> The newer magnetic keyboards are actually pretty good
What I think I would really like is a detachable keyboard with laptop-style hinges (and maybe a secondary battery). There seem to be a few devices from about a decade ago with that kind of design but they died out in favor of flexible connectors and kickstands.
The newish Apple magnetic keyboards seem pretty good for using on your lap at a conference which was one of my showstoppers for a lot of earlier tablet designs. Though I haven't had a lot of opportunity to try it in practice. And I'm just so used to laptop multi-window that I probably would need to just spend some time adapting.
A more hybrid design seems to make a lot of sense but it just seems to involve compromises on both the laptop and tablet ends. Even the Apple tablets with keyboards probably don't have a lot of advantages over the Air unless you're watching a movie or reading a book on a flight or train.
I'm not imagining much compromise on the tablet side - at least not more than Microsoft's Surface keyboard connector. I'm thinking of thin tabs attached to the hinges slotting into the tablet body.
It would still be pretty compromised as a laptop, but better in that role than current tablet keyboard solutions.
As I say, software differences aside, my experience with the current magnetic Apple keyboard and the touchpad seem pretty good. I'm not sure a probably relatively weak mechanical coupling would be better.
What I think I would really like is a detachable keyboard with laptop-style hinges (and maybe a secondary battery). There seem to be a few devices from about a decade ago with that kind of design but they died out in favor of flexible connectors and kickstands.