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Microsoft patent allows a tablet to convert to a laptop or desktop computer

By Alan Friedman

Published: Mar 08, 2012, 3:12 PM

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Microsoft patent allows a tablet to convert to a laptop or desktop computer

Microsoft's patent for a converting tablet

It seems that Microsoft might have been noticing how successful Asus has been with its tablets that convert into a laptop like the Asus Eee Pad Transformer and the Asus Transformer Prime. A newly released patent belonging to the guys in Redmond shows a process that would convert a tablet into a laptop or even a desktop computer with two different processors.

Unlike the Asus tablets, Microsoft would include a processor in the tablet and a separate one in the keyboard. The one in the tablet would be a low power processor, most likely an ARM chip, while the one in the keyboard would focus on performance and might be a speedier ARM chip or perhaps a ULV Intel chip. The Asus tablets have the same processing power whether connected to the keyboard dock or not and only brings additional power to the tablet when connected.

There is some speculation that the patent shows an operating system that also would adjust to docking. This would work by changing the UI from a Metro interface while in tablet mode to the traditional desktop UI as a laptop or desktop PC. The patent says that the device would change from a "resource-conserving computing environment" when in tablet mode to a "resource-intensive computing environment"in the other modes.

source: SlashGear

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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