Hybrids for laptop lovers

Asus Transformer Book TX300

Cnet rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 The good: The Transformer Book TX300 is a rare hybrid with a Core i7 CPU, a highresolution screen, and smart dual hard drives — there’s an SSD in the tablet half, and a larger hard drive in the keyboard base. The bad: The system is awkwardly topheavy, and you feel as if you’re fighting the touch-pad at every turn. The cost: $1,430 to $1,529 The bottom line: Asus adds a lot of what we look for in a hybrid to the Transformer Book, but no one has yet nailed the perfect laptop-tablet combo.

Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S

Cnet rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 The good: The IdeaPad Yoga 11S is a great 11-inch ultraportable touch-screen laptop that also has a flip-around display for tablet and hybrid use. The bad: Recent 11-inch laptops from Apple and Sony have raised the bar for ultra-portables, especially when it comes to battery life. The Yoga 11S needs an upgrade to Intel’s latest processors. The cost: $1,000 The bottom line: Like the 13-inch model, the 11-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11S is a useful hybrid that doesn’t forget it’s a laptop first, but it’s stuck with what feels like old hardware for now.

Lenovo ThinkPad Helix

Cnet rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 The good: The ThinkPad Helix is a solidly built laptop-tablet hybrid with all the security features your IT department needs. Thanks to dual batteries in the tablet and keyboard base, it can run for a full workday. The bad: The Helix is stuck with Intel’s less-efficient previous generation of CPUs, making it feel especially expensive. The cost: $1,583 The bottom line: Even with the best detachable-screen hybrid hinge we’ve seen, the older CPU and high price make the Lenovo ThinkPad Helix a hybrid for a select audience only.

Dell XPS 12

Cnet rating: 4 stars out of 5 The good: The XPS 12 is a slim rotating-screen hybrid with a high-resolution display and improved battery life. The bad: The accelerometer can get confused when you’re flipping the screen around, and the fan gets very loud. It also lacks an SD card slot and HDMI output. The cost: $1,200 The bottom line: This updated version of Dell’s XPS 12 hybrid adds newer CPUs for improved battery life, but still works better as a laptop than a tablet.

These Cnet staff members contributed to this report: senior editors Dan Ackerman and Laura K. Cucullu. For more reviews of personal technology products, visit www.cnet.com.