Although a few of the early Core M-based 2-in-1s are already floating around the ether, Intel has its own 2-in-1 reference design, and we spent some hands on time with the device at IDF 2014.
The display/tablet portion of Llama Mountain is just 7.2 mm thick; for reference, you can see it here compared to a Surface Pro 3 (which is 9.1 mm). The keyboard adds some girth, obviously, but not much -- about 5 or 6 mm more. (There's also a 10-inch version of Llama Mountain that was not on display, and that device is slightly thinner at 6.8 mm.)
It's also quite light; sans dock the tablet weighs 670 g, which is lighter than the Surface Pro 3 (about 793 g).
However, I wasn't enthused about the strength of the whole 2-in-1; a device like the Surface Pro feels sturdy in the hand, and you have some trust in the tablet/keyboard connection. The Llama Mountain device gave me no such confidence. The magnetic connection didn't have that satisfying "snap" when I docked the tablet, and I found myself constantly feeling that I was about to knock the unit out of the dock when I handled it.
Even so, I'll give Intel a pass on that issue for now; this is merely a reference design after all, and this unit hasn't endured the scrutiny of a team of engineers developing the perfect magnetic connection and conducting extensive stress and durability testing.
Core M devices we see in the marketplace will also do away with Llama Mountain's odd way of converting from a closed clamshell to an open laptop mode; you can't just close the lid. Instead, you have to remove the tablet from the dock and then place the tablet and dock on top of one another.
The 12.5-inch display itself (developed by Sharp) is quite fetching, with bright colors and a crisp and impressive 2560 x 1440 resolution. If you're looking at Llama Mountain as a consumption device, that's a great size for watching movies or playing games; when docked, 12.5 inches is plenty large for working up a PowerPoint presentation, typing a document or editing some photos.
Llama Mountain features an 8MP camera on the back and a front webcam of undisclosed resolution. There's also a headphone jack as well as a USB 3.0 Micro-B connector on the bottom of the tablet (where it connects to the dock).
One nifty feature of the silver ODM design is a set of fins that, when you adjust the display back, extend out in order to maintain balance.
We'll be looking forward to getting our hands on finished OEM Core M 2-in-1s, including but not limited to the Acer Aspire Switch 12, HP Envy x2 ($949.99), ASUS ZenBook UX305, Dell Latitude 7000 Series and Lenovo ThinkPad Helix.
Price points will vary quite a bit, but Intel says that about half of Core M 2-in-1s will cost less than $700.
Stay tuned for some benchmark numbers on new Core M machines.
Follow Seth Colaner @SethColaner. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.
