The tech fundie of today is the literal kid-in-a-candystore. With different devices built for damn near every specific function, the decision to purchase a device is getting harder and harder by the minute.
With this said though, I must emphasize that not all devices are created equal.

Enter the Modbook Pro-X. This bespoke 15.4 inch Apple tablet is packing some big guns underneath that demure black sweater. Firstly the retina display beats out the OEM tablet competition with a 2 880 x 1 800 pixel resolution driven by the NVIDIA GeForce GT750M GPU, a 2.8GHZ Intel Core i7 CPU with top-end options of 32GB of 1600mhz RAM and a 2TB flash storage drive. These specs may be vaguely reminiscent of a decent mid-range gaming desktop, but those in the know (ahem…Apple Gurus) will undoubtedly lambast me for not recognizing the innards of the MacBook Pro and I will subsequently ignore their neckbeards off while I prop a martini on the CD-drive of my trusty ol’ PC.

As a modder, I am no stranger to the manner of blood sacrifice that brought about this desktop-beating tablet. ModBook specializes in taking Apple laptops and repurposing them into “ultra-tablets” (or super tabs ©). Don’t believe that they just snap a MacBook in half and twist it around though. Their wizardry incorporates custom firmware to keep the Mac experience as comfortable as possible and some neat keybars on the back for seamless control when the device is held in both hands.

Speaking of snapping a laptop in half and twisting it around, one may consider the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2 pro. While this device may boast a larger pixel resolution (3 200 x 1 800), the Modbook has it trumped in power. The Lenovo ships with a not-too-shabby 1.6GHZ Intel Core i5 CPU, a comparably ridiculous 128GB SSD and a paltry 4GB of RAM. There is also a vast difference in the touch digitizers used. The Lenovo supports rudimentary touch controls which is not to be scoffed at when the device is running a full build of the outgoing Windows 8 OS, but once again the ModBook escalates the friendly game of cricket into an ice-hockey jamboree by bringing a touch digitizer which would shame a top of the range drawing pad before flipping the surprised opponent the bird with its rear-mounted keybars and an optional case that moonlights as a full keyboard.

Obviously the underpowered Lenovo was not designed as a graphic designer’s powerhouse like the Modbook was, but it should at least keep up with a modest Photoshop project or a basic Cinema4d model. Thankfully this also reflects in the pricing. The Lenovo will set you back just over R10 000 and the ModBook will cost you a.) the price of a MacBook Pro and b.) the R20 000 fee that ModBook charges for the conversion.

All-in-all, for the graphic designer on the move with some spare thousands to spare, the combination of high-end drawing tablet and fully featured Mac OS in one truly makes this a must have. For the milder user, the Lenovo will work perfectly fine if paired with a decent USB mouse.

Get it: R10 000 – R20 000
From: www.kickstarter.com/projects/modbook/modbook-pro-x-154-retina-quad-core-mac-os-x-tablet