14 DAY TRIAL // One might say that it was inevitable that something like this would happen, especially since Ultrabooks were, regardless of what some may say, envisioned as a means to secure the PC market form the tablet segment.
According to Digitimes, ASUS has decided to create a convertible Windows 8 ultrabook.
That is, an ultrabook with the ability to rotate and swivel its display the same way convertible tablets have been doing for years.
ASUS will work with Intel on the development and should have it ready for a public demonstration by the time Computex 2012 happens.
That means September, 2012, so people will have to do some waiting before their curiosity is sated.
As a news and rumor site, Digitimes sometimes hits and sometimes misses the mark with its reports, but that can be said about any similar publication.
In this case, convertible Ultrabooks actually do make a certain amount of sense.
Since they already rival tablets in thickness, even with a physical keyboard, having the option to turn into a genuine tablet at whim would be an appealing plus.
Then again, it would somewhat defeat the purpose of differentiating the PC market from tablets (admittedly, this isn't much of an argument if all other features remain the same).
Of course, before any of that happens, IT players need to figure out how to make Ultrabooks marketing-viable, in other words affordable.
This goal alone will be tricky, even though Ivy Bridge CPUs will be cheaper than what today's Ultrabooks use.
After all, PC makers have to use special displays and components to even fit the thinness requirements.
Thus, ASUS has to figure out what display to use and then how it might build the case and hinges so as to still retain the small profile that Intel demands of laptops if they are to be granted the ultrabook title.