The 8 Best Windows 8 Laptops, Netbooks And Tablets

While Apple likes to keep everything locked up tight, one of the biggest draws of PCs is the freedom users are given to choose which hardware brands they prefer. Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 8 is available on laptops, netbooks, tablets and hybrids of these, developed by many different companies.

Consumers are really spoiled for choice, so let’s examine some of the best Windows 8 devices available now.

1. Microsoft Surface Pro

Of course, no one knows the new OS like Microsoft themselves, and the Surface series is a great showcase of the tech.

The two Surface models are different sides of the same coin: the RT is more for the tablet crowd, featuring all the associated luxuries, along with a very thin attachable keyboard, for when you need something slightly more substantial for typing. Inversely, the Surface Pro is essentially a netbook first, with a detachable screen that lets it become a tablet.

2. Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga

A lightweight device that’s half-tablet, half-laptop, the IdeaPad Yoga opens as a standard laptop, to reveal a tactile keyboard below a large, vibrant touchscreen. The spine bends further back than you’d be comfortable doing to any other laptop, allowing it to form a tent-shape. In “tent mode”, the device functions primarily as a tablet, albeit a little awkwardly.

If you need a laptop firstly, but don’t want to miss out on the touchscreen applications, this might be what you’re after.

3. Dell XPS Duo 12

The Dell XPS Duo 12 is another machine that starts as a laptop, but it turns into a more functional tablet than the IdeaPad. The screen can flip over on its hinge, and close to be used as a tablet, with the keyboard protected underneath. The screen is full HD, and the processor can be upgraded to an Intel i7.

4 Sony Duo 11

Similar name, similar function. The screen of Sony’s Duo also slides out to reveal a keyboard, but in the style of a Hiptop phone. The included stylus can register 256 different pressure levels, making the Duo 11 an ideal drawing tablet.

5. Sony Vaio Tap 20

Also from Sony is the Vaio Tap 20, named for its gigantic 20-inch screen. Don’t bother looking for a hidden keyboard here – this beast is all tablet. The HD visuals are powered by an Intel HD 4000 card, and run by an i3, i5 or i7 processor. Your choice.

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6. HP Envy x2

The x2 tag at the end of the name is the first indication that this entry in the HP Envy line follows the trend of split devices. Again, it’s a tablet by itself, but connects to the keyboard base, to form the screen of a laptop.

The most interesting feature about this though is the dual battery: while the top half obviously includes a battery to keep it powered as a tablet, the keyboard section contains a second battery, which drains first while the screen is connected. That way, your tablet battery will still be charged if you decide to take it away from the base.

7. Asus Transformer AiO

Yeah, yeah, another tablet hybrid, right? Well, the Asus Transformer AiO is something else entirely.
For one, this is a crossover between a tablet and a desktop computer, not a laptop. The tablet section connects to a base that’s designed for use in one place – essentially, the tablet’s charging dock at home turns it into more of a PC experience.

But it gets even more unique: while plugged into the base, the processor runs Windows 8. When you detach the tablet, it switches to the Android OS. Further, while within range of Wi-Fi, the base can stream Windows 8 to the tablet, allowing both cake having and cake eating.

8. Razer Edge

Tablets are good for playing Angry Birds and Train Conductor, but the hardcore gaming crowd craves meatier video game experiences that tablets just can’t provide. Well, Razer is challenging this perception with the Razer Edge, the first tablet device optimized purely for gaming.

There are no tablets with more grunt: under its sleek hood, the Razer Edge runs an i5 or i7 processor with a dedicated Nvidia GPU. Back on the outside, it has a whole inventory of nifty accessories that make it really versatile: dock it on the keyboard and attach a mouse for traditional PC games.

Put it on the stand, plug in an external monitor and you have a small but powerful desktop gaming rig. Or attach the proprietary gaming peripheral that features thumbsticks and buttons on either side of the tablet, and you have a more conventional handheld video game device.

Naturally, all this power will cost you a fair bit.

Michael Irving

About the Guest Author:

Michael Irving is a freelance tech writer, who can’t decide what Windows 8 device is best for him. He’s considering using Flexirent to try out an HP Envy x2.