Revealing a spate of new tablet computers and PCs at a company press event in London (England) yesterday (20 June), South Korean technology giants Samsung have revealed a hybrid tablet that contains a very unique selling point – with the ability to run both the Windows 8 and Android operating system from first starting the device.
The ‘Samsung ATIV Q’ is amongst a range of nine new devices that were unveiled at the show, with the ’13-inch screen’ product stealing the show with its notable ability to operate on both competing systems.
The product is noted as containing the ability to ‘switch between’ using Microsoft or Google’s operating systems instantaneously, along with ‘merging’ features that see apps from one operating system being ‘pinned’ to the home screen of another.
Davies Murphy Group ‘principal technology analyst’ Chris Green summarised his opinion on the groundbreaking feature: “It’s a very cost-effective way for manufacturers to offer extra value to consumers at a time when it’s very hard to differentiate benefits from one device to another. You can tap into the industry-standard Windows productivity solutions – from Office to third-party programs – as well as all the mobile apps of Google’s system. It’s the logical next step.”
Elsewhere, the ATIV Q is noted as being able to play back in ‘qHD+ 3200 x 1800′ resolution with a maximum nine hours’ worth of battery life, whilst ‘withstanding the brightness’ of outdoor sunlight and adjusting its screen settings when needed for this ‘environmental’ requirement, ‘sensing’ when it needs to change.
Physically, the 1.29kg and 13.9mm thick metallic product was also revealed to have the ability to able to convert its ‘shape’ between 4 different modes: ‘tablet’, ‘typing’, ‘writing’, and ‘floating stand’, utilising the attached keyboard.
Other products revealed at the show included a 4G swappable-lens camera, an ATIV Tab 3 claimed to be the thinnest tablet running Windows 8, a smartphone containing a lens capable of zooming to 10x, and a waterproof version of the Samsung Galaxy S4, amongst others. Despite some of those features, though, the main attraction will be the ability to use two operating systems on the same device, setting a likely precedent for some future products. Just don’t expect Apple to co-operate any time soon…
[…] the ‘most recent innovation’ of a ‘hybrid’ product (based on a tablet computer) has over the past year developed from tablet/smartphone (a ‘phablet’, most notably […]