Samsung launches new crossover notebook PC

Samsung Electronics has launched a smart crossover notebook PC in a slate form-factor targeting business-to-business and educational sectors. "New form factors in the PC industry and ultrabooks are going to fuel the PC industry this year as hardware specs are getting stronger," Denzil D'souza, business head of notebooks at Samsung Gulf Electronics, told Gulf News at the unveiling the Slate PC 7 series. He said slates will take mobility to a new level and boost performance as it is a full-blown PC with the mobility of a tablet. It is powered by Intel i5 processor and runs on Windows 7. With the launch of Windows 8, the industry is expected to have a seamless touch interface. The 11.6-inch device, when connected to a docking station, operates as a desktop PC however, the device can also be removed and used as an ultra-portable device. "The tablet is rapidly becoming part of our personal and business PC environment and is currently among the fastest-growing trends in electronics industry. "While tablets have been primarily marketed to consumers, professional users or "prosumers" are expected to adopt tablet technology in greater numbers in the next few years, particularly in retail, health care, finance and education settings," John Jacobs, Director of Notebook Market Research at DisplaySearch, said. He said in 2011 an estimated 25 per cent of tablets will be purchased for business use, double the number seen in 2010. This number is expected to rise dramatically along with continued growth in the consumer segment and grow to around 208 million by 2014. D'souza said, quoting an IDC report, that the UAE PC market has grown around 15 per cent last year mainly due to the growth in notebooks. Samsung, which has a market share of around 7 per cent, is its pinning hopes on new form factors to boost its market share by two percentage points this year.