The most productive 12 inch ultrabook. Choose a thin and powerful laptop: ultrabooks, MacBooks and all-all-all. Transformers against tablets

Dell leaves no attempts to find the optimal combination of portability and performance, issuing on-mountain many devices that combine these parameters in different proportions, as well as generating the design, to put it mildly, unusual for the market. It is to such a DELL XPS 12 laptop transforming and a ultrabook tablet, if you want. The usual idea to give the user the opportunity to keep a device in the hands, which could be, on the one hand, a touchscreen tablet, and on the other, if necessary, turn into a traditional laptop, received an unusual embodiment. The touch screen panel is fixed on the frame inside which it can rotate 180 degrees. This made it possible to avoid a cumbersome node with a hinge joint, but also turned out to be not deprived of his flaws. In general, this is another rising to the market of productive devices that could compete with tablets.

Dimensions and weight

Since the device is considered as a ultramotional, then it is necessary, first of all, to talk about its size and weight. With the last, everything is fine, if you perceive Dell XPS 12 as a laptop, and it is very bad, if you believe it is a substitute for a tablet. Hold in your hands half a kilogram for a long time is not the most pleasant occupation. Moreover, the need to "dull" in the maximum small body, a full-fledged laptop based on the I5 or I7 series processor forced the Dell engineers to maximize the layout. As a result, the ports are falling under the fingers, then blowing holes of the fans. The 12-inch screen also does not add convenience - there is quite a lot of space around it, so you will not accidentally fall to him with your fingers. However, the sizes as a result are quite large: 31.7 per 21.5 centimeter. It is about a couple of centimeters more than that of tablets with 11.6-inch screens. With a thickness, if we talk about a laptop, everything is good - no more than 20 mm in the thick part. In the thinnest - 15 mm. For a tablet, everything is not so rosy, however, if you compare with the devices to which the keyboard is attached, the difference will be a couple of millimeters for most of the square. In general, I must say that the periodic use of Dell XPS 12 in the tablet and special inconvenience does not deliver special inconvenience, although it is not compared with the iPad.

Design, case materials

Dell XPS 12 design is made in the traditional manufacturer for this manufacturer. Expensive and corporate. Crawlestics and aluminum. Aluminum, as it were, frapets the entire ultrabook, while the main planes are covered with soft and pleasant to the touch with dark plastic with a pattern of weave carbon fibers. The exception is the screen accommodation panel. She is covered protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass. This, on the one hand, allows you to not worry about the wear of the touch screen, and on the other, leads to the inevitable numerous glare, which are satellites of this type of protection.

If the laptop is turned over, then the center of the bottom panel will be the aluminum lid under which all sorts of service is hidden.

From the minuses of using materials it should be noted that the plastic does not only look soft, but also is such. The coating similar to the soft-touch is grieving pretty quickly, "enlisters" are formed on it. The second unpleasant moment - any mud is willing to the same plastic, and the fingerprints are erased very reluctantly. In fact, it is impossible to remove them otherwise as wet napkins. Because of this, the device during operation may have a completely untidy look.

Connectors, Connecting devices, Control elements

It has already been mentioned that the XPS 12 ultrabook tablet was created in the dimensions of the tablet, but at the same time, in fact, it is a laptop. As for the connectors, they are rather a representative of the world of tablets. Before the ordinary netbook with a similar screen diagonal to him far. Connectors on end surfaces Total five: 2 USB 3.0, Mini Display, Audio Connection and Power Connector.

They are located as follows. On the left end - only an audio jack, and all the others - on the right: meals, mini display, USB, combined with ESATA, and USB with SLEEP-AND-CHARGE function. A few words about the audio connector. It is universal, that is, one for input and output, so that the "computer" headset will not fit. And with the connection of telephone, not everything is smooth. In my case, Dell refused to perceive the headset microphone from SGS III and LG.

Only two USB, no HDMI and memory card slots are clearly not something that can be called a successful solution, however, more likely to place it is not possible purely physically. The set is minimal and even insufficient not only for a laptop, but also for a tablet.

But the set of control elements at the laptop was purely tablet. On the left on the end of the housing is the sliding button on. It is multifunctional, and at the same time it is an indicator of work. But among its functions there is no version of the reboot - this is a separate button on the right side of the housing. The inclusion button is the audio jack, and above it is the screen rotation button. Below the power button is the volume knob. It is connected directly with the Windows system and changes the volume of all applications at the same time, the ability to change the volume only in the active application is not.

On the right end side there is only the already mentioned reboot button. Here is one of the stereo speakers. The second, respectively, from the opposite side. Under the screen is located windows button. Its functionality is completely typical for Windows 8. Other surfaces are deprived of any control elements and indicators.

Wireless Intefavees

The ultrabook received an Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6235 wireless module, including Wi-Fi 802.11 A / G / N with Intel Smart Connect and Bluetooth 4.0 technology. Wi-Fi supports connection with a data transfer rate up to 300 MB / s, which partially compensates for the absence of the traditional Ethernet port. The absence of the HDMI connector is designed to solve the Intel Wireless Display technology (WIDI) version 3.0.

Keyboard and touchpad

The Dell XPS 12 keypad completely repeats it on other XPS series models. It is made of black, almost glossy plastic. The feeling of the shiny surface emphasizes the presence of backlight, which can be seen from under the keys. In fact, the plastic is simply solid, and the glossiness effect occurs against the background of the matte surface around the keyboard. The keys are thin, with a middle move, well-spaced, it is practically no need to get used to the keyboard. Page Up / Down buttons, Home / End No, they are put on arrows. A number of the F keys traditionally carries the auxiliary functions that run the function key located between the left Ctrl and Windows. Interestingly, Dell decided to save additional volume adjustments (F11 and F12), despite the presence of a separate end rocker.

Screen

The ultrabook tablet screen has a diagonal of 12.5 inches. Almost like a full-fledged ultrabook, but still allows you to save compactness. In fact, half the measure, which is difficult to name successful. The 11-inch panel would allow to reduce the dimensions more, but would have a little affect the perception of the screen itself. A large diagonal would probably give more opportunities to saturate the hardware component (for example, connectors), but would noticeably increase the weight of the device.

Oddly enough, but hard in the pros record and Full HD screen. Yes, the image on it is juicy, bright and clear, although it is TN TFT. But the density of pixels per inch is such that the standard windows icons become so small that they are no longer so easy to get into them. Probably the sight was on using a new interface that is focused on the fingers. But here Dell has explicitly become the hostage of Microsoft policies, which has not been concerned that all applications really correspond to this interface. About "old" applications for previous versions of Windows And it is not necessary to speak at all. As a result, it is possible to actually carry out the convenient control of it is still using the mouse.

At the same time, there are no complaints about the touch screen. At the touch reacts quickly, the coup from the horizontal to the portrait position is also carried out without problems. Gestures are recognized clearly. The viewing angles are quite large horizontally (up to 170 degrees, if you believe the manufacturer) and medium vertical. The stated brightness - 400 yarns. I note that the ultrabook is equipped with an illumination sensor that automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen. In practice, this solution is non-optimal, since it is not always corrected correctly.

Webcam and Sound

Dell XPS 12 received a 1.3-MP webcam and stereomycrophones, which are located above the screen, symmetrically from the center. The camera is capable of making pictures and record video from maximum resolution 1280 at 1024 pixels. In fact, is a typical camera built into a laptop focused on Skype.

Also, the ultrabook received two dynamics located in the right and left ends of the case. For a device that is supposed to be used as a tablet, this location is a fair plus, to block them will be much more complicated. The stated capacity is 2 watts, that is, they sound quite loud and at the same time clean. Audiocipset Realtek ALC3260, so that some kind of super-free sound when connected to external sources Playback does not have to count.

Performance

The testing was a model with an Intel Core I5-3337U processor having a nominal frequency of 1.8 GHz, the maximum to 2.7 GHz and the third-level cache of 3 MB. There is a more productive version with an Intel® Core ™ i7-3537U with a clock frequency of up to 3.1 GHz and 4 MB cache, as well as coming on sale, but removed from production of Core i5-3317i, the clock frequency of which is limited to parameters 1.7 and 2 , 6 GHz, respectively. Theoretically, the latter gives greater savings of the battery with a minor lag in performance. In any case, the Dell XPS 12 ultrabook does not receive any graphic adapter, in addition to the intellectual Intel HD Grafics 4000 chipset. There are versions with 4 or 8 GB random access memoryAt the same time, it is important to note that no slots - the RAM is an integral part of the platform, therefore it will not work "profradition" XPS 12. DDR 3 Standard with a clock frequency of 1333 MHz.

Of course, there was no place for saving the internal volume and for the hard disk. Instead, a solid-state SAMSUNG production storage device with a capacity of 128 or 256 GB is used. Regardless of the reasons to use SSD, not HDD, for the user plus - to store large amounts of information on ultrabook is unlikely to be someone, and the speed of work is more important. However, a bottleneck of this model in terms of performance is also poured. This is a graphics adapter and RAM. It is rather strange that in Dell did not use the RAM 1600 MHz.

Now a few words about the perception of performance. Do not have to say that the work of the operating system itself and the standard office programs carried out without slowing down. Similarly, video playback, including Full HD format. Some surprise became very immodest opportunities for working with games. Specifically, Dragon Age 2 was launched on the test sample with medium graphics settings. Accordingly, the games of the same level will also work without problems.

Heating, cooling, noise level

If we talk about the level of heating and noise, here XPS 12 is not highlighted from the total weight of ultrabooks based on the processors from Intel with tURBO technology Boost. That is, while the processor works at a nominal frequency, the active cooling system does not turn on, the body is not heated strongly and foreign noise Hardly ever. Exceptions are when, with long work, it comes to critical heating and the noise of fans becomes heard. It all becomes completely when the system crosses the threshold of 1.8 GHz. After that, the fans are buzzing, without stopping, and the laptop itself can be very unpleasant to vibrate. However, for such a situation, it is necessary to either work with it for several hours continuously (at least six, it was not necessary to overload before), or to run something more consuner "Photoshop" or Full HD video. That is, most of the time Dell XPS 12 will remain in temperature mode, quite acceptable in order to keep it in hand or knees.

Autonomous work

To ensure long-term offline work, Dell engineers did not pose and managed to carve out the place for a fixed six-element battery in 47 W * h. Or, more familiar to us - 6600 mAh. In practice, this means that in the mixed mode, his time of work varies from five to seven hours. When watching a video, this indicator is noticeably less, from three to four hours. If you run games, then the time of work will be about an hour less. For a compact laptop, the figures are more than worthy, since with the task of providing a mobile working day, 2/3 of which comes to work, and 1/3 on simple, XPS 12 copes. But from a device that can turn into a tablet, I want more, and on a full-fledged 8-9 hours of working with office applications and Internet surfing it is missing.

Therefore, you have to carry its power supply. Accordingly, a good 300-400 grams are added to the weight of the device. So much because despite the compact sizes of the ultrabook, its power supply can not be called. Although a 65-watt box is not the most strange part. Where strange it looks used by it cable to connect to the power grid. Photos, as they say, no comment:

conclusions

The Dell XPS 12 ultrabook tablet leaves after a very controversial sensation. The device itself attracts its stylish external species, high quality performance and high (for its class) performance. But this is if we consider it exclusively as a ultrabook. The tablet component that allows us to hope the construct of the transformer, remains on all the same traditionally low level of tablets with a full-fledged Windows OS. Of course, the ability to edit the video in the subway or play the usual RPG, sitting on the park bench, looks cool. Almost replacing the laptop, and the XPS 12 tablet cannot. It is not enough for this, first of all, battery life.

Also, the challenges should also be attributed to the minuses, a lot of weight, a meager set of interfaces, and in addition, the large size of the power supply unit is incomprehensible. For lovers to improve the laptop, with their own hands, the use of integrated RAM, solid-state drive and battery.

Among the advantages should be noted user-friendly screen, Gorilla Glass protective glass and high performance in combination with Windows 8 64-Bit Professional. Accordingly, Dell XPS 12 should be considered exclusively as a compact ultrabook, which can sometimes be used as a tablet. With the exception of the last opportunity, there is a sufficient number of devices that have comparable performance and battery life, but less weighing. "Extra" 200-300 g of weight should be recognized by the payment for tablet use.

On the wave of interest to the new Windows 8 operating system with the "Tiled" interface of Modern UI, the main players of the mobile market hurried to present their sensory solutions. At the same time, not everyone was limited to the release of trend tablets or banal integration of the screen sensitive to the usual laptops, some manufacturers seriously believed in the possibility of reincarnation of nishel form factor of transformer laptops ("clamshell"). In particular, Dell has been creatively reworked by the 2010 model of Inspiron Duo, presenting its first ultrabook-transformer XPS 12, with a review of which we are today and introducing.

Design

At first sight Dell XPS 12. Practically, not distinguish between the usual laptop - pretty thinly narrowed to the front edge, the case, standard "shelf" hinge and a classic working panel. The metal frame looks like a stylish contrast edging of the cover, and the gap between it and the movable screen is too small to suspect the ability to transform into this model.

However, it is worth pushing the screen from Himself, as its inner part leaves its usual place. In border Dell XPS 12. It looks most unusually and attractive, however, the main regime has two - laptop and tablet, for which the display must be rotated 180 degrees until it stops and put the reverse side to the panel.

As a result of the transformation, you get a 12.5-inch tablet with a touch IPS-screen with Full HD resolution in 1920 to 1080 points. Naturally, it is most convenient to use it capabilities in the Modern UI interface, sharpened under the control of your fingers, however, if necessary, you can use an episode and classical working mode wooden tables 8.

Display block frame Dell XPS 12. From aluminum with a matte surface, it turned out very durable and tough despite its shape and a small thickness. The display rotates around the axis passing through its center, fixation in the boundary positions is carried out with the help of four spring-loaded latches. Additional protection against turning and at the same time there are several magnets located in the upper and lower part of the frame.

Design

Ultrabook transformer Dell XPS 12. Made in the style, well-known on the 13-inch model Dell XPS 13. The same materials are used, and the only external difference (except for the form factor) is the design of the outside display module - The older fellow is metallic.

Central part of the display module Dell XPS 12. Finished pleasant to the touch with a carbon fiber with a characteristic weaving and decorated with a metal logo. The base of the hull is also made of carbon fiber with a pronounced pattern, all service information And a small hatch for upgrades is hidden under the aluminum panel. Anti-slip legs are made in the form of two long rubber rollers, while a number of air intakes are passed under the top. The radiator of the cooling system is located in the niche of the display hinge, so that the flux of hot air will not fall into the hands of the user in any "laptop" or in the tablet mode (provided that you hold it in a horizontal position).

Front and back edge Dell XPS 12. Free, all connectors are put on the sidewalls of the transformer. On the left is the speaker, the volume adjustment rocker, the highlighted device switching slumber, combined audio port and the position sensor lock button blocking the automatic change in the interface orientation. The right sidewall has a second speaker, a battery charge indicator, a pair of USB 3.0 connectors, MINI DISPLAYPORT video output and nest charger.

The main panel of the display module is covered with a protective glass Gorilla Glass, at the bottom of the screen edging is the HOME hardware button, which will be useful to you in tablet mode. The workspace is made of magnesium swaw and finished pleasant to the touch with a black-colored softer plastic, which is quite quickly covered with difficult fingerprints. The moisture-proof island keyboard is equipped with LED backlight, glass touchpad is solid sizes.

Functionality

From the point of view of the hardware platform Dell XPS 12. It is a typical ultrabook, that is, it is based on an economical platform from Intel with integrated graphics and is equipped with an SSD drive. The manufacturer offers several configurations worth $ 1,1199 to $ 1699 (prices for the US market) based on Intel Core i5-3317U processors (2.6 GHz) and Intel Core i7-3517U (3.0 GHz), the RAM volume varies from 4 to 8 GB , Capacity SSD - from 128 to 256 GB.

The instance that came to the test is equipped with an Intel Core i5-3427U processor, 4 gigabytes of RAM and SSD by 128 GB. In this configuration, it scored 4800 points in PCMark 7, more than 1000 points in 3DMark11 and 5.4 points in the index windows performance. Autonomous battery life with a capacity of 47 VTCs was 1 h 45 minutes in maximum load mode and 6 hours in read emulation mode.

Ultrabook transformer Dell XPS 12. Equipped with a high-quality IPS matrix with a solid brightness margin (380 kD / m2 at the maximum) and excellent viewing angles. The resolution of the 12.5-inch screen is 1920 per 1080 points, so that in some cases it may be necessary to need a fine setting of image scaling. Touchpad Capacitive type supports all familiar gestures for tablets.

Exploitation

During operation in the laptop mode of special complaints to Dell XPS 12. It did not occur, pleased with high-quality materials, a well-thought-out keyboard and excellent on the standards of laptops IPS-screen. There are no problems with the original construct of transformation, it looks quite reliable for daily use. But the cooling system sometimes behaves noisy, and mainly in the laptop mode. Someone clearly will miss only two USB, as well as the missing HDMI output and slot for memory cards, but these restrictions are associated with the transformer design, so that future owners will have to suffer.

In tablet condition Dell XPS 12. You can use both horizontal and vertical orientation, but the first is more convenient for a variety of reasons. With a horizontal grip, the palms fall on the cold parts of the bottom, and the lock buttons, the position sensor and the volume adjustment can be comfortably falling under the fingers of the left hand. Thanks to the successful layout, the connectors on the right sidewall are not overlapped, but both speakers are placed just in the places of the grip of the palms, which significantly muffles their sound. However, the most noticeable claim to the device is its weight, after all, 1.5 kilograms are too much for long-term comfortable work with a tablet on weight.

Transformers against tablets

It is so important that it should be stopped more expanded. The first transformer laptop came to our editorial office exactly 10 years ago, it was a 12-inch Toshiba Portege 3500 running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. The device with an Intel Pentium III processor with a clock frequency of 1.33 GHz weighed 2 kg and possessed relative to the touch screen, which could be controlled exclusively using the stylus. Then it was a really exclusive solution for which the amount of $ 4,000 was crazy for the current standards. Time went, the transformers were updated, but the very classic central vertical hinge and a non-removable keyboard base remained a standard solution for the devices of this form factor. The alternative design of the monoblock Tablet PC ("Slate") with an optional removable keyboard had much less popular, as it was simply possible at the stage of technology development technologies and the hardware stuffing into a rather thin case was simply not possible.

However, today no one will not surprise a rather subtle and easy Windows tablet based on the energy efficient Intel Core IX or Atom processor, and in this situation, to carry the keyboard unit on an ongoing basis is not the most best idea. You can invoke yourself how much you get a multifunctional device two-in-one, but in the current situation the classic transforming laptop is the most forced compromise that does not really suit any of the sides. Arithmetic is very simple here, 12.5-inch Dell XPS 12. More than 1.5 kg weighs with a thickness of 2 cm, whereas you can purchase a 13-inch ultrabook weighing 1.35 kg and a thickness of 1.5 cm or choose a 11.6-inch Windows tablet weighing 700 grams and thickness less than 1 cm.

Yes, in the first case, you will not be able to deploy the screen by setting it on the keyboard, but by choosing a touch-based ultrabook, you can easily control the interface with your fingers. It would seem in the second case a comparison is not entirely correct, since the screen has less tablet, and with a connected docking station, the thickness of the kit is the same 2 cm with a weight of 1.34 kg (as an example we take ASUS VIVOTAB TF810C). However, do not forget that along with the docking station you receive not only the keyboard and additional ports, and also the second battery, which practically doubles the final autonomy. And again, no one makes you constantly hold the keyboard fastened if you just need to scold or view several photos, and the difference between 1.5 kilograms Dell XPS 12. And 700-800 grams of the modern Windows tablet you will feel very quickly.

Voice Review Ultrabook Transformer Dell XPS 12

RESULTS

As a result, from the point of view of attractiveness for a regular user Ultrabook transformer Dell XPS 12. It saves except the originality of the design. The thin metal frame and the rotating screen looks so futuristically that this transformer was even a villained Bayne in the final film of the Batman's trilogy (episode with an excavator of the exchange). However, all this exotic is visible only in rare moments of transformation, while in the laptop mode the surrounding will see just a laptop, and in the tablet mode, it is also unpleasantly surprised by its thickness and weight.

So if in Dell XPS 12. You attracted a stylish silver-black design and a premium aluminum-carbo case, then better pay attention to his older brother Dell XPS 13. Well, and if you need a Windows touch screen and hardware keyboard, you choose any accessible tablet with an optional dock - The benefit of their number in the following months will be simply avalanche: ASUS Vivotab TF810C, Acer Iconia Tab W510, Samsung ATIV Smart PC 500T1C, Microsoft Surface. Pro, etc.

Liked
+ original transformation mechanism
+ high-quality IPS-matrix with high resolution 1920 per 1080 points and a Gorilla Glass coating
+ Using Premium Materials (Carbon, Aluminum, Glass, Magnesium Alloy)
+ Waterproof keyboard with backlit
+ Convenient battery charge indicator

Did not like
- weight is too big for use in tablet mode
- Total two USB, no HDMI and card reader
- high price
- brand working panel
- noisy cooling system

Product is provided for testing Dell, www.dell.ua

	Dell XPS 12 Ultrabook (XPS12I504128UN8-ALU) Notify about the appearance on sale
A type	Tablet PC.
Screen diagonal, inches	12,5
Type of matrix	IPS.
Type of screen coating	glossy
Screen resolution	1920 × 1080.
Touch screen	+
Type of processor	Intel Core i5-3427u
Frequency, Ghz.	1,8
Pre-installed OS	Windows 8.
Mass, kg.	1,52
Gabarites, mm.	317x215x15-20
Chipset	Intel QS77
RAM size (standard / maximum)	4096
Hard disk, GB	128 (SSD)
Optical drive	—
Graphic adapter, memory	Intel HD Graphics 4000
External ports	2XUSB 3.0 (1xesata), Mini DisplayPort, Mic-In, Headphone
Slot expansion	—
Cardrider	—
Web-camera	1.3 MP.
Network adapter	—
Modem 56k.	—
Wi-Fi	802.11 A / G / N
Wimax	—
Bluetooth	3.0
3G.	—
Battery Capacity, Ma.ch	n.D.
Battery voltage, in	n.D.

The market of compact computers seemingly simply crowded. Earlier, only laptops were presented on it, and now the diversity of devices already goes around. These are old netbooks, and modern ultrabooks, and chrombo. There are tablets that turn into a laptop, there are laptops that turn into a tablet - in general, gadgets for every taste and color. But Acer went even further and made a device that turns into a laptop from the tablet, and from a laptop to a desktop computer. Do not believe? Then climb under the cat.

Design

Perhaps the first thing you pay attention to when you take this device in hand is its non-standard appearance. Looks like a Switch 12 as a standard tablet with a keyboard, but only until you open it. Usually, hybrid tablets in the assembled state are no different from the usual laptop, the screen turns out as if outside. The design of this device is different, in the unfolded state, it looks like a laptop, in which the base of the display moved closer to the middle of the lower part. In the photos, it is clearly shown and, as they say, it is better to see once.

But back to the SWITCH 12 configuration. There is a charger in the device, which resembles a laptop charging than for a tablet. In addition, there was a leather case. Wear Acer Aspire. Switch 12 without a cover is not recommended, because it can not be closed the screen so that it is protected. This is, of course, a small minus. In addition, there is no pocket for the charger in the case, so you still have to use a backpack or a bag for transportation. Includes there is no stylus, although there is support for this accessory in the tablet, but the price will remain minimal, and the digital pen Those who need it will always be able to purchase separately.

Tablet itself (laptop? Console? PC?) Made from a matte black ribbed plastic. Of course, this may seem boring, but such a material looks as strict as possible and stylish, while it is quite practical. On the surface of fingerprints are not visible. The only vulnerable place remains only a glossy screen covering.

The gadget is pretty weighty, without the keyboard its mass is 1.1 kg, and the entire kit (case, keyboard, charging) and 2.1 kg. Agree, this is not so little, so, judging by weight, it is rather a laptop, not a tablet. The body is durable, and the design is rigid, so that the tablet does not react to twisting and flexion. Yes, and the SWITCH 12 is harvested: the loops are reliable, all elements are perfectly fitted, it is clear that the product is premium.

By the way, it was pleasantly surprised and the thoughtfulness of such trifles as tipping the device. For laptops, a test is sometimes the test, whether the screen is easily open with one hand. Perfect only MacBook passes this check. So, in the case of Aspire Switch 12, it is not necessary to test this, of course, but we still checked on stability. Even with a very wide open screen and a disconnected keyboard (it changes the center of gravity) the tablet does not fall, which is important. Yes, and in the collected state on the knees, the gadget is comfortable, although the first time and unusual, that the screen is so close.

By the way, I completely forgot to tell about the options for using Switch 12. They have them already 5. The first and most clear is, of course, the tablet. Only the screen and nothing superfluous. The second option is a laptop. We connect the keyboard in front, raise the screen and here we are a well-known form factor, except the screen moves a little closer to the keyboard. The third case is the so-called console. Turn off the keyboard, turn the tablet, open the stand and install the corner on the table. The inclined display is obtained on which it is convenient to draw, read or watch movies. The fourth version is just a display, but everything is completely simple. Turn off the keyboard, open the screen and here, in front of us the monitor on which you can also watch photos or films. Well, if you put the keyboard in front of him, it will be the fifth option - PC, except that there is still a mouse to connect for complete happiness.

The screen diagonal is 12.5 inches, which is already a lot for tablets, for laptops is not enough, but for such a device - just right. When working, it does not have the feeling that the display is needed more or less, so really, they picked up the size perfectly. The screen is covered with protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The display resolution is 1920x1080 pixels that for such a diagonal is a good indicator. The quality of the screen is high, the picture is clear, bright and contrasting, so even on the bright sun there are no problems, except that a little glare glossy glass.

Interfaces and keyboard

Despite the fact that this is a tablet, there is a stand and keyboard, which means there should be any connectors. Well, you need to look more closely. So, at the base, the only full-size USB 2.0 port, which is useful for connecting the flash drive, an external hard disk or mouse. There are microusb 3.0 on the tablet, but it is hardly possible to connect anything without an adapter to a full-size USB. Although if you have a flash drive with microUSB, it can be easily connected.

Charging the device occurs through a separate port, so both USB are always available. Alas, only two ports, and then, one of them requires an adapter - it is too small for a laptop, and even more so for a full-fledged computer. Of course, we all remember the new Apple MacBook.in which only one port USB Type-C In general, for everything, but the USB Hub Switch 12 is also clearly used to buy, if you want to connect something besides the flash drive and mouse, and even more so if you plan to use it at work.

On the upper end, next to the power button, there is a card reader, but it is only for microSD cards. Alas, if you want to see photos from the camera, you will have to carry with you an external device for reading memory cards, because you are unlikely to be in your MicroSD camera. Next to the MicroUSB port is a Micro-HDMI video output, so at any time you can connect the tablet to a TV or an external display, if, of course, there is an adapter. Unfortunately, for the full use of all the features of Acer Aspire Switch 12, you will have to be purchased by different adapters that are not included if you all need it, of course. The ports of the ports are not bad here, but it would be much better if there were two full-fledged USB, standard HDMI and SD card slot (although without it, you can just do without it), because the size of the hull allows.

The keyboard in Acer Aspire Switch 12 is at the same time its integral part, and accessory. When the keyboard is connected to the device, it forms a single block with it. But it works only on a wireless connection. You can only charge the keyboard if you connect the stand to the rear end, there are no contacts on the front. And of course, no third-party devices for charging the keyboard are not provided separately. The keys here are slightly rough, so the fingers do not slip, but the location island (when there is a gap between the keys). The course is not very big, typing the text is convenient.

Of course, the keyboard is very compact and many buttons are either missing at all, or combined with others and use them is offered in combination with the FN button. Interestingly, the sake of compactness in Acer was removed from the touchpad keyboard. And instead, a joystick was made - exactly the same as we saw in IBM laptops (and now Lenovo) Thinkpad. But the buttons remained, they are very imperceptible and are under the space. It is convenient to control using these elements, but I would still prefer the mouse (there is enough touch screen on the road).

Filling

There are in the tablet, of course, wireless modules. Since Switch 12 is based on the Broadwell lineup processor (but a little later), it is equipped with an Intel Wireless-AC 7265 module, which should be out of the name, can work in Wi-Fi 802.11 A / B / G / N / AC in the ranges of 2.4 and 5 GHz, as well as with Bluetooth 4.0. In addition, the WIDI technology (Wireless Display) is supported to transmit an image to external display displays, and it works with competing Miracast. It is enough for you to have a necessary receiver, then you can do without cables and adapters.

Very convenient in the tablet are the speakers. This turns out that at any location of the device, they are always directed per person. Two stereo speakers are on the front of the stand and it is difficult not to notice. The quality is quite a balanced, to watch movies and even for listening to music. In extreme cases, you can always output the sound through a 3.5 mm connector (it is also present, of course).

Acer Aspire Switch 12 is built on the basis of the modern economical Intel Core M-5Y10C processor from the Broadwell family. This chip has a wide frequency range, adjusts to the current load and is not particularly heated - due to this, by the way, there are no coolers in the laptop, all cooling is passive. The processor, of course, is not very powerful, but to work with documents, there is enough surfing on the Internet, but it is better to look for other devices for games.

In the device 4 GB of RAM and 60 GB SSD for data storage. The solid-state drive, by the way, is quite fast, which is especially noticeable when the device is turned on and the outlet of the sleep mode is turned on, as it takes a few seconds.

As for the video card, here, of course, integrated graphics are used, HD 5300. For some low-power toys, it will even be enough, but if only on the minimum settings. Another question is in the Games processor will warm more than in office tasks, which means there will be a reduction in frequency and, as a result, brakes will appear. So playing on devices with Core M is not worth it, not for this they are made.

Battery and charging

The gadget is charged using proprietary charging - it gives 45 W, although the tablet needs only 17 W, even at high load. The battery in Switch 12 is not very big - three-section lithium-ion battery Capacity 3220 mAh. However, here all the advantages are revealed. core processor M, because Even with such a container, the gadget can work for up to 6 hours, showing the video. If you want to read the book, then the battery is enough for 12-14 hours.

The gadget is charged for a short time, but in principle, if you constantly work for it, you can not remove it with charging at all. The only thing that frustrate is something is that the keyboard needs to be reconnected to charge it.

Summary

pros

Compactity
Silent work
Functionality
Versatility, many modes
High quality screen

Minuses

You must always wear in a case
No habitual touchpad
Somewhat heavy
Adapters are required for full-fledged work

Acer managed to make an unusual but interesting hybrid tablet. Of course, it differs from everything that is in the market, and so far it is not clear, it's good or bad. But the device is convenient (despite the unusual form factor), and this is the main thing. This device will probably have to taste to everyone who works everywhere: at home, at work, on the road, since it can be used everywhere differently and to benefit from it. The competitors of this gadget will be very small, it is too unusual and choosing analogs difficult. To date, from alternatives you can offer only ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi, and Lenovo ThinkPad Helix 2, but it is boring models with a standard appearance when the keyboard is fasted and it becomes a laptop. However, all these devices are made on Intel Core M, which means that if you choose something on this platform, then from the above options.

Discounts, top and credit

Type of laptop computer

Laptop - portable personal computer that has compact dimensions And a small weight, due to which it can be easily transported. The laptop is equipped with its own screen, keyboard, touchpad, and the built-in battery allows a certain time to work autonomously (from 2 to 10 hours) outside the office or at home. Modern laptops are a full-fledged substitute for stationary PC and allow you to run "heavy" games, process video.
Netbook is the cheapest and affordable type of laptop that is equipped with small screen (from 10 to 12.5 inches), a minor power processor, which in the amount allows him to work far from a socket for a long time. Due to low performance, the main spheres of the netbook application are: working with office applications, listening to music, watching video, surfing the Internet.
The transformer is a type of laptop, the main distinguishing feature of which are hinges attached by one axis to the base part of the laptop, where the keyboard is located, and the second axis to the screen. This design allows you to rotate the screen by 360 ° and use the laptop as a tablet, for this, the transforming laptop is equipped with a touch screen, with multitouch support.
Ultrabook - the most advanced type of laptop, in which all modern technological developments apply, which allows ultrabook combines a thin case in itself (the thickness does not exceed 21 mm), low weight (up to 1.8 kg) and increased battery life (from 5 to 10 hours). The ultrabook is designed for those people who are constantly on the road, and provides them with a comfortable job outside the office or at home. The ultrabook is a registered trademark of Intel corporation, therefore, all ultrabooks are made exclusively on its hardware platform.

Purpose

For home - designed to solve a wide range of tasks: from working with office applications and watching movies, before the launch of modern games. Very often, such laptops become a full-fledged substitute for stationary PCs, therefore, some models are equipped with a 17-inch matrix - for more comfortable work behind it.
For study - laptop, with which, solved tasks: Creation of abstracts and reports, presentations, search for educational material on the Internet. At the same time, the laptop should have a compact size for study, which will make it easily transfer it to school or university.
Game - Used to launch resource-intensive tasks (modern games, video processing), which is equipped with a productive processor, a powerful video card and an advanced cooling system.
Office - Designed to perform simple tasks such as: work with office applications, surfing on the Internet, making video calls. Office models are distinguished by low price, enhanced design, ergonomic keyboard and large set of connectors for connecting all kinds of office equipment.

Rule

Type of optical drive

Optical drive allows you to play and write data on CD, DVD and Blu-ray discs. IN lately more and more laptops are available without a built-in optical drive, which allows you to significantly reduce its mass or install additional HDD. or SSD.

Installed operating system

DOS - disc operating system, which has no graphic shell, and its control is carried out using command line. Currently, MS DOS, to control the laptop, is practically no applied, but it is installed on some models, which makes it possible to significantly reduce their cost.
Windows is the most common operating system, the development of which is owned by Microsoft. Operational windows system It has several versions intended for different groups of users who differ in their functionality and cost. Windows has a clear interface as well great amount Professional applied softwarewhich are not available in other operating systems.
Linux is free and open software that is distributed free of charge in various distributions. Most Distributions for Linux are free and available for free use. The main disadvantages of Linux are the complete absence of technical support for users and specialized professional software.
MacOS - operating system developed apple company exclusively for laptops and computers companies. MacOS has its own interface features ("floating" windows and panels, Dock panel), and the list of optional software is not so extensive as for Windows. MacOS is widely popular among designers, architects and other creative people.

Webcam

Allows you to transmit an image on the Internet during video conferencing, chatting or Skype communication.

Processor and memory

CPU

The processor is a central processing device that is responsible for processing information and managing other laptop components. The speed of the laptop is depends on the power of the processor - more powerful processor Provides higher performance.

Number of processor nuclei

Modern laptops are equipped with multi-core processors that allow you to perform several tasks in parallel, independently of each other, which significantly increases the performance of the laptop.

Processor clock frequency, MHz

Processor clock frequency (Measured in MHz) - characterizes the number of calculations that the processor produces per second. Accordingly, the higher the clock frequency of the processor, the more operations per second it processes. However, the clock frequency is not a decisive factor when choosing a processor, since it depends on it only part of the processor performance.

The volume of the drive, GB

The amount of information that can be stored on a laptop depends on the drive. For office laptops, a 160 GB drive is sufficient. For domestic and gaming laptops, a 500-1000 GB drive is required and more, designed to store films and installations. computer gameswhich occupy a large amount of memory.

RAM volume

Type of drive

HDD - Used to store data on a laptop. HDD is highly accurate, which means a fairly fragile device, any blows and drops of which can cause a failure in the work of the disk or its breakdown. The speed of reading and writing depends on the size of the files and the HDD parameters and can take a sufficient time.
SSD - Solid State Drive. There are no mobile elements in SSD, which allows it to work at much higher speeds, not to make out of foreign noise and be less fragile compared to HDD. The main disadvantage of SSD is a limited number of memory rewriting cycles.
HDD + SSD is a system that consists of separate HDD and SSD discsinstalled in one laptop.
HDD + SSD Cache is a hybrid hard disk that consists of a standard HDD drive and an additional SSD Cache from 8 to 32 GB, which are used to store the most frequently used files. Hybrid discs Allow simultaneously to increase the overall performance of the system and reduce its cost.

Display and image

Screen size, "

Screen size (measured in inches) - distance from the bottom bottom corner of the monitor to the right upper. The laptop diagonal ranges from 10.1 to 18.4 inches, which depends on the size of the laptop. Laptops with a diagonal screen from 10.1 to 13.3 inches are ideal for people who are constantly forced to wear a laptop with themselves, they have a slight weight and compact sizes. Laptops with screen size from 14, 1 to 15.6 allow you to work comfortable with comfort, have medium weight and quite comfortable for transportation. Models with a diagonal of more than 17 inches act as a full replacement for desktop PCs, have a lot of weight and are not intended for permanent transportation.

Screen resolution

Screen resolution (Measured in pixels) - the number of pixels from which the image is formed. The higher the screen resolution, the better the image quality. However, it should be borne in mind that greater screen resolution requires greater computing power to process it.

Type of video card

Built-in video card - integrated directly in motherboard. Functionality Such a video card is low, but the use of this technology allows you to significantly reduce the cost of a laptop. Built-in video cards were widely used in netbooks, office and budget models, and its resources are enough to work in office applications, watching video, starting simple games, surfing the Internet.
Discrete - equipped with its own processor and memory, has high performance and allows you to work in various graphic editors, launch modern games.
Built-in + discrete - Many laptop models are equipped with built-in and discrete video cards At the same time. This allows you to switch between them, depending on the tasks being performed: when working with light applications The built-in video card is activated, with an increase in the load turns on the discrete. This technology allows to significantly save energy consumption, which increases the battery life of the laptop.

Video processor manufacturer

Intel - manufactures exclusively embedded video cards. Built-in video cards significantly reduce the cost of the laptop, provide low power consumption and increase battery life, however, losing in the power to discrete models.
NVIDIA is the most common and most productive video cards that allow you to play modern games and work with resource-intensive applications.
AMD / ATI is less common video cards that are significantly losing in performance models from NVIDIA.

Video card

Volume of video memory

Touch screen

Allows you to enhance information and manage the operation of the device without using the keyboard.

Communication and interfaces

Wireless connection

3G / 4G LTE - Built-in wireless module that is used to connect to the Internet and provides a sufficiently high data transfer rate.
Bluetooth - technology that allows you to create wireless connection Between multiple devices for radio channels for data transmission.
The Wi-Fi module is a device that allows you to receive and send information via radio channels. The Wi-Fi module allows you to connect to the local network and access the Internet without a cable connection.

Interfaces and Slots

ExpressCard is a connector that is used to expand the laptop functionality. With it, you can connect TV tuners, modems, sound cards, etc.
FireWire is a high-speed tire that is used to transmit digital data. Its main advantage is high data transfer rate. With it, you can connect various devices, such as: hard drives, printers, scanners, camcorders, etc.
HDMI is a multimedia interface designed to transmit high-resolution digital video data as well as multichannel digital audio signals. With this interface, the user can connect its laptop to the TV, the projector.
Mini DisplayPort is an interface that is used to transmit digital audio and video data and is widely used in Apple technique. This interface allows you to connect a laptop to the cinema or external monitor.
USB 2.0 - serial interface that is used to connect peripheral devices To laptop. The maximum data transfer rate according to USB 2.0 is 480 Mbps.
USB 3.0 - a USB 2.0 interface that has a higher bandwidth (maximum speed of up to 4.8 Gbps) and an increased maximum current strength over the power supply.
USB 3.1 Type-C - interface, which is a continuation of the development of the USB 3.0 standard and is distinguished by the increased maximum data transfer rate of up to 10 Gb / s, increased maximum current power over the power supply to 100 W and the ability to use as a standard USB Type-A connector, so and new compact USB Type-C.
eSATA - serial interface that is used to connect external devices (hard disks, Flash drives), with the possibility of their "hot" replacement.
Cardrider - a device designed to read information from memory cards on a laptop.