Why it matters to you
Your options for a detachable 2-in-1 should double soon, as Porsche Design’s Book One is seeking certification from the FCC.
Microsoft’s Surface Book was the first Windows 10 2-in-1 that used a clamshell notebook design with a display that could detach from a keyboard base and work as a stand-alone tablet. It’s an expensive design that’s rumored to revert to a traditional notebook in its next iteration.
The team over at Porsche Design, however, doesn’t have the same alleged qualms about offering up a pricey machine. The Book One is an expensive detachable in the same vein as today’s Surface Book , and it was just submitted to the Federal Communications Commission for certification, as Liliputing reports.
More: Porsche Design’s sleek 2-in-1 Windows 10 PC boasts detachable keyboard
The Porsche Design machine is notable for a few reasons. First, it offers a unique hinge design that allows its display to not only detach in a similar fashion to the Surface Book, but also to flip around like 360-degree convertible 2-in-1s. That design offers the best of both worlds — a thin-and-light tablet along with the convenience of simply being able to rotate the screen into tablet mode.
Second, the Book One is a very expensive machine, with a $2,495 price tag for its standard configuration that includes a Core i7-7500U CPU, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB PCIe SSD. That makes it nearly as expensive as the equivalent Surface Book with Performance Base, which is itself the most expensive Windows 10 2-in-1 on the market.
As Liliputing points out, the FCC documentation offers up a few tantalizing details. For example, while the Book One specs clarify that the tablet portion has a 3,235mAh 7.6v battery, for 25 watt-hours, while the keyboard dock has a 2,945mAh 15.4v battery, for 45 watt-hours. A total of 70 watt-hours should give the Book One battery life that falls between the original Surface Book and the Performance Base version.
In addition, the Book One is being manufactured by Quanta, a Taiwanese manufacturer. While none of that is particularly surprising or intriguing information, the very fact that it received FCC certification means that the machine would appear to be on track for its April release. If the recent Surface Book rumors hold true, that’s when we’ll find out about its major competitor, the alleged Surface Book 2.