Over the last few years, computer manufacturers have been perfecting the science of mobile computing and as a result, these devices have become more sophisticated and cheaper to buy.
With the latest releases it is clear to see that this niche of the computer industry is booming and demand is higher than ever.
As a result, the manufacturers are now releasing portable machines at competitive prices making it the ideal time to consider purchasing such a device.
The convertible tablet pc is a perfect example.
Once the tool of only the most well-financed business types, it is now available for a price similar to that of a mid-high level laptop.
The dual functionality of these machines is astounding with the ability to turn your laptop into a handheld touch screen tablet in seconds.
Many of the earlier models suffered from the restriction of only being able to use a stylus for direct input to through the screen, however, most modern devices allow for finger touch input too.
With the arrival of the Apple iPad, this technology has improved greatly and as the Apple iPad restricts your ability to run heavy resource hungry applications like graphics processors, these convertible tablet pc laptops provide an ideal solution.
In tablet mode you can input handwritten notes and have them converted to typed text or even draw graphs and charts and store them on your machine for later.
Mobility is what sets these machines apart from the competition.
One drawback of the conventional laptop or net-book is the difficulty in using such a device, on say a train, if you do not have a seat at a table.
However, with a convertible pc you can change to tablet mode and easily continue working using the screen to input your data.
Some tablets work better than others.
You must carefully chose the right one and ensure you get good value for money.
Handwritten text recognition may not be as good on some machines as others, or some machines may be thicker and heavier than similar non-convertible laptops.