New Kogan 4-in-1 Win 10 notebook with stylus at $399 challenges cheapest iPad

Kogan has launched the Kogan Atlas 13” C300 Convertible Notebook, which it claims is its first Windows 10 convertible notebook, complete with stylus, that can turn into a tablet when you swivel the keyboard 360-degrees to sit behind the screen.

At a pre-sale price of AU $399 (not including $19 delivery to metro addresses), you obviously won't find Intel Core i5 or i7 processors running the show, but then you won't find a four figure price point being asked, either.

Equipped with an Intel Celeron N3450 Quad-core processor, a 13.3" display with 1920x1080 IPS resolution, Windows 10 Home, Windows Ink compatible touch pen, 4GB RAM, 64GB eMMC hard drive with SSD Expansion Slot, Wi-Fi AC and 5000mAH battery size, you clearly have power to do the everyday computing done in homes, offices and schools.

{loadposition alex08}Of course, if you are a hard-core gamer, you'll already have a powerful PC rig you constantly upgrade with better parts as time goes by.

And, if you're a serious graphic designer, video editor or user of intensive computing beyond the everyday web browsing, office apps, casual gaming and educational content for students, then you'll presumably want a much more powerful and more expensive notebook or desktop, but for everyday computing, Kogan's new convertible Atlas C300 looks like it will do the job just fine.

Naturally, Windows 10 offers built-in Internet security, but you'll likely want Norton Security or its equivalents from companies like Trend Micro, Kaspersky, BitDefender and others, as well as a MalwareBytes Premium subscription to stay safe online.

I'd also highly recommend using either the full paid Acronis True Image 2018, or the upcoming free Acronis anti-ransomware protection software (from later this January) for total Windows peace of mind computing, but that's true of any computer of any size running any modern version of Windows.

Kogan itself bills the Atlas 13” C300 Convertible Notebook as "the perfect device for Aussie customers at home, work or school. The notebook can also turn into a tablet for those that are on-the-go."

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The man who knows 'y' is Kogan.com Product Manager, Sergiy Bobrovnychyy, who said: “Our news feeds have been flooded with the latest devices and consumer gadgets from CES 2018. Although impressive, the latest gadgets are often too expensive for many Australians.

“Our mission is to give Aussies access to the latest in-demand technology at an affordable price. We take great pride in our ability to cut out the middlemen and pass on the best savings to our customers.

“We are kicking off the new year with a great addition to the Atlas range. The Kogan Atlas 13” C300 Convertible Notebook is the first convertible laptop we have released, and it’s available at a fraction of the price of its competitors,” Bobrovnychyy concluded wisely and y-sely.

As for Windows 10 tablet computing, Windows 10 on a convertible notebook, and on some models, a detachable screen, along with a stylus, is the version of Windows and hardware that the original Tablet PC envisaged all those years ago, when it debuted running on top of Windows XP and was introduced to the world by Bill Gates.

Had the today's Windows 10 tablet PCs debuted back then in the format we have them now, they'd have taken the world by storm as Gates had hoped, and which the iPhone and iPad have done since 2007 and 2010, respectively.

Since iPad came along to show Windows OEM PC makers how to re-imagine the portable computing experience, there have been many attempts to bring Windows to that size, with enough power to replicate the desktop experience while having as slim a profile and long enough battery life to be a tablet.

Windows 10 still works best with a keyboard and mouse as that is its original foundation, and with Windows 10 has finally having integrated multi-touch as much as possible, it offers the most complete Windows multi-touch, stylus, keyboard and mouse computing experience yet.

Its biggest competitor is Apple's iPad, then Macs, Chromebooks, notebooks running Linux and, and, to a much lesser extent, Android tablets.

And this is where consumers have never more choices at these low, sub-$500 price points than ever before. If you're an everyday computing user, who surfs the web, uses social media, does some work in Microsoft Office apps, watches TV shows and movies and more, any of the platforms I've mentioned thus far can do that.

Some swear by the iPad experience, others insist that for them, the traditional computing environment Windows 10 provides runs the apps they need and are used to, while Linux has its fans and Chromebooks are widely used in education, but are perfectly fine for general computing, office work and education too, especially if it is a new model that can also run Android apps.

So ultimately, the decision is yours. Is Kogan's new Windows 10 convertible tablet enough to sway you from an iPad purchase, or something else?

Or do you need more grunt that sub $500 Windows 10 notebooks and iPads can provide, and seek more powerful models?

Never before have we had so many useful choices, so whichever app, hardware and accessory ecosystem you go for, even if it across multiple devices at your disposal in the home, office and school, you should find yourself making a good decision - and at these prices, if you change your mind, or need two devices of different types for better productivity, it has never been more affordable to do so.

You'll find Kogan's new Atlas here. 

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