laptop and tablet combination

[Protonred]

Hi
I am looking to buy a laptop / tablet combination. For various reasons I need it to support Windows 7 (will upgrade to 8 and beyond in the near future). Main use, word processing, web and basic medi work (moviemaker etc).
Does anybody have any suggestions?
Many thanks.

 

[Eximo]

What are you willing to pay? And for any touchscreen capable system that is available for sale will almost certainly come with Windows 8.1.

 

[Protonred]

Hi
Between £250-£500, I need it to support Windows 7 for now.I understand that this might be tricky and TBH I have resigned myself to getting a touch screen Windows 7 laptop instead of the tablet / laptop combination due to the OS issue.
Many thanks.

 

[Protonred]

The laptops are for an educational environment hence the need to stay with Windows 7 for now to keep uniformity across the site. I would like to push us to more tablet / laptop combination based computing and word processing however I am struggling to find a solution that will keep all parties happy.
Many thanks

 

[Eximo]

Touch screens have been supported since Windows XP really, but the OS isn't designed around it, so some things will be not very friendly. (Size of buttons being the most common complaint)

That is a very low budget for the type of technology you are looking for.

Touchscreen convertibles generally start around 1000 and go up from there. Cheap touchscreen laptops exist, but are generally more expensive as well.

If this is for education purposes, you might want to start with a vendor and ask them what they have. (Might even be able to get a discount or a much cheaper leasing program out of them, and you will have to get them to provide Windows 7 in place of 8.1, which may be free)

Some examples in the price range:
Touch capable laptops:
http/www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15-5548-laptop/pd?oc=cn54808&model_id=inspiron-15-5548-laptop
http/www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15-3542-laptop/pd?oc=bn54244&model_id=inspiron-15-3542-laptop

True convertible:
http/www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-13-7347-laptop/pd?oc=bn73405&model_id=inspiron-13-7347-laptop

Struck out on Amazon, and I imagine most other OEM vendors will have similar prices.

 

[Protonred]

Many thanks for your answer. What issues may arise from converting the OS on a laptop / tablet machine which ships with Windows 8 to Windows 7 OS?

 

[Eximo]

No issues really. Windows 7 has a touch enabled mode that should be adequate. But it won't have the big friendly close buttons and other minor changes that make touch screens work well.

Might be minor issues with drivers with some of the absolute latest hardware, but you can always get the 8.1 drivers and see if they will install. Not much difference between Windows 7 SP1 (6.1.7601), Windows 8 (6.2.9200), and Windows 8.1 (6.3.9600)