The HP Envy x2 has been announced as laptop manufacturers are joining the race to provide consumers with a hybrid solution to portability. A notebook doubling up a tablet is exactly what it is. And it can even detach from the keyboard segment via a ‘seamless’ magnetic latch. The hybrid PC will be one of the first from the company, along with the Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook and the Envy TouchSmart Ultrabook, to feature Windows 8.
The Envy x2 is light and because of its aluminum finish weighs about 3.1 pounds. When separated, the tablet part is just about a pound and a half. An 11.6-inch diagonal HD touch display with an IPS panel and ultra-wide viewing angles delivers visuals while an 8MP camera on the back can be used to capture them. There is also an ‘HD webcam’ on the front.
“Consumers want the flexibility to move between creating rich documents and losing themselves in a great movie,” James Mouton, senior vice president and general manager, Personal Computer Global Business Unit, HP, asserted. “With the HP Envy x2, customers can have it all, and the touch experience on these three new notebooks brings out the best of Windows 8.”
Users will be glad that Beats Audio has been integrated into the device, while an optional stylus is also available making it easier to navigate, write and draw on the slate. It comes with solid-state memory for improved boot up times and NFC technology for sharing content. HP hasn’t gone into detail about additional specs.
The HP Envy x2 release date is scheduled for December 2012 around the holiday period for the US, while pricing will be revealed at a later date.