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Toshiba Demos Dual-Touchscreen Netbook

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the two-for-the-price-of-two dept.

Lanxon writes "Toshiba has announced a trio of new devices that it's hoping will shake up the somewhat stagnant notebook PC market. The most interesting is the Libretto W100 — a clamshell device that comes with two screens in place of a screen and a keyboard. Both screens are identical, measuring 7-inches diagonally, and are touch-sensitive. An onboard accelerometer allows you to use it in landscape or portrait configuration, and Toshiba's pre-loaded a boatload of specialist software that'll let you get the most from the device — including a range of virtual keyboards. It runs Windows 7, is powered by an Intel U5400 processor, and comes with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, a 62GB SSD, and the usual array of connectivity options, including 3G."

4 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. Re:sounds like a great e-reader form factor by mlts · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It just seems like a niche product, and the niche is quite tiny.

    For a netbook/laptop, a virtual keyboard won't cut it for a long typing session.

    For a tablet PC, it is a bit unwieldy, and there are a lot of good alternatives on the market. The iPad comes to mind for a general function device. The Kindle or Nook come to mind for an e-reader that is easy on the eyes and doesn't burn batteries. And for general computing there are laptops which have the screen fold back so they can double both as a touch screen, and a regular laptop with a keyboard.

    I am sure that there are some uses for it that come to mind for dedicated applications (control surface for music production, various embedded tasks), but for a general purpose device, there are a lot of form factors that are a lot more ergonomic.

  2. landscape or portrait configuration by Culture20 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    An onboard accelerometer allows you to use it in landscape or portrait configuration

    What about Battleship(R) configuration? It would be interesting if it can be used by two people simultaneously. And there had better be an off-switch for that accelerometer. The thing I have hated most about my iPhone is that I can't read anything when laying down on my side.

  3. Re:I cant wait till they make this pocket sized by daid303 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Guess you are looking for an openpandora then? http://openpandora.org/

  4. Find a better input device than a virtual keyboard by UpnAtom · · Score: 2, Interesting

    7" touch sensitive screens and the best thing they can think to put on it is a flat, non-feedback QWERTY keyboard that was originally designed to avoid keys sticking on typewriters and has caused millions of cases of RSI. The new input device has to be:

    1. 1. Fast. Really fast.
    2. 2. Comfortable/ergonomic.
    3. 3. Work with 1 or 2 hands/thumbs.
    4. 4. Not require large amounts of concentration - inputting text should be a largely subconscious activity.

    It's notable that Wii has done remarkably well with an obvious yet new input device, in spite of going backwards a generation in graphics capability.

    Swype and SlideIT look pretty cool, especially if they allowed optimised keyboard layouts. What else is possible?