Tablet-laptop hybrid could be way of the future, Lenovo VP says

In an interview with Laptop magazine, Lenovo® vice president Peter Hortensius suggests that innovation in both the tablet and laptop markets is not done yet, and that the two technologies may move closer together than they currently are.

One direction that would bring the technologies together is the tablet-laptop hybrid, which enables the user to plug a detachable tablet computer into a docking station of sorts featuring a physical keyboard. Hortensius cites his company's own IdeaPad® Yoga as an example of where the industry is going.

"It’s part of a vision that says that I don’t necessarily want to carry all these different things," Hortensius says. "I can use it as a tablet -- it’s a pretty reasonable tablet -- and I can use it as a notebook, and it’s a very good notebook."

Hortensius adds that a hybrid system may not be for everyone, as some people prefer to have a dedicated device for specific tasks. But he asserts that most people use their computing devices for a variety of purposes, which could make the hybrid appealing to a wider audience.

Technology writer George Stebben has echoed this prediction for the tablet-laptop hybrid, asserting in an interview with the Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch Radio that such a device could push the burgeoning Ultrabook™ market into the mainstream.