Samsung teases possible Windows 8 notebook/tablet hybrid in cryptic new video

A Samsung video could show a Transformer-style tablet/laptop hybrid running Windows 8, set for launch at the IFA 2012 show.

Samsung has released a teaser video for a forthcoming Windows 8 machine, but concentrates more on images showing what it calls the “evolution of technology” than the device itself. For this reason, it’s a mystery as to exactly what the new product will be.

Published on the Samsung Notebook YouTube channel, one could assume we’re seeing a notebook, but when taking a closer look at the video, there are some areas that indicate it’s going to be something more exciting.

Pause the video below at 25-seconds and you’ll see what appears to be the screen bezel, but its glossy finish suggests that it could be a tablet rather than a laptop. CNet UK agrees, and speculates that Samsung may release an Asus Transformer-style tablet with a keyboard dock.

The image above shows the keyboard, but doesn’t give anything else away, however the other snap below shows something considerably more intriguing. At first glance, it could be the cover to a port, but why would Samsung highlight such a mundane feature in its teaser video?

It wouldn’t; so what if it’s the top of an S-Pen stylus, like that found on the Galaxy Note 10.1, just waiting to be unsheathed?

If you’re thinking this is all very unlikely, Samsung previewed just such a device at the Computex show in Taiwan just before the summer. It was named the Series 5 Hybrid, and it had a detachable 11-inch tablet screen section, plus a keyboard dock with a very similar layout to that seen above.

The S-Pen stylus was indeed included, and Windows 8 was the operating system in question. Other possible features include a 1080p screen resolution, an 8-megapixel camera and 3G connectivity.

Yes, the video says the design of what we’re seeing could be subject to change, but Samsung is expected to reveal its new notebook during the IFA 2012 show next week, so there isn’t much time to start tweaking it between now and then.

The IFA show begins on August 31 and runs until September 5, however Samsung has scheduled two press conferences just before it begins, on August 29 and August 30.