Also present at Computex 2012 Taipei, Toshiba showed the world its original formats of Windows 8 devices. These include mostly hybrid devices and convertible tablets, like the ones pictured below. No specs, release dates or other similar details were revealed, but the folks of The Verge got some quality time with those prototypes.
One of them is a slate with a detachable keyboard dock, a format that we saw already a bunch of times used by ASUS. Samsung and Acer have similar designs planned for Windows 8, so it’s no shock that Toshiba came up with ne as well. The Toshiba keyboard dock also provides extra ports (3 USB ports, HDMI) and extra battery. The other prototype showcased by the company is a slider-style unit with a keyboard that stays attached all the time. You can simply slide the keyboard under the screen if you want to use the tablet by itself.
This reminds me a bit of the ASUS Eee Pad Slider, but it’s not exactly the same format. Toshiba also had at its booth a notebook prototype with a touch display, but that one wasn’t a tablet. It’s just an added means of controlling the notebook. So, this is what Windows 8 is about so far: detachable keyboards, sliders and the inability to get rid of physical input once and for all. Is that a plus or a minus?
