People no longer have to think whether it is possible to combine a laptop and a tablet. Sony already did that with their latest Sony Vaio Flip PC. As the market continues to see new lines of hybrids, companies like Samsung still proceed on releasing higher end notebooks like the Samsung Series 9. The question now boils to: which product is better? Should people go for a hybrid tablet-laptop or an ultrabook?

Sony Vaio Flip PC

Sony recently revealed its Vaio Flip line. As the name implies, the notebook can transform into a tablet. It literally flips to give a different user format. The Sony Vaio Flip series works much like Lenovo's well received Yoga Line. The device features a two-way hinge that can rotate all the way back to form a tablet.

The main problem users had with the Lenovo Yoga is the keyboard. When not in use, it ends up protruding from under the tablet. This can be uncomfortable and awkward for some people to work with.

Sony solves that problem.

The Flip adds another hinge to the middle of the upper lid. This forms a horizontal line across. The lid folds according to the line. This allows users to tilt the screen back. Initially, the device will fold into a kiosk mode. The screen points away from the touch pad and the keyboard and right from the back of the system.

People can push the lid to change the mode to slate-like. Different from the Yoga, Sony's Vaio Flip places the keyboard inside the device. This prevents any awkwardness when transformed into a slate. The device works similarly to Dell's XPS 12. It sports a horizontal center hinge although Dell's device rotates the whole screen using a static outer rim.

The Vaio Flip is also available in three models: 13, 14 and 15 inches. This makes the Flip series a midsize hybrid. All models are well-built and slim. They also feature a high-end design comprised of black aluminum and silver. Other specs include optional active pen stylus, backlist keyboard and Nvidia graphics for 14 and 15-inch models.

The good thing about the Flip is that it really transforms into a hard shell personal computer. No one will be able to tell it is a part-time tablet without flipping it. It will be quite a sometime before people reach a verdict about the Flip overall.

One thing is for sure though: this hybrid represents how a computing device should be as engineered as possible.

Samsung Series 9

On the other side of the tablet market is ultrabooks. Similar to smartphones and tablets, there is growing interest over ultrabooks especially with their high end design and computing performance. The introduction of Haswell chips extending battery life more than 10 hours also added to their value.

Samsung is joining the party with Series 9. The series is already the third generation of the line. The updated lineup runs on an Intel dual-core Ivy Bridge processor. This includes Intel Core i7-3517U with two cores, integrated Intel GMA HD 4000 Graphics and a base clock of 1.9 GHz.

The design features a slim aluminum body. The cover uses the same material aircrafts are made of. This makes it portable, light and durable. One of the primary driving factors for ultrabooks is their display. This series comes with matte PLS screen plus 1600x900 pixels (HD+) support. Luminance is reported at 400 cd/m². Other specs include an mSATA-SSD with a 256 GB capacity and 4 GB of DDR3 RAM.