14 DAY TRIAL // By the looks of it, 2014 will most likely be the year of the shape-shifting PC, as 2-in-1 devices are starting to become mainstream.
Some 3-in-1 products have been unleashed on the market as well (like the Snakebyte Vyper which is a tablet, smart TV and gaming device) and ASUS has pulled the veil off what it called the first 4-in-1 dual-boot hybrid (the ASUS Transformer Duet) to ever grace the world.
Toshiba took things a little bit further and showcased its experimental 5-in-1 convertible design, showing at CES 2014 a machine that can be used as a tablet, laptop, keyboardless screen and more.
With more and more companies jumping onboard of the multi-mode product bandwagon, Gigabyte doesn't want to be left high-and-dry, so it has put out a new product that can be used in three different ways.
The Gigabyte U21MD is basically an 11.6-inch notebook that allows users to pull back the screen and fold it over the keyboard in order to turn the product into a tablet.
That’s pretty standard for most convertible models these days, but Gigabyte has another mode for you.
The third one entails users closing the laptop and sliding in into the D21 docking station, then adding an external display, keyboard and mouse, in order to transform the US21MD into a fully-fledged desktop computer.
The Gigabyte U21MD features an 11.6-inch screen with a capacitive multi-touch panel featuring an average resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.
Customers have the option of choosing between Intel Core i5-4200U (from the Haswell family) or a Pentium 3558U processor to go under the hood, backed up by a 256GB SSD and up to 1TB of hard drive storage.
On top of that, there’s 2 USB 3.0 ports, 2 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, Ethernet, mic, headphone jacks and an SD card reader.
Basically, the US21MD tablet/laptop part is pretty similar to the U21M, Gigabyte put out last year, minus the D21 docking station (which has Ethernet jack, HDMI port, audio jacks, 2 USB 2.0 ports and 3 USB 3.0 ports).
The hybrid also comes complete with a backlit keyboard (optional) and Dolby Home Theater Sound Quality Optimization Technology.
It measures 11.7 x 8.9 x 0.79 inches / 29.7 x 22.6 x 2 cm and weighs a decent 3.1 lbs / 1.4 kg.
