A hybrid is a laptop which can be converted into a tablet with the use of 360° hinges and a touchscreen display. HP, with its Pavilion x360 Touchsmart laptop, has secured a place in the hybrid race.

The 13.3-inch laptop runs on Windows 8.1 and can be upgraded to Windows 10. It has a 4GB DDR3 RAM and 1TB of hard disk space.

It has two USB 2.0 and one 3.0 port along with one HDMI port and a headphone/mic jack. The device does not come with a CD drive, so an external one would be required if you use such media.

The touchscreen works perfectly and provides for smooth scrolling. With the help of the hinge, the laptop conveniently transforms into a tablet.

As for performance, the device doesn’t lag or heat up too quickly. It comes with built-in BeatsAudio speakers which enrich the listening experience. The integrated Intel graphics card can run games that aren’t too heavy. I ran The Wolf Among Us on it and League of Legends, and experienced absolutely no lag.

However, the battery back-up isn’t that great. I would recommend keeping the charger plugged in for marathon movie or gaming sessions.

At Rs 55,990, the x360 falls into the upper price bracket. But, then, most hybrid laptops are in that category. On the whole, the device packs a lot of promise but the price might discourage some.