HYBRID WINDOWS 8 PCS IN BANGLADESH: Is it worth the kidney you're planning to sell?

The Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro

Are you in need of a good laptop? And the idea of a tablet fascinates you as well? Just imagine carrying a light device that functions as both. PC manufacturers are well aware of the growing needs of the general public these days. Microsoft, Asus, Lenovo, Samsung and other top brands are already showcasing their premium hybrid PCs, which are also called convertibles or 2-in-1 PCs. These laptops have touch panels on their screens. In Bangladesh, however, these brilliant pieces of hardware are still a rare sight.
The early hybrid PCs were not exactly a joy to use. The tide has turned with the advent of Windows 8. The stunning Microsoft Surface range of hybrid laptops has interested many other manufacturers to follow suit. The price, though, can be a tricky issue here, since the manufacturers have to make their device work both as a powerful laptop and a good tablet. Different compromises have to be made to fit the requirements of the average user: weight, dimensions, processing capability, screen resolution and of course, battery life.
Let us look at few of the best options available.
The latest Surface Pro 3 by Microsoft can cost over Taka 1,10,000 (price varies according to storage size) which is similar to the price of an ultrabook. The 12-inch slim and sleek device comes with Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 processors and storages starting from 64GB SSDs.The Type-Cover keyboard, a very elegant and slim option, adds around Taka 8,000-10,000 extra. It even has a pen for touch input, which can come handy for taking notes or drawing. Basically this is the Ferrari of the bunch out there, with an amazing blend of beauty and power. Say hello to gaming and real graphics designing on a tablet!
Another attractive option is the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 Pro which you can get for around Taka 96,000. It comes with 1.6GHz Intel Core i7 4200U, a 4GB DDR3 SDRAM and 128GB SSD hard drive. As the name suggests, this beast can be hinged in many different angles.
A cheaper option and a best seller for ASUS would be the Transformer Book T100. For any tech enthusiast with a tight budget, this device would be a gem. Powered by a speedy Bay Trail quad-core Atom processor, this would be fairly suitable for casual use. It packs 2 gigs of RAM, 32 or 64 GB SSD (Micro SD card supported) and a 10 inch screen. It even houses a 500 GB hard disk in its keyboard part, which is detachable. This model is already available in Bangladesh with a one-year warranty and costs around Taka 35,000. One could even play Skyrim (with low settings) or Dota 2 smoothly with this device! Lenovo Miix 2 and Dell Venue 11 are also attractive yet, inexpensive options with specs similar to the T100.
But the destiny of these hybrid PCs all comes down to the availability of these products. The Bangladeshi consumers can only order most of these devices from abroad since they are not yet being highlighted in our part of the globe. Some of them are available in BCS Computer City, but not elsewhere in the country. To the average Bangladeshi crowd, these devices can truly be popular, provided that the price remains competitive. A good customer care service is also a necessity, since these devices have a very different and more compact architecture than normal laptops or tablets.
So, can the wide range of Android tablets and iPads be replaced by these seemingly more practical devices? Only time can answer that.