Samsung Series 7 and Series 5 Hybrid PCs for Windows 8
The Series 7 and Series 5 hybrid PCs from Samsung change from laptop to tablet by slipping them out of their keyboard docks. The Series 7 costs $1,199 and packs an Intel Core i5 processor with 4GB of RAM while the Series 5 is $749 and has Intel's latest mobile chip ("Clover Trail") with 2GB of RAM. Both will be available Oct. 26.
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A big promise of Windows 8 is that your tablet and your PC can be the same device. Exactly how will that work? After seeing of intriguing possibilities, we're starting to get a more firm idea with actual products like the Samsung Series 7 and Series 5 PCs.
The new machines are hybrid PCs -- meaning they "transform" from an 11.6-inch Windows 8 tablet to laptop and back again. They do so via keyboard docks, which hold the tablet in place.
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Make no mistake, these are full Windows 8 PCs, not Windows RT devices. That means you can run all your old Windows 7 or XP apps on them in addition to any newer Windows 8 apps. They also sport Samsung's new take on the old Windows Start menu, the S Launcher, which should calm the nerves of a few skittish Windows 8 users.
Extra bonus: The tablets also include the S Pen, a hallmark of Samsung's Galaxy Note line of Android tablets. The company also says a Windows 8 analog of its S Note app will be available for the hybrids.
There's a big gap in price between the Series 7 and Series 5, which cost $1,199 and $749, respectively. That's because of what they have inside: The Series 7 boasts an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB solid-state drive. But the Series 5 is something else, packing Intel's latest Atom mobile chip "Clover Trail," 2GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD. Both will be available when Windows 8 launches, Oct. 26.
While the keyboard dock is included with the Series 7, you can get the Series 5 with or without it. With no dock, it just costs $649. The pricing gives you an idea of what other Windows 8 tablets like the Microsoft Surface and Lenovo's Clover Trail model might cost.
Finally, Samsung has tied its new hybrids into its AllShare network, the company's cloud service for sharing content across devices. Any photos you take with the tablets, for example, will automatically get shared to your other devices via the service. While this functionality doesn't yet apply to movies and TV shows you might buy from Samsung's online media hubs, the company says it's working on it.
How do you like Samsung's Windows 8 hybrids, or hybrids in general? Let us know in the comments.
This story originally published on Mashable here.
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