HP Announces Spectre 13 x2 Hybrid Ultrabook

Since the launch of Windows 8, many users have been waiting for something that does a better job of spanning the gap between laptops/Ultrabooks and tablets. We’ve seen sliders, twist screens, laptops with touchscreens, foldable laptops like the Yoga, and even a few with detachable screens. HP now enters the market with one of the latter, as the Spectre 13 x2 that has a detachable screen.

Given that we’re talking about Ultrabook internals – and a 13” display – pricing is going to be substantially higher than what you’ll pay for a traditional tablet. HP also goes full Windows 8 here, so there’s no secondary SoC running Android like in the ASUS Transformer Book Trio. HP hasn’t yet provided us with a full rundown of the specifications, but it appears the Spectre 13 x2 will sport a 1080p display and the tablet portion pretty much only includes a microSD slot. The dockable keyboard meanwhile adds a couple USB 3.0 ports, HDMI port, and a full size SD card slot; it also includes additional battery capacity and has a backlit keyboard.

While the idea of a 13.3” laptop/hybrid is good, I do have to question the utility of a 13.3” tablet. I’ve used Dell’s XPS 12, and frankly it just feels massive when in tablet mode, and that’s a slightly smaller display size. On the other hand, typing on a 13.3” sized chassis and keyboard definitely sounds more welcoming than a 10” or 11.6” keyboard, so the detachable tablet aspect is basically a nice extra for those times when you want to leave the keyboard behind.

HP has managed to cram all of the hardware into a fanless chassis, which means they’re likely using the Core i3-4020Y (6W 1.5GHz) and Core i5-4210Y (6W 1.5-1.9GHz); it’s possible HP also supports the Core i7-4610Y (11.5W 1.7-2.9GHz), but that seems unlikely with a fanless design. (I’ll update if I hear anything more on the subject.) Pricing on the Spectre 13 x2 starts at $1099, hopefully with at least a 128GB SSD and 4GB RAM (preferably more, but that’s probably just wishful thinking). Availability is scheduled for October 2013.

Credit: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7352/hp-announces-spectre-13-x2-hybrid-ultrabook

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