Dell revives Duo brand with premium Windows 8 convertible notebook

Matthew DeCarlo

Posts: 5,271   +104

Dell has joined the ranks of PC makers showcasing hybrid Windows 8 touch devices during IFA this week, and although that's mostly unsurprising, we imagine few expected to see the Duo revived. In mid-2010, the company made headlines over a relatively novel convertible netbook design that allowed the screen to flip vertically 180-degrees inside the display frame instead of pivoting on a horizontal hinge or, as is more common with today's tablet/notebook combinations, separating from the base entirely.

dell duo xps duo windows

The Inspiron Duo hit shelves by holiday 2010 and although it remained in stock periodically over the following year or so, Dell never really made another push with the design -- at least not until now. The new XPS Duo 12 revisits the concept with a seemingly identical conversion mechanism that flips the display inside out. However, instead of outfitting it with low-end parts, Dell is trying to position the system as a premium offering, complete with machined aluminum, carbon fiber and Corning Gorilla Glass.

dell duo windows

The XPS Duo 12 is said to weigh a tad over three pounds and features a 12-inch 1080p 10-point multitouch display (possibly IPS, but this is unconfirmed) with edge-to-edge glass, Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 and i7 processors, a 256GB SSD, USB 3.0 ports and a mini-DisplayPort connector. Folks at IFA report that it has a solid keyboard, touchpad and build quality, but detailed specs aren't available currently. Likewise, pricing is unknown and will presumably remain that way until we're closer to Windows 8's launch.

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Hell...yes. This design was just ahead of its time, and unlike most other companies which never revisit their old innovations, Dell has the brains to bring back the awesome. Not only is Dell steadily regaining its rep for superior build quality but they may well have the best keyboards currently available - yes, possibly better than the newest Thinkpads which are NOT as good as last year's. This with a 7000 series Radeon or 6xx Nvidia would be something else.
 
The flip screen looks like some thing else to break easy flipping all the time and would not buy any pc with windows 8 on it myself. in my opinion it really sucks, I will stay with windows 7 ultimate
 
The flip screen looks like some thing else to break easy flipping all the time and would not buy any pc with windows 8 on it myself. in my opinion it really sucks, I will stay with windows 7 ultimate

You're the third person I see that posts on an article without knowing the context of it. What is this, don't-read-the-article day?

... complete with machined aluminum, carbon fiber and Corning Gorilla Glass.

Yeah, that will brake rather easily.
 
Interted users can also check VAIO Duo 11 hybrid slate, VAIO Tap 20 'tabletop' ..yeterday dere was an article on it...sounds interesting 2 me
 
The flip screen looks like some thing else to break easy flipping all the time and would not buy any pc with windows 8 on it myself. in my opinion it really sucks, I will stay with windows 7 ultimate

You're the third person I see that posts on an article without knowing the context of it. What is this, don't-read-the-article day?

... complete with machined aluminum, carbon fiber and Corning Gorilla Glass.

Yeah, that will brake rather easily.

hi thanks for your comments I really just looked it over breifly. I liked the machine I was mainly unsure about the hinges that holds the screen in place thanks for clearing that up. I really quit reading when I saw windows 8, I dont know why they can't leave a good OS alone and just upgrade it
 
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