Tablets eating laptops eating desktops culture: The food chain in the personal and mobile computing – Part 2

With Core i5 quad-core CPUs, the new Surface Pro line of tablets might give a second chance for iPad and the likes. Though it is on the shorter side of the stick when it comes to thickness, but it is light weight and very elegant with Magnesium finish all over, giving it a solid look.

On the other hand, the Surface RT is made for low Kindle-like market segment. It comes with Windows 8’s Metro UI and mobile applications from Microsoft’s Marketplace. However, it still packs a punch in processing efficiency with a quad-core ARM CPU, however, no official word was issued on the exact specs.

That being said, the Surface Pro has more vigour than meets the eye. Due to the inclusion of Ivy Bridge processor, latest iteration of CPUs from Intel, it comes at par with mid-range laptops and almost all the ultrabooks. What’s more is the Touch Cover and Type Cover, optional, that serve as screen shields and full QWERTY keyboards. The latter even has mouse pad.

The Surface Pro easily replaces the ultrabook line without even Transforming into a laptop. It’s quad-core desktop-based processor is not even more efficient than the current horde of tablets but also can easily take on laptops as well.

As mentioned earlier, the new MacBook Pro is a different breed in its own right. It is many things being a single device. At 0.71-inch width, it easily replaces MacBook Air—though it is heavier than the Air—and with quad-core Core i7 Ivy Bridge CPU with NVIDIA’s new graphics card it is handily a desktop replacement.

However, this not first time laptops are replacing desktops. The trend seems to have caught pace since the release of Ivy Bridge CPUs and new NVIDIA graphics cards. The likes of Origin, Samsung and Razer have all released their respective notebooks that have top-line processors and intense graphics cards.

What’s different is the design and portability of the new MacBook Air and the rest of industry. With Retina Display Apple brings the densest resolution (more than 5 million pixels) to a laptop that is not even available in most HDTVs. At 0.71 inches it is the slimmest desktop replacement and pushes the line of ultrabooks.

MacBook Pro 2012 or Surface Pro is just the start of the process that will consolidate all the segments from desktops to tablets in a single category. Smartphones are left alone but the introduction of Samsung Galaxy Note hints that the process might already have started.

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Posted by Usman Khalid on Jun 19 2012. Filed under Sci-Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.