Switched On: Hinging on success

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. The announcement of the Acer Aspire R7 was the best example of the company's assertion that it was moving from computers designed with touch to computers designed for touch. But if having a fancy, even unprecedented, hinge is what defines a touch-optimized notebook, Acer is a bit late to the party. Last October, Switched On discussed the role that laptop-tablet hybrids -- namely convertibles and detachables -- woul...