I've always thought that with the advent of tablets, convertible notebooks will go pretty much the way of the dinosaurs, but Dell is set to prove me wrong with its wacky Inspiron Duo hybrid, that in a matter of seconds transforms into a tablet via an innovative swivel mechanism.

Leaving behind the wow factor that is bound to come when using such a crazy solution, this new mechanism, that allows the Duo to turn from a standard netbook to a tablet and vice versa in just a couple of seconds, seems like a far better option then the hinge design used by most other manufacturers, adding quite a bit to the system's sturdiness.

Using a notebook/tablet hybrid design also means users get the best of both worlds since a full QWERTY keyboard is available whenever you need it.

Sizing also doesn't seems to be a problem, the Inspiron Duo having quite a low footprint although this is a bit larger then other 10” netbook offerings, since it needs a much wider display frame in order for the swivel mechanism to work.

Dell, however, managed to integrate this into the design so the frame doesn't look out of place, the Duo being one attractive computer.

Hardware-wise, apart from the 10-inch touchscreen, things seem to be pretty much standard, as the Duo features a dual-core Atom N550 processor, although other details are not known at this moment.

When the Duo will be launched at least three colorways will be available, Dell showcasing red, blue and black versions of it, but, unfortunately, this all we know regarding availability and pricing. (via engadget)



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