Is Lenovo IdeaPad U1 a tablet? Or is it a netbook? Maybe it’s the best of both… By thinking almost literally outside the box – at least outside of the casing – the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 reinvents both the tablet and the netbook. A classic must-have gadget geek’s “toy”, it’s an 11.6-inch Windows 7 netbook which screen can be removed and used as a slate running the same OS as Lenovo’s Skylight tablet.

There are separate processors and storage for each: an ARM and 16GB of flash on the tablet; an Intel chip and 128GB SSD on the netbook. The connection between the two isn’t as seamless as we’d like but it’s otherwise a work of digital art. One of experts reviews on the Lenovo IdeaPad U1 is “The 11.6-inch Lenovo U1 is truly innovative, letting you use it as a fully-fledged, Windows 7 netbook or a touchscreen tablet”. IdeaPad U1 price: £500. Please visit Lenovo.com/uk for more information.

The 13.4-inch Dell Adamo XPS is now available for US market. Powered by Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit version), this MacBook Air competitor features an high-definition 16:9 WLED 720p monitor with a 1.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ULV CPU, a 4 GB 800 MHz Dual Channel DDR3 memory, and a 128 GB Solid State Drive. Other features include two USB 2.0 ports, a headphone jack, a webcam and mic for video conference, a Mini DisplayPort, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1. Its Li-Polymer battery can provide up to 5-hours and 17 minutes of operating time. Measuring 340mm x 272mm x 9.99mm and weighing 1.44 kgs, the lightweight Dell Adamo XPS is labeled with price of $1,799.

Asus will soon release their latest Eee PC netbook powered by Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium edition as its operating system. Named as the Asus Eee PC 1101HA-WP, the 11.6-inch netbook features an Intel Atom Z520 processor with a 2 GB RAM, a 250 GB hard drive, and an Intel GMA 500 graphics chipset. The new Asus netbook is equipped with a rechargeable battery that will provide up to 8-hours of operating time. Available in black or white colors, the Asus Eee PC 1101HA-WP retails for $610 (after conversion).