HP

Design and Display

The HP Spectre x2 is not expected to come cheap, so its build quality has to be impressive and, indeed, it is. The notebook is built to impress with a sleek, sandblasted aluminium body. It rocks a durable kickstand made of stainless steel and able to rotate up to 150 degrees; releasing the kickstand is as easy as sliding a button. The detachable Spectre x2 should make a great companion to on-the-go professionals given its slim (8mm) and lightweight (840g) build. It comes with a full-size, backlit keyboard offering nice key travel and a large trackpad. You simply need to snap on this keyboard with the aid of integrated magnets to move from tablet to laptop.

This machine should make for highly enjoyable content viewing, judging by the Full HD (1,920 x 1,280) resolution of the 12-inch display. Pleasurable wide viewing angles are on the card given the use of an IPS panel.

Hardware and Software

Under the hood, the HP Spectre x2 is powered by latest Intel Core M processor – you will be able to choose from Core m3 to m7. The low-power CPU used here will, unfortunately, not be able to support the level of robust performance the likes of Surface Pro 4 will. However, RAM of either 4 GB or 8 GB should boost performance. The use of solid-state drives with capacity ranging from 128 GB to 512 GB will also help to further enhance performance. The 2-in-1 notebook runs on latest Windows 10 operating system with many great features.

Sundry Information

HP Spectre x2 will be equipped with a battery which HP says will support as much as 10 hours of ‘tireless productivity.’ It supports the use of a Wacom-based active pen (stylus) for annotating and drawing. There are two reversible USB Type-C ports and an additional dongle for establishing connection with devices supporting older USB standard. A microSD reader is also onboard. It offers 4G LTE connectivity support for Verizon as well.

For superb sound, the HP Spectre x2 is equipped with four speakers (a pair each on the keyboard and sides of the screen) enhanced by Bang & Olufsen Audio software. It offers three cameras – an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and Intel RealSense camera setup.

Pricing

The HP Spectre x2 has its starting price set at $800, which means you should only consider this one if you have a significant amount to spare. The implication of this is that you should expect a price in the range N200,000-N250,000 in Nigeria. But then, it is cheaper than the heavyweights on the market, such as the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, which had its starting price set at $899, without a keyboard and stylus.

HP Spectre x2 at a Glance

– Slim (8mm) and lightweight (840g)
– Premium, detachable 2-in-1 design
– 12-inch Full HD (1080p) IPS display
– Sixth-gen Intel Core M processor
– 4GB or 8GB RAM
– 128GB-512GB SSD
– Windows 10
– Two USB Type-C ports
– Audio by Bang and Olufsen
– Intel RealSense 3D camera

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Lenovo

Design

The similarity between Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 700 and a Microsoft Surface tablet is almost immediately visible when placed side-by-side. On the rear, it has a kickstand with a watchband hinge design similar to that of the high-end convertible Yoga 3 Pro to allow you use the device in tablet, laptop and stand modes. The 0.8kg slate comes with a sturdy, detachable keyboard, which is attached to the device with the aid of strong magnets. The quality of the keyboard is comparable to that of those provided for consumer laptops from Lenovo and better than that of Surface’s Type Cover – at least, before the Surface Pro 4 was unveiled with an improved keyboard cover.

Display

Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 700 sports a 12-inch diagonal display, which puts it in the same class as the higher-end Surface Pro tablet. It has similar screen resolution of 2160 x 1440 pixels as the Surface Pro 3 offering users great colour reproduction for immersive viewing. The touchscreen has a 16:9 aspect ratio. The intelligent display supports Active Pen, which enables users write and draw on it just like when using a regular pen and paper.

Power and Performance

In terms of performance, Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 700 straddles the ground between the entry-Level Surface and high-end Surface Pro tablets. It is equipped with latest Intel Core processors from the Skylake range. The 2-in-1 tablet comes with up to Core M7 processor, which can be paired with up to 8 GB of RAM. The latest processors promises better performance and improved battery life than the previous-generation Core M processors. At this rate, you may expect minimum battery life of eight hours.

Sundry Specs and Features

The hybrid will boot Windows 10 Home out-of-the-box, giving you access to improved and new features as well as better security. For connectivity, you get Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11ac, which offers three times faster speeds than a traditional Wi-Fi module. There is also optional 4G LTE support. The slate features two USB ports (including one USB 3.0), a micro HDMI video port and a microSD card reader.

Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 700 offers integrated Trusted Platform Module (TPM) technology for enhanced security. It features 5-megapixel rear and front-facing camera. The 2-in-1 tablet also comes with an optional Intel RealSense 3D camera for more intuitive interaction with games and for logging in to Windows 10 with your face.

Pricing and Availability

Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 700 will go on sale in the United States from November at a starting price of $699, which converts to an amount between N140,000 and N160,000 in Nigeria. The price covers its sturdy keyboard as well. There is no information yet on price and availability in other countries, aside the U.S.

HIGHLIGHTS

– 12-inch (1440p) touch display with Active Pen support
– Intel Skylake processor (up to Core M7)
– Up to 8 GB of RAM
– 5MP rear and front-facing camera
– Windows 10 Home
– Wi-Fi 802.11ac with Bluetooth 4.0
– Optional 4G LTE support
– Optional Intel RealSense 3D camera

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Design and Screen

Unsurprising for a budget laptop, the Inspiron 11 3000 (2015) has a plastic chassis with a matte finish. It features nice rounded edges at both its front and rear. Interestingly, the body is not a fingerprint magnet that will pick smudges easily. The convertible shows off a svelte body at a thickness of just 19.4 millimetres. It is also lightweight at a weight of around 1.4 kg for you to be able to carry it around without any issue. The hybrid sports an 11.6-inch LED backlight touchscreen with HD resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The Truelife display is bright and colourful – brighter than the one on the more expensive HP Pavilion x360 convertible.

Enjoyable Hybrid Experience

Dell Inspiron 11 3000 (2015) is configured to give you the benefits of multiple devices in one package. Its 360-degree hinge design allows you to flip it all the way back. This way, you are able to use the convertible as a full-featured notebook to create documents and presentations. Flip the Inspiron 11 3000 (2015) all the back and you are ready to use it like a tablet. It can also be used in tablet and stand modes suitable for watching movies or making presentations.

Performance

A quad-core Intel Celeron or Pentium processor handles the heavy lifting on Dell Inspiron 11 3000 (2015) to provide you with convincing performance. With backing supplied to the 2.16GHz processor by a very ample 4 GB of RAM, you are in for an impressively responsive performance when creating documents, browsing or watching movies. Enjoyable graphics is delivered by integrated Intel HD Graphics, which performs better than majority of the convertibles in this price range. Power juice is supplied by a 43WHr battery which Dell says deliver up to 11 hours. This new Inspiron 11 3000 comes with improved heat management, compared to its predecessor.

Sundry Specs

Dell Inspiron 11 3000 (2015) runs on Windows 8.1 or latest Windows 10 operating system right out of the box. It is configured to pump out enjoyable sound with a pair of speakers backed by Waves MaxxAudio Pro processing. A hard drive of up to 500 GB is supplied for storage. Port and interface options include three USB ports (including one USB 3.0), an HDMI 1.4a port and multi card reader. Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n are available for wireless connectivity. Dell Inspiron 11 3000 (2015) has dual digital microphones as well as an HD (720p) webcam.

Pricing

With price starting at $330, Dell Inspiron 11 3000 (2015) is no doubt. That is the equivalent of a price of less than N66,000 in Nigeria. That price makes it cheaper that the similar-sized HP x360 convertible laptop, but bettered by the equally impressive Acer Aspire R11.

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Acer Aspire Switch 11 (Image: Acer)

Design and Screen

The Acer Aspire Switch 11 V shows similarly sleek and attractive design as its earlier brother. It is given a premium feel with an aluminium casing. The lightweight hybrid features an innovative hinge mechanism that allows you to easily pop out the display to use as tablet and seamlessly fix it back in place when done. The Aspire Switch 11 V sports an 11.6-inch touchscreen with an awesome Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The IPS technology used for this display combined with zero air gap ensures great colour reproduction and stunning images with rich colours.

Power and Performance

Fitted with a low-power Intel Core M processor, the Acer Aspire Switch 11 V is engineered to deliver a fine combination of decent performance and longer battery life. The CPU is supported by 4 GB of RAM to boost responsiveness and keep glitches in check. Graphics is driven by integrated Intel HD Graphics 5300. The hybrid will run on touch-centric Windows 8/8.1 operating system. The power-efficient chip used for the Aspire Switch 11 V ensures that users will be able to enjoy longer battery life, estimated at up to eight hours by Acer – an improvement of about two hours on what was obtainable in the case of the Aspire Switch 11.

This 2-in-1 laptop is expected to come with zippy solid state drive of 128 GB. Ports and interfaces provided include one USB 3.0 port, one micro HDMI port and one microSD card slot. Acer Aspire Switch 11 V will come with Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n. There will also be rear and front-facing cameras.

Pricing and Availability

The price of the Aspire Switch 11 V, which was dubbed the best hybrid at the Computex 2015 event in Taipei, has been reported at £499 by The Inquirer – equivalent to a price around N150,000. At that price, this won’t be a hybrid for just anybody. It is not clear at this time when it will be available.

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