iTech: Have tablets taken over?

We pit the 'conventional' laptop against the tablet-with-a-keyboard hybrid

WHEN THE FIRST tablet, the iPad, first entered the market it was initially met with a degree of scepticism. Yes it looked good, but what was the point? We had phones and we had laptops. Did we need anything in between. As with most technological advances the early doubters often end up looking foolish. Today tablets are as popular as laptops, if not more so. Affordable and convenient, it is difficult to imagine life before them.
Laptop manufacturers have taken note of tablets' rise in prominence, as tablet makers have addressed peoples' reservations with some of their devices' limitations. The lines between the two are blurring ladies and gents, so we thought we'd compare two of the most contemporary examples out there: The Acer R14 vs. the Samsung TabPro S.
 
ACER R14

What we liked
.    Touch screen: That's right, call us old fashioned but we thought touch screen technology wasn't really suited to a laptop, but we were wrong. While not being wholly necessary it does make life easier.
.    Fully rotatable screen: You can have this any which way round you desire. The screen turns a full 360 degrees, which means technically you can hold it like a big tablet.
.    Connectivity: being a proper laptop it has all the ports you're going to need: USB 3.1 Type-C port, HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports, SD card reader and a USB 2.0 port.

What we didn't
.    You can't call the R14 heavy, but at 1.8 kg, it's not tablet weight.
.    We felt the sound quality wasn't particularly great when watching a movie.

TABPRO S

What we liked
.    Perhaps one of the most capable bits of equipment we've tested. It looks stunning too.
.    The 12-inch screen with a 2,160x1400-pixel display is a perfect size and the sound it emanates is excellent.
.    Most tablet keyboards come separately and cost extra. This one comes bundled in, the keyboard doubling as a screen cover - it's that thin - when you're on the go. Use it as a tablet or just click in the keyboard to turn it into a semi-laptop, it's that easy.

What we didn't
.    Nothing. Seriously. Nothing. The battery life was even decent.

WINNER
On balance, we just feel the TabPro S edges it by being the height of practicality. 
david@khaleejtimes.com