Have you been hearing rumors over the past few years about Apple making a laptop/tablet combo for everyone? It seems at least part of the rumor has gone and gotten itself a patent for itself. Calling it a “convertible MacBook-to-iPad like device,” Patently Apple is reporting that the patent could be for a MacBook type device that would convert to something like an iPad in horizontal mode. As a laptop the screen would be propped open at an angle with a virtual keyboard below it. As a tablet, the screen would slide down on top of the keyboard, enabling Multi-Touch control directly on the screen itself.

This could be a really popular product among business users and the travelling sect specifically, as it would give them the ability to have both a tablet and a laptop all in one. Sure, the iPad docks with built-in keyboards are a great accessory but they still can’t do everything that can be done on a MacBook. Dell and others have their own version of a hybrid laptop/tablet computer available right now, but Apple does not and they probably want in on the market. With reports about iOS 4.2 making the iPad a productivity rival for the MacBook Air and the possibility that a new MacBook Air could be eating into iPad sales, a combination of the two could be a home run for many customers.

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Source: Patently Apple

Authors: _GadgetNews

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