Hands On: Dell XPS Duo 12

Dell has announced a new Windows 8 touchscreen laptop, the XPS Duo 12, which has a flexible screen that flips round 360 degrees on a cantilever hinge so it can be used liked a tablet. The screen is weighted so it shouldn't take much force to flip the screen towards you when switching from tablet mode to laptop mode.

The XPS Duo 12 was unveiled at the IFA trade show in Berlin and immediately stood out from all the other Windows laptop-tablet hybrids, the vast majority of which have screens that detach from a keyboard dock by being pulled out.

Read more: Windows 8 news | IFA 2012 updates

The XPS Duo 12 uses an almost identical design to the Inspiron Duo, an unsuccessful Windows 7 Atom-equipped touchscreen netbook originally on sale back in late 2010. This new laptop looks more like the recent XPS 13 ultrabook with its aluminium trim and carbon fibre body. It felt reassuringly sturdy in our brief hands-on with a pre-production unit.

The 12.5in touchscreen will have a high resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, the keyboard will be backlit and processor options will include powerful Intel Core i7 chips. As with all the other Windows 8 laptop-tablet hybrid announcements at IFA this year, Dell has yet to confirm either pricing or UK availability dates.