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Apple Convertible Tablet Patent Shows a Unique Spin on Familiar Form Factor

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While convertible tablets have been a mainstay of Microsoft’s Tablet PC platform, more recently manufacturers like Dell have taken the from factor and added a fresh new “twist,” as evident in the Dell Inspiron Duo. Now, it looks like Apple’s adding its own twist to the form factor with a recent patent filing dubbed “Application Programming Interfaces for Scrolling Operations,” which reveals a device that appears to be a normal laptop when opened, but when closed, the screen slides over and opens up to reveal a convertible slate.



When Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage to unveil the new MacBook Air, he had said that touchscreens on a traditional laptop would not be ideal as it would cause arm fatigue. Hence, the company is using touch through its trackpad. With the MacBook Air, Jobs posed an analogy of a MacBook and an iPad hooking up to reveal the best of both devices–light, sleek, slim, powerful. However, with this new convertible tablet, we’re going to see even more of the iPad’s tablet DNA with a slate-style touchscreen.

Via: AppleInsider

9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. GoodThings2Life

    12/02/2010 at 12:03 am

    So the question is… are they going to take the Dell approach and just super-impose an iPad interface over a traditional OSX design when in slate mode, or are they going to make the whole thing use the mobile OS and it just happens to have a keyboard option? Or– dare I say it– actually make OSX more touch/tablet friendly and leave it at that?

  2. Tlally

    12/02/2010 at 4:03 am

    Looks just like my acer c200 I have been using for a few years

    • ChrisRS

      12/02/2010 at 5:49 am

      I thought the same thing. I’m somewhat confused as to how Acer was able to stel this idea from Apple and produce teh C200 in 2005. Time travel perhaps?

  3. Cphickie

    12/02/2010 at 4:21 am

    How does the data/power to the screen run in a safe and reliable way, given how it is shown the screen slides and then rotates?

  4. ChrisRS

    12/02/2010 at 5:54 am

    Needs an active digitizer and pen. (Oops! Apple – pen = fail.)

  5. Cy

    12/02/2010 at 3:45 pm

    My thoughts exactly- this is an identical form to the Acer Travelmate C20X series: previously unreleased in the United States.

    … and that one boasted an Optical Drive.

  6. Cy

    12/03/2010 at 3:18 am

    Can anyone find ACERS patent on this one? : P

  7. Jabari Jordan

    12/04/2010 at 4:53 pm

    Damnit! I goota start

  8. Leroyabernathey

    12/19/2010 at 12:11 am

    To me Dell lost it’s edge long time ago, most of the other PC makers too.
    I’m personally lookin for a heavy duty/grade high performance Windows laptop as slim and sexy as the MacBook Air.

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