Two in one Tablet

After spending zillions of hours I decided that I would like a two in one laptop to replace my aging tablet and research showed for the price the HP Spectre X2 fitted the bill great.
Screen size 13inch good reviews as a stand alone tablet as well as a laptop, good sound for movies etc whilst in the van and a reasonable battery life.
So great choice at a reasonable price great for when we are away and for at home -------WRONG---------

If you are looking for something on the lines of this DONOT buy this as it has one major problem over almost every other make

It can only be charged from the Mains charger supplied with the machine. NO other charger can be bought which will work as HP have put something in the machine or its programme that will not recognise any other.
This of course means that if you are not on mains hook-up you cannot charge via a 12v connection like you can on almost any other tablet, Yes i know that if you have enough solar panel power you can use an inverter but I dont so would have to run the engine.

There is no mention of course before you buy so although I think that the machine works great at home I am going to have a problem when we look to tour next year not using sites much.

Moan over just have to bite the bullett and save up for a Tablet that can work off of 12v

David

Hi  

Heanorboy wrote:If you are looking for something on the lines of this DONOT buy this as it has one major problem over almost every other make

It can only be charged from the Mains charger supplied with the machine.

That has been mentioned on the forum before. It's because there is a chip in the power supply that "talks" to the machine via a third wire in the power plug. HP are certainly not the only make to do this.

You can still use it on the move though, all you need is a small inverter for the PSU or look for a dedicated 12V charger. I'd be surprised if HP didn't make a car charger and you'll probably find a third party charger manufacturer that has "cracked" the third wire issue.

Brod

Hi

Is this  the sort off thing you are looking for?

https://smartparts.co.uk/catalog/car_dc_adapters?brand=HP&name=Spectre+X2

Brod

PS Opps just noticed they are all out of stock

It could be but have you noticed that they dont have any my guess is they couldnt override whatever HP put in the machine
David

Hi  

Heanorboy wrote: my guess is they couldnt override whatever HP put in the machine

Humm  

Amazon appear to have a mains version available:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultrabook-13-3010dx-719309-003-721092-001-HSTNN-DA35/dp/B00LENSXRE

No good to you but they must have cracked the "smart"  PSU bit in order to make a mains version so there is no reason in principle why they couldn't make a 12V one.

Keep looking but in the mean time it looks as if the small inverter is the way to go.

Brod

brodco wrote:Hi  

Heanorboy wrote: my guess is they couldnt override whatever HP put in the machine

Humm  

Amazon appear to have a mains version available:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultrabook-13-3010dx-719309-003-721092-001-HSTNN-DA35/dp/B00LENSXRE

No good to you but they must have cracked the "smart"  PSU bit in order to make a mains version so there is no reason in principle why they couldn't make a 12V one.

Keep looking but in the mean time it looks as if the small inverter is the way to go.

Brod

Brod

Many many thanks for looking into this and have taken a long look at what you have found.
HP like to confuse I am sure as what you found was to power the X2 Ultrabook which is a laptop not a two in one and has a simple plug in connector whereas the Spectre X2 has to take the charge through a usb c connector one on each side of the screen (all other things have to be done thro these as well. I have had prolonged correspondence with HP who tell me that the charger for this is a clever bit of kit that charges at 2 different voltages (no idea well beyond me) and that HP have made it this way to protect the machine from damage from aftermarket chargers (yes we all know what that means) and there are no plans to bring out in car charger as on of the voltages is 14.5v so above the 12v in a car battery.
RE the chip in the charger you may well be right, but the information I got from HP was that whatever it is it is in the tablet itself maybe due to the usb c connection maybe.

Don't really want to use an invertor as I thought they used quite a bit of the battery and without solar panel only way to charge up would mean a drive around
David

I got a Toshiba click mini about a year age for less than £200. Poor keyboard but works well as a tablet. Can be charged with any usb.

Good for camping but not powerful enough as a the home pc/laptop.

A small inverter should do the trick. You can charge as you drive around, there is no issue if you are on hook up. If just parked up, consumption would probably not be much more than having the TV on. Not perfect, but a solution. Worth giving it a try, especially if you could borrow one.

Update well sort of 
The HP actually lasted just about 1 month outside of the 12 month warranty and then started "freezing" (I think that that was the term used)
And guess what found out (or rather my son did for me) that this was a very common fault with this model and it was dropped by HP after only a few months told by the boys at Worcester Uni that needs a new motherboard 

Sods (or Batemans) law again.

So come on you younger or more up to date non ice age folks what is a two in one with 12/5v recharge that don't cost a fortune so that rules out I Pads ideas welcome folks

David

Not actually a 2in1 but my Galaxy tablet A is brilliant. It's a quality product with a 10in screen, charges from usb, small enough to carry and watch TV anywhere - even in bed..:)
Rich.

I can second that. I've had one for 2 years now. Only complaint I have now is internal storage. It's not the tablets fault but thd app designers. More and more are removing the option to transfer storage to the SD card.

Cant you tell I am not one to jump to a quick decision yes I am useless in fact
Anyway now if you look on Amazon you can get the Fire 10 HD in their sale for £110 
it always get a great review so I am thinking that with a Bluetooth keyboard case for about £40 or less not a bad choice 
I am nuts or what  
David

David , my wife has the fire 10 and they apparently have a problem with the charging socket becoming disconnected from the motherboard. Hers stopped charging at 9 months old with light use and as usual could not find the receipt !  A repair cost more  than a new tablet and she was told they see hundreds with the same issue.  She replaced it with a Samsung tab 1 and so far so good . My own Samsung tab is now over 5 years old and still going strong....

Different route finally chosen I decided on the Asus 10 inch Chrome just need to work out how to use it now.

Different route finally chosen I decided on the Asus 10 inch Chrome just need to work out how to use it now.

I can confirm that the magnetic connectors are great. Far better than having to put in and out the micro usb. I use them for all my electronic appliances now. There is no problem with lining the usb correctly as the magnets pull the device and connector together. So much easier.