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Can LG get your attention with the Tab-Book 2 hybrid?

LG isn't a widely recognized brand in the PC industryat least not yet. In the Philippines, product shelves are devoid of all-in-ones and
laptops made by LG. Of course, the goal is to get more into public consciousnessand ultimately, into customers' handsand the
Seoul-based company sees the LG Tab-Book 2 slider PC as a step in the right direction. Why else would it give the odd laptop-tablet design
another shot? We must admit, though: The slider feels durable despite its plastic chassis. We're also fond of the sliding mechanism; it's pretty solid, and it provides a reassuring feel when sliding the screen up to expose the keyboard.

READ: Is the LG G Flex curved, self-healing smartphone too gimmicky?

The 11.6-inch touch display with IPS technology is just... wow. Colors pop and horizontal viewing angles are especially wide. It's also bright enough to be used outdoors, and that's rarely the case with PC screens. It also has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, which makes for sharp visuals. LG has clearly done its homework in the display department. As for what's under the hood, the LG Tab-Book 2 slider comes with an Intel Haswell CPU and a solid-state drive. The unit we tested at CES 2014 in Las Vegas was powered by an Intel Core i3 processor, with 4G of RAM and 120GB of storage.

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The Tab-Book 2 runs Windows 8.1. That's good news because the latest computer operating system from Microsoft actually improves on the obvious shortcomings of the previous generation. The new version includes, among other improvements, the much-missed Start button and the option to boot directly to the desktop. Note that there are some downsides: The LG Tab-Book 2 is heavy for its size; the slider design results in a fixed-screen position; there's no palm rest, touchpad, or pointing stick. The missing touchpad we can forgive, but we're wondering why LG skipped the pointing stick on a machine running a full-fledged copy of Windows.

There's no word on pricing or availability at this point, but we wouldn't bet on seeing the LG Tab-Book 2 in local stores at any time soon.