documents and files are safely stored in an offsite backup location, essential when considering how frequently portable mobile devices are lost, misplaced or stolen. A range of optional accessories is also usually available to help users customise their experience.
With the computer of the future, mobility is the central defining characteristic. With the emergence of the two-in-one Ultrabook/tablet hybrid, the need to carry multiple devices is removed. These devices offer all of the power and processing capability of a fully-featured, business-ready laptop with the convenience, portability and speed of a tablet, bringing the best of all worlds within easy reach of any user.