And it has great themes too. Like this from Pixel Union.

It’s the navigation that captured attention, I can imagine it being inspired by the secret compartment of a 1950′s Danish desk (you know, one of those that never sells for £550 on eBay but never comes down in price). Or perhaps a trip to Ikea, and all those cubby holes in Pax wardrobes?

Or a Muji desk tidy even? Perhaps it’s the tidiest top nav in the world?

Sure there’s all sorts of possibilities for using them at work, at home and on the move. Yes, reading a book looks like it might be a whole new experience. And wow, it don’t half look damn good to boot.

But really, cynical me tells myself, it’s just a netbook without a keyboard. There’s nothing I can do on an iPad that I couldn’t do on my netbook, right? It’s essentially the same thing but with a touch screen instead of a touch pad? And some fancy apps to make certain tasks much easier.

At £400 and upwards, and with the Apple illusion shattered in front of me, I’d brushed any benefits of an iPad under the carpet.

And then I saw this and got a bit excited. Someone’s made an iPad with a keyboard, hurrah!!

The question is, does the Dell Inspiron Duo Tablet PC represent a trumping of the Apple iPad with a tablet that doubles as a mini-laptop, or is it a flawed attempt to jump on to a bandwagon with splintered, wooden wheels. (Dell have previous with this type of innovation, see Studio Hybrid PCs which are on paper fantastic but in practice a nightmare).

Because underneath the flash film and the fancy flipping of their new toy, what Dell have created is actually something that doubles the price of a netbook and and perhaps only turns it into only a glorified digital photo frame. Having been burned by a HTC HD2 running on Windows Mobile 6.5, I know what it’s like to have an extraordinary piece of kit that sat in your hand that you can’t use to it’s potential should you have an eternity to try to find an app for it. Does Dell have access to useful apps? Or is it simply touch screen Windows 7?

What Apple embraced with the iPhone and the iPad wasn’t simply good technology (which is undoubtedly is) but also great partnerships and a plethora of applications for everyone’s needs and tastes (remember PlayStation versus N64? Sony embraced content providers and the access to the wealth of games on PlayStation saw the PlayStation brand survive the threat of Nintendo, SEGA and Microsoft).

Whether Dell’s Inspiron Duo Tablet PC ends up eating into Apple’s market share or not might depend on it’s success at trying to be many things to many people. It’s certainly a nice idea, but the proof is in the pudding, and this is a pudding that people will be queuing up to call a damp squib.

The Philco PC is possibly the quirkiest PC design I've ever seen

Wow was about all I could say when I saw this little number today (via Retrotogo). I bought a Dell Studio Hybrid earlier this year and I love it for the space it saves, but this blows it away in terms of style and elegance.

It’s just a concept at the moment but if this design becomes a physical reality then I’d certainly like to see one in my studio. I love the screen based on a 1950s television design and the compact CPU unit with chunky dial and angled legs.

From the typewriter inspired buttons to the bevelled mouse and spirally telephone wire its takes vintage design and adds some modern oomph. I wonder if like the Dell Studio Hybrid this PC will require notebook parts in order to fit inside the slimline case though, which could be to the detriment of graphics card and upgradeability.

I’ve no idea on price or spec but I reckon I’ll have a good chunk of next year to save up!

Philco PC from Dave Schultze on Vimeo.