Field guide to Windows 8 hardware

Coming soon, a veritable evolutionary explosion of Windows 8 devices will be bearing down on you. Big small, tablety, not tablety, full of touch, and ready to fold into strange shapes for your general amusement.
Welcome to the Windows 8 Field Guide, an Audubon's Birds-style attempt to help you identify the classifications and subphyla of this odd new computing world. It's not as hard as you think, once you break down the various common types. Be forewarned: these classifications are works in progress, and there could very well be more evolutionary variants coming soon. But, hopefully, this should help classify some of the multipurpose strangeness you're already starting to see on preorder pages.

Of course, you still have laptops, desktops, and tablets. Some of these tablets will have one of two operating systems: Windows 8 or Windows RT.

After that, the classifications get a little more diffused.

What is it? A tablet that turns into a laptop, or a laptop that breaks apart into a tablet. The idea is simple: if there are two pieces that split apart, it's a hybrid. The keyboard base generally has extra ports and connections like USB, as well as an extra battery. The top part's a tablet that's also the screen. Some of these hybrids run Windows 8, while others use the very different and more limited Windows RT. The processors inside can also be vastly different: fast ultrabook-level Intel Core i-series, Intel Atom-based, or Nvidia Tegra.

What is it? Exactly as the name implies, a tablet with a keyboard that may be included with the system, and was specifically designed for it, but isn't a key piece to the system's function. This is different than a hybrid because, in this instance, the keyboard's not an integral part of the system, and doesn't hold extra ports or batteries.

What is it? If it looks like a laptop, and then you can swivel something around and make it more like a tablet, it's a convertible. The key difference between this and a hybrid is that the parts stay together. Convertible laptop/tablets have been around for years, but Windows 8 has given the form new life. These laptops have touch screens, and hinged top lids or screens that can flip or swivel.

What is it? A laptop with a touch screen. This is easy to understand. A lot of existing laptops are being upgraded into Windows 8 versions by adding an extra capacitive touch layer to the screen. The screen works just like a tablet, but is often a bit thicker.

What is it? The world of big, all-in-one desktops with their innards housed in the monitor have been gradually adding touch for years. Many of the remaining all-in-ones that didn't have touch are getting it now in time for Windows 8. It's nearly becoming standard.

What is it? This category unto itself is new, and doesn't have many representatives. Imagine a full-size touch-screen desktop system that you could easily take with you and use with an attached battery. It would be a giant tablet of sorts that could run Windows 8. It could be a versatile kitchen/living room computer, or even a sharable PC in a living room.

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