This is the year of Windows 10 2-in-1 PCs
If you read my articles, you would know that I had distanced myself from tablet PCs (never found a real use case for owning a tablet) and that I am a desktop guy. I use a laptop at work because they wont provide a desktop but when I am home, I use a dual monitor setup (wireless keyboard, magic mouse, magic trackpad) connected to a Mac Mini.The first time that I showed some interest towards a tablet form factor was when Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 2-in-1, paving the way for new type of PCs to take the reigns from dying notebooks/desktops. This week, I got a chance to try the Smartron t.Book which is a 2-in-1 PC running Windows 10 operating system and I believe that a 2-in-1 PC will be my first laptop cum tablet.
Why sudden interest in 2-in-1?
I can play music on my phone. I can play games on my phone I can shove posts on social networks every minute from my phone. But I cannot efficiently pen articles using my phone. I cannot create perl scripts neither can I create documents and spreadsheets and powerpoint presentations using my phone. This happens only in advertisements. Even the world’s most powerful Android/iOS tablet falls well short of being a true productivity device.
I can do all kind of productivity and office work on my PC (laptop/desktop). I can create documentation, I can do programming on my PC. But a PC cannot match a phone or a tablet when it comes to portability. The social network applications on phone/tablet are way more efficient than the web based apps on a PC. It is much faster to take a photo and post it to social networks using a phone or a tablet.
A 2-in-1 computer running Windows 10 OS offers the best of both worlds. When I connect a 2-in-1 like the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 or a Smartron t.Book to a keyboard dock, it turns into a full fledged computer. When I detach the t.Book from the dock, it turns into a tablet. I can switch to ‘tablet UI’ and start using modern UI apps. Taking photos and posting them on social network is extremely simple. When I am in the kitchen and if I am following a recipe online to prepare a dish, the touch screen interface and the kickstand makes a 2-in-1 a perfect companion.
I do not have to break my head whether to buy a tablet and lose out full fledged desktop apps or buy a laptop and lose out on smartphone apps. I can have a device that can transform based on the need and environment
Windows 10 UWP
An application that is designed for a smartphone looks ugly on a tablet and an application that id designed for a tablet does not function well with keyboard and mouse input on a PC. What if we have applications that readjust depending on what the device is? Wouldn’t it be awesome if an application re-adjusts itself as the screen size changes?
I have added slideshow here. See how twitter and windows store applications change the UI as I reduce the width. This is to simulate how the applications behave when they are on a PC, on a tablet and on a phone. Same application, no change in code!
Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is the future of Windows. An application that is developed to be compatible with UWP will run on both Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile without separate code. UWP allows developers to create applications that will potentially run on multiple types of devices, resulting in less work for developers. This approach not only brings more applications to Windows PCs and tablets, it will pave way for Microsoft to re-ignore smartphone war.
What are the options available?
As of now, there aren’t many options available in the market. The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 costs whopping 89k INR and the older Surface Pro 3 is priced at 58k INR but it does not come with keyboard dock and Surface Pen. If you managed to get the Surface Pro 3 and the keyboard dock, you have to pay 72k INR.
The other option is the Smartron t.Book, a product that is design in India and is priced at 40k INR. Smartron t.Book comes with the keyboard dock so you do not have to buy one again. The t.Book is part of the Tron.X ecosystem and it will be interesting to see how the whole ecosystem will shape up in the future.
There are a few 2-in-1s that are powered by Intel Atom chips but I do not recommend going for those as the Atom chip is good for very basic tasks. But as the year progresses, there will be a rush of 2-in-1 PCs and we will see a lot of those in the market by the end of the year. If you are planning to buy a notebook and if you wait it out for few more months, I would strongly suggest you to consider getting a 2-in-1 PC. This is where the future is and sometimes, being an early adopter gives a sense of excitement. Nothing beats the happiness of curious onlookers when you are sitting in a cafe, using a 2-in-1 PC.
