Win 8 Touch-Ultrabooks Flirt With Form-Factors

Apple may be coy on touchscreen MacBooks, but PC manufacturers are tipped to be gung-ho on touch-enabled Windows 8 ultrabooks, with a range of form-factors and designs expected later in 2012. Lenovo, Asus and Acer are all said to have finger-friendly models in the pipeline, DigiTimes reports, though limitations around hinge design have apparently forced some creative thinking in what each company's version will look like.

According to sources in the notebook supply chain, current ultrabook hinge designs aren't up to users stabbing at the displays. Right now, the tendency would be for the lid to topple back, but if the hinges were tightened then the lightweight ultraportables might simply rock back altogether.

The solution is more unusual form-factors, such as Lenovo's IdeaPad Yoga, which we tried out at CES last month and which has a 360-degree hinge, though rotating/folding screens and even sliders like Intel's concept model are expected.

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga hands-on:

Asus is believed to be planning a convertible design, running Intel Ivy Bridge processors and Windows 8, while Acer's touch ambitions are more mysterious at this stage. The IdeaPad Yoga, meanwhile, is expected to hit shelves in the second half of 2012.