CNET First Look: Dell Inspiron Duo
REVIEW FROM CNET: Unlike traditional convertible tablets, which have screens that rotate 180 degrees horizontally, the Inspiron Duo screen flips 180 degrees vertically--hinged in the middle of the lid. When the screen is flipped over and the lid closed, the system launches a touch-friendly interface for interacting with photos, videos, and music (and returns to the basic Windows desktop when the transformation is reversed). The flipping motion worked well on our demo unit, although the hinge felt a little loose. You have to take care to turn the screen only in the correct direction, essentially pushing the top of the screen back through the lid. Also, the screen occasionally collided with the keyboard with an audible thunk if we weren't careful about opening the laptop body wide enough for proper clearance. The touch interface has large, finger-friendly icons for photos, video, e-books, a paint program, and more. But the response time when launching tablet-based apps was painfully slow. Thanks to a Broadcom HD chip, video playback was smooth after the first few jittery seconds, but the photo gallery program's pinch-to-zoom function was sluggish. The interfaces for the different parts of this media hub, however, are pleasingly clean and simple. With zippier hardware it could be a solid multimedia product, and the built-in speakers were surprisingly loud--good enough, at least, for movie playback to a small audience. But even better-sounding was the optional JBL speaker <b>...</b>
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