Do Two-Screen Laptops Make Sense?

An anonymous reader writes "With two 17" HD LED displays, the SpaceBook goes against every trend in laptop design I can think of (well, apart from the Core i7 and Core i5 processors). It's more than 1.7" thick, weighs more than 4.5 kilograms, and apparently has the world's largest laptop screen space. As odd as lugging a 4.5kg laptop around sounds, it can actually make sense in some situations. Sure, there are now plenty of powerful laptops that can replace a desktop PC. But for some of us, it's never the same as sitting in front of a desktop. Especially if you're used to having two screens. Someone must think there's a market for the twin-screen laptop — this isn't the first. Lenovo brought one out a couple of years ago. Given the number of people who prefer a multi-monitor setup, surely someone can come up with a lighter, less cumbersome, and cheaper design?"

Comments

10 pounds

[karnal]

4.5kg = 10lbs. This comment has been brought to you by Google.

Re:10 pounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Still a lot lighter than the first portable I used: the Compaq "luggable" weighed in at 28 pounds (12kg). But I'll wager this one doesn't have dual floppies!

Re:10 pounds

[p0p0]

It's not that much. My current "Desktop Replacement" laptop is a 10lbs, 18.4" beasty. It can be a pain to lug around, but the screen real estate is worth it. If I could have double the useable screen space for about the same weight/form factor, I would definitely go for it.

Re:10 pounds

[teh kurisu]

A NASA commentator recently described the ISS as a "million pound space station". As a British listener, I thought this was an absolute bargain.

Re:10 pounds

[monkeyhybrid]

But you have to remember, the ISS is in LEO so weighs practically nothing. Your million pound bargain is now worth close to zero. Talk about depreciation!

Re:10 pounds

[tommy2tone]

you still have weight in orbit... gravity is the reason you can park in orbit

Re:10 pounds

[Miamicanes]

Screw cheaper and lighter. I want a real, honest to god Model M-type buckling spring keyboard. Another pound and half-inch is a small price to pay for 30-50wpm of improved typing speed :-)

Re:10 pounds

[Anonymous Coward]

Mass. You still have mass. Not weight. The weight is gone, the mass remains.

Re:10 pounds

[TCPhotography]

You have both. Weight is the acceleration due to gravity times mass. The fact that the station is orbiting the Earth instead of flying off means that is under the effect of Earth's gravity and therefor has weight. The acceleration due to gravity is roughly 8.8 to 8.9 m/(s) at the altitude the station orbits at. The difference is that the station is moving fast enough to fall to the ground, but miss.

This message brought to you by someone who tutors college physics.

Re:10 pounds

[cpscotti]

You still have weight. That's why that damn station keeps falling towards earth constantly! The fact that it doesn't hit the ground is another matter.

Re:10 pounds

[edumacator]

Well, with the way the US dollar is going, you probably could get it for a million pounds.

Re:10 pounds

[kimvette]

I couldn't decide to mod informative or funny, so I'm posting instead. Excellent practical use of a Hitchhiker's reference! :)

Re:10 pounds

[TCPhotography]

That Should be 8.8 to 8.9 m/(s^2). Slashdot doesn't like my use of the squared character.

Re:10 pounds

[Arancaytar]

And 17in = 43.2cm.

Mh... if they manage to make the screens thinner, they could go even further and fold up four of them. Of course, at that point it probably needs a lead plate in the base to stop it from tipping over. So this is probably the most screen space you can get out of a notebook until they build holographic displays.

Re:10 pounds

[Arancaytar]

Just put it into a decaying orbit, and it will suddenly be worth millions. For a little while.

Failed attempt.

[Moderator]

The Thinkpad W700ds had two displays, and that ugly behemoth is no longer sold. The market for two monitors on a laptop can't be that large. I mean, given the proliferation of shitty laptop displays (16:9, glossy screens, etc), it seems that not many people care about their displays in the first place. Just get an external LCD monitor and run dual displays with your laptop being one screen.

Re:Failed attempt.

[Anrego]

The market for two monitors on a laptop can't be that large.

I can see the purpose in this for people who travel a lot and do a lot of work in hotel rooms, but this seems like an over-complicated solution to that problem. Article was sparse on details, but I’m assuming this laptop can’t work in a “single monitor mode” for use on say a plane, which to me would limit its usefulness.

Just get an external LCD monitor and run dual displays with your laptop being one screen.

From the article:

But if you’re on the road, then carrying that second screen isn't exactly convenient

But I think you are on the right track. Solution is to make that external monitor more convenient. You can buy laptop portable versions of just about everything, except monitors (or at least I’ve never seen that). Should be trivial to make a monitor with integrated short cables and where the stand folds into itself and fits nicely into a laptop bag, with maybe some kind of protective cover for the screen. Would seem a much simpler approach than this contraption.

Re:Failed attempt.

[jawtheshark]

I know, slightly offtopic, but I always thought the best way to implement a multiple monitor setup on a laptop would be to use three screens: the standard size in the middle and two half-sizes clapping open left and right. A bit like a Triptych. Probably just me...

Re:Failed attempt.

[Idimmu Xul]

But I think you are on the right track. Solution is to make that external monitor more convenient. You can buy laptop portable versions of just about everything, except monitors (or at least Iâ(TM)ve never seen that). Should be trivial to make a monitor with integrated short cables and where the stand folds into itself and fits nicely into a laptop bag, with maybe some kind of protective cover for the screen. Would seem a much simpler approach than this contraption.

Indeed. A decent laptop that you can carry on your person, combined with a robust and portable LCD that you can put with the rest of your luggage would be excellent.

The 20" Dell LCDs we have at work are pretty thin and could easily go in a suitcase, but would need some decent protection from baggage handlers! The stand they come with is a bit of a beast though so would need a redesign.

Re:Failed attempt.

[TheLink]

I'd rather be able to wear a pair of special spectacles that make it look like I've got a huge hi-res virtual screen. If possible it should be overlayed on the "real world", and stay where it is even if I move my head (unless I choose to move it).

Then I don't need to lug about kilograms worth of screen, plus I might save some battery power - screens use up a significant part of the battery budget.

The disadvantage is I can't easily show someone else my screen (unless I share it). But that's not always a disadvantage...

Re:Failed attempt.

[DrInequality]

But I think you are on the right track. Solution is to make that external monitor more convenient. You can buy laptop portable versions of just about everything, except monitors (or at least I’ve never seen that). Should be trivial to make a monitor with integrated short cables and where the stand folds into itself and fits nicely into a laptop bag, with maybe some kind of protective cover for the screen. Would seem a much simpler approach than this contraption.

Yes, it's called a second laptop (oh and a decent OS).

Re:Failed attempt.

[mwvdlee]

How about having a full screen fold up instead of to the side?
_______
|....2.....|
|______|
|....1.....|
|______|
|######|
|######|

Make the topscreen a touchscreen and, when closed, you have a tablet PC.
Alternatively, have one of the screens slide up/down so, when closed, all screens face inwards.
Or some other mechanical tricks to make it do combinations.
I like the folding because you could fold it even further and use the top screen to light the keyboard ;)

Re:Failed attempt.

[Joce640k]

Should be trivial to make a monitor with integrated short cables and where the stand folds into itself and fits nicely into a laptop bag, with maybe some kind of protective cover for the screen. Would seem a much simpler approach than this contraption.

Yep. You also get to choose the spec of the laptop you use it with...

Re:Failed attempt.

[mcvos]

Why decide for the user where the extra screen needs to come? Make it detachable and have some clever attachment system that lets you clip it of the left/right/top side of the laptop, or set it up as a (flimsy) stand-alone screen.

Re:Failed attempt.

[vlm]

Yes, it's called a second laptop (oh and a decent OS).

Been there, done that. In networking world, often you need to troubleshoot something on "both sides" of a device. You can F around with multiple USB ethernet dongles and really long cables, but its a heck of a lot cheaper, simpler, faster, more reliable, lighter, and more convenient to just carry two little original eee netbooks running Debian...

Another place I've seen it is client/server development... You're a crossover cable away from a perfect emulation of the end user experience... And a cheap netbook is used to be cheaper than the old cost of a vmware license.

It seems to be a "thousands of dollars" hardware solution to avoid a "hundreds of dollars of proprietary software licensing costs" problem..

Re:Failed attempt.

[jawtheshark]

The only problem I see with this is that there would be a weight imbalance and might cause the laptop to tip over. You'd have to counterbalance with weights in the palm rests. Which would be a major downside because it would add (useless, when carrying) weight.

Re:Failed attempt.

[Anrego]

Yes, it's called a second laptop (oh and a decent OS).

Ok.. I'll bite.

I use linux, and I could easily do X forwarding and have my app display on this hypothetical second laptop. I could use synergy to make them share a keyboard and mouse (and clipboard and some other odds and ends). What I can't see how one would do is drag stuff between the two monitors .. and believe it or not.. this would be a deal breaker for me.

I travel very rarely, so I wouldn't bother either way.. one screen is plenty on the road (vice the 5 I have at home and the 3 at the office). But I'm curious... do you have a way to have that second laptop actually act as a proper second monitor. On Linux or some other OS?

Re:Failed attempt.

[mwvdlee]

Don't you have the same problem with a side-by-side screen?

Re:Failed attempt.

[jawtheshark]

Perhaps... The centre of gravity is different though.

Re:Failed attempt.

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't for the life of me find it now but about five or six years ago I had need for this when taking my work laptop home to hook it up to my desktop monitor without having to cable switch and there was a program that allowed me to do this (so long as the devices were networked). The closest I can find now is Maxvista - the name doesn't ring a bell and I'm sure the one I used was open source/freeware while this is a paid app, but I'm sure there must be something out there. I've also used Synergy before to reduce the amount of clutter on my desk and it's an amazing piece of software but this other thing basically was like extending your screen over a second monitor.

Re:Failed attempt.

[delinear]

It's also much more comfortable over prolonged periods to adjust your head left and right to view the two screens rather than looking up and down. Sitting in front of a laptop and having to look up instead of straight ahead for any reasonable period of time would be painful.

Re:Failed attempt.

[mzs]

Xvnc or Xephyr. Run one of those then under Xorg on each open them fullscreen but on the right laptop have it offset to the right half and only view mode. The easiest way to get the mouse to move over would be to fake a higher resolution in the xorg.conf but disable the view moving around following the mouse. You can be clever even and run the left screen right on display :0 too.

Re:Failed attempt.

[Talderas]

If the screen flips out then you can engineer a small fold down stand that can used to support that additional weight. You're talking about an inch of plastic compared to the added weight to counter the extended height.

Re:Failed attempt.

[myth24601]

Should be trivial to make a monitor with integrated short cables and where the stand folds into itself and fits nicely into a laptop bag, with maybe some kind of protective cover for the screen. Would seem a much simpler approach than this contraption.

Better yet, a protocol for allowing a wireless connection to an external monitor. If not through WiFi, maybe using some sort of IR?

Re:Failed attempt.

[gfxguy]

Personally, I prefer one larger screen anyway, but given the way a laptop must fold to be portable, I'd prefer something like this than an external monitor.

The most important reason is still that it's more portable, but something that's very important to me is that I find it difficult working across dual monitors that aren't identical and with minimal space between them.

Obviously this is not for everyone... the same way people mock netbooks because they wouldn't need them for the intended uses, going the opposite way will garner just as much ridicule, but as a desktop replacement that also happens to be portable suits a lot of people just fine. I honestly don't really need a laptop when I travel, as I rarely travel for work anyway. When I do, I don't need to lug a laptop around for constant use (like on a plane) - I'd pack it in luggage and set it up at my hotel room for a week.

Re:Failed attempt.

[jawtheshark]

Clever... I clearly have shown that I'm not an engineer :-)

Re:Failed attempt.

[jawtheshark]

Why IR? Wouldn't Bluetooth be a more logical choice?

Re:Failed attempt.

[kimvette]

I mean, given the proliferation of shitty laptop displays (16:9, glossy screens, etc),

And, what's wrong with glossy screens? The contrast and color purity are preserved and a laptop is easy enough to move to a position where you are unaffected by glare. I have the glossy RGB-LED backlit edge-to-edge screen on my Dell Precision M6400 and it is a delight to work on - and 16:9 isn't that bad of a compromise thanks to the 1920x1200 resolution (which believe it or not is a huge improvement over 1920x1080). I do miss being able to run 2048x1536 like I could on my old CRT monitors, but I don't miss the space space hogs that CRTs are, nor the fuzzy "pixels."

Re:Failed attempt.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sitting in front of a laptop and having to look up instead of straight ahead for any reasonable period of time would be painful.

Especially if you're a dog.

Re:Failed attempt.

[JamesTRexx]

it seems that not many people care about their displays in the first place

Same idea I've had for a while now. I was hoping that if they bothered to make a laptop dual screen they'd at least use decent 1920x1200 resolution displays. But nooo...

Re:Failed attempt.

[hhbuitrago]

According to this photo, it can work in single screen mode
http://www.gscreenlaptop.com/assets/images/gScreen-SpaceBook-dual-screen-laptop-002(5).jpg

or in screen and half mode
http://www.gscreenlaptop.com/assets/images/gScreen-SpaceBook-dual-screen-laptop-002(7).jpg

and I think that Samsung or someone made a portable screen like you ask for, even connectable by usb

Re:Failed attempt.

[mattventura]

Because bluetooth bandwidth is measured in mbps, but for any decent monitor, you need something measured in gbps.

Re:Failed attempt.

[yoshi_mon]

Totally off topic but wow, of all the images to put up when they show off something like that the Bing homepage?

Kickbacks ho!

Re:Failed attempt.

[Alex Belits]

I have the glossy RGB-LED backlit edge-to-edge screen on my Dell Precision M6400 and it is a delight to work on

...as long as you don't leave your basement.

Re:Failed attempt.

[jawtheshark]

IR can do gigabits?!?

Re:Failed attempt.

[iamhassi]

"The Thinkpad W700ds had two displays, and that ugly behemoth is no longer sold. "

two displays, but not two monitors. W700ds had a second 10" display that added a worthless 760 pixels of horizontal real estate. I'm use to 1920, what are you suppose to do with an extra 760 pixels? That's not even wide enough to display most webpages!

Not only that but the screen's weren't matched:
"The second display lacks the more highly reflective coating of its high-end companion, and with 280 NIT brightness (versus 400 on the primary display) and a narrower reproducible gamut, colors definitely don’t pop as much. Never mind annoying backlight bleed coming from both sides of the screen, poor side-to-side viewing angles, and a serious mismatch on black depth (true black is reproduced much lighter and bluer on the secondary display by default). Combined with color discrepancies courtesy of different calibration and profiling (more on that in the next section), power graphics users may well ask, “What’s the point?”"

Re:Failed attempt.

[Nadaka]

I have seen 5inch monitors that get power and data over a USB connection.

Re:Failed attempt.

[mattventura]

Well, if you put it in a fiber, sure. I'm just saying that Bluetooth isn't really a valid alternative.

Re:Failed attempt.

[jawtheshark]

Then go read the original post by myth24601, which said "Better yet, a protocol for allowing a wireless connection to an external monitor. If not through WiFi, maybe using some sort of IR?". Assuming WiFi would be 802.11n but myth24601 discards the idea, but proposes IR, my first thought was Bluetooth as it doesn't have the downsides of IR (Point to point, direct line of sight required). You said Bluetooth won't work, because of bandwith issues, which I accept... So, that leaves IR and hence the question was... "and IR does Gigabits?". Obviously in fibre, it can but then it wouldn't be wireless...

To summarize this whole mess: Context, it matters

Re:Failed attempt.

[Vegemeister]

The problem with 'one larger screen' is that the screen costs $1100. A quadruple-head setup, however, can be done with commodity panels for around $500.

No.

[Lumpy]

But I will buy a 21" laptop in a heartbeat. I already have a 18.5 inch and would like bigger. In fact if they made a 21" macbook pro artists and video editing people would be all over it.

I do embedded programming and EE cad design in the field... (think on the floor in an electrical closet while I program a buildings processors) and having that kind of screen real-estate with a higher than 1080p resolution would be a instant purchase from me.

None of this crap of Low res huge pixel screens they have been pulling. if the screen is larger than 15" and not 1080p then it's crap.

Re:No.

[Anonymous Coward]

larger than 15" and not 1080p

Make that 13".

Re:No.

[L4t3r4lu5]

+6 Insightful, brother.

Roll on 17" 300+ppi displays. It's pixel density which needs to increase, not screen size.

Re:No.

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously? Since when did 1080 become a good thing? I had a 19" 1600x1200 CRT 15 years ago! The f&^$%* HDTV standard seems to have driven real high resolutions screens out of the market.

Re:No.

[jawtheshark]

I have 1080p on my Dell L502x (I really should start using it one of these days. It arrived nearly three weeks ago) and that's a 15" laptop. I'm looking forward to 1080p on 11" laptops or so.

With monitors (non-laptop), the sizes are becoming insane to get decent resolution. My desktop any my sisters desktop (different machines, just in case you wonder) both have 19" LCDs at 1280x1024, which is perfect. Thing is, we both have limited desk space and in the case of my sister, 19" is the largest monitor possible. Try finding a 19" monitor with at least 1280x1024 resolution. It's very hard, because you usually get robbed in the vertical direction and otherwhise you have to settle for less screen real estate. So when her 19" monitor died, we had to find a 19" replacement which turned out to be a pain in the ass and expensive (Compare to other larges screens with more resolution).

23" Full HD monitors can be had for cheap, but that's because of the economies of scale due to HDTVs. At a certain point the monitors become too bulky to use as monitors on a desk. My wifes 27" iMac really is at the maximum size for a desktop usage monitor. It is awesomely huge... Sometimes, I feel it's too huge for her small desk.

Re:No.

[alta]

What 18.5" do you have? I want one. And yes, 21" would be great. I just started working at a new company where everyone has laptops instead of desktops. I'm a developer. I came from having a quad core xeon desktop with 4 monitors, 3 22" and one 26" They didn't know that. I was hired along with 5 other people. We all were issued this *lovely* hp core i3 with a 15"wide that does 1376x200 or or something.

So far from parts I've bought myself I've expanded it with two more monitors and am soon going to get another DisplayLink card to add a 3rd. These aren't nearly as big as what I had before, but it's something.

Re:No.

[mcvos]

Unix workstation, I assume? I was using 19" 1600x1200 SparcStations nearly 20 years ago. It took ages before using a Windows PC didn't feel like peeking through a keyhole.

Re:No.

[Anonymous Coward]

I already have a 18.5 inch and would like bigger.

I hear there are some pills you take to fix that - just look in your email for more details. ;)

Re:No.

[robthebloke]

In fact if they made a 21" macbook pro artists and video editing people would be all over it.

If, and only if, they drive to work (or they are out of work, and at home all day). All the pro artists and video editing people I know, commute into the center of London everyday. I'm not sure if you've actually tried lugging a heavy bag on the tube in the middle of summer, but I can assure you it is not fun in the slightest! I used to lug a 15" XPS around, but even that is simply too big use on a busy rush hour tube train. Resting a 21" laptop on the commuters either side of you, whilst you are dripping in sweat from carrying it down the stairs, just isn't practical in the slightest.

Re:No.

[Freultwah]

There actually is a market for those laptops, resolution notwithstanding: people whose work involves travelling, but also demands serious screen estate while on the road. I'd wager that many touring bands would definitely cough up some cash for that kind of laptop. You know, for recording the shows in multitrack and stuff like that. One screen for monitoring the input, the other for everything else. Combinations galore. Also, I know a few DJs who'd definitely be interested, and some construction engineers I've met would also welcome such an item.

Re:No.

[Anonymous Coward]

I have noticed the hp dv6 and dv7 lines at hp have started having a higher res (1080p). So the 1080p screens are starting to show up on the lower end models (finally).

I have an 18 inch laptop now for that very reason resolution. However, it *SUCKS*, it is too big to carry around. Weighs too much. Poor ventilation. Oh and good luck finding a laptop bag for it. Finally found a 17 inch bag that *just* fits it.

Love the screen though :)

Would rather have a 1200. But those are only on the laptop lines that are expensive.

Can swap it out myself. But that means pretty much tearing the entire laptop apart these days to get at the screen and the connectors for it. Some are better than others. But it takes dedication...

Re:No.

[bemymonkey]

I agree with the no, but not for the same reason. Rather: It doesn't seem very logical. Mechanically, having three screens would make more sense: One main screen in the middle, and two half-size slide-out panels on the sides - 1080p in the middle and 960x1080 on either side, for instance.

And there's no reason to make the damned thing so heavy either - Don't add the extra screens to a mobile workstation with a quadcore and workstation graphics, just add it to a regular laptop. That way you'll end up with something that you can carry without a forklift...

Re:No.

[tverbeek]

"In fact if they made a 21" macbook pro artists and video editing people would be all over it."

Some. Not me. It'd be neither fish nor fowl: too big to be portable, too laptoppy to be something I'd want to spend a lot of time using. I want my display(s) "up here" in my line of sight, not "down there" attached to the keyboard. I like to be able to nudge my keyboard to a more comfortable angle as I shift in my chair without the display having to go along with it. The fundamental design of a laptop is just bad ergonomics: a compromise to allow you to work away from your office or studio. I don't understand why people buy such a device when they intend to leave it on a desk most of the time.

Instead of waiting for a 21" MacBoook (which I'm pretty sure Steve Jobs would veto on the grounds that it looks silly, if for no other reason), why not buy a 21" monitor today, and a 13" MacBook? It's not as if a 21" laptop will be easy to carry around in the first place, so the fact that it's a two-part system is hardly a great disadvantage.

Re:No.

[slackbheep]

I don't have the time to poke around online for an example of it, but if you're okay with the backpack design Swissgear makes one that fits my 18" perfectly.

Re:No.

[slackbheep]

Sorry that should have been inches not feet, heh.

Re:No.

[L4t3r4lu5]

1080p is still only a vertical resolution, not a ppi improvement. I've had greater than 1080p on my PC since before "HD" was coined as a phrase. Since then, all i've seen is screen sizes get bigger with no resolution increase, resulting in a ppi DECREASE!

Apple's Retina display caused my heart to skip a beat the first time I saw it; It's like looking at a photo under a glass cover compared to any other screen I've seen. Put that pixel density on a 17" screen and the CAD world will throw money at you.

Re:No.

[slackbheep]

I use my 42inch TV as my main monitor, with a 21inch panel sitting on top of the tower off to its side. After doing this for six months or so, I cannot see myself going back to two normal monitors anytime soon, my vision be damned!

Re:No.

[DemonGenius]

All we need is a minimum resolution of 2560x1600 and 300+ppi to make multi-monitor setups obsolete since all we would need is a 30" screen to view everything on. Of course the OSes have to display everything correctly with this configuration.

Re:No.

[Lumpy]

Toshiba Qosmio. Awesome quad i7 and huge screen goodness. The only suck part is that you can not get a back-lit keyboard.

Re:No.

[Lumpy]

in fact take your pick.....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006740%20600004347&IsNodeId=1&name=18.4%22%20and%20larger

gobs of them to choose from.

Although I see the latest Toshibas are a tiny under 18" screen

Re:No.

[KahabutDieDrake]

Why is it you are quoting screen resolutions out of my 1999 gaming rig configuration? And furthermore, why are you quoting them as if they were actually good? I'll grant that there are a lot of bad monitors out there, mainly because there are a lot of uninformed consumers. You seem to be one of those.

Define "full HD" in respect to computer monitors? Please? Let me help you out, the CRT monitor I was using in 1999 to play counterstrike ran at 1900x1200. What ever made you think a specification designed for televisions has any bearing what so ever on computer monitors? You didn't seriously believe them when they told you this display was HD! What does HD stand for? High Definition? Why are "high definition" displays several steps down from the cutting edge displays from 1999?

In case it's not obvious, I'm not trying bash on you personally, I'm just sick to death of peopling acting like HD is some kind of improvement. For your TV, sure! For your computer, which was capable of HD before there was an HD spec... it's asinine. And the longer we, collectively - as geeks, allow this fallacy to continue, the longer we have to put up with low spec displays that belonged on the trash heap 5 generations ago.

Re:No.

[kenh]

Toshiba makes a 14", 1366x768 resolution, under 3 pound, under $200 USB Second Monitordisplay you can add to any laptop.

Seems more useful than adding 3 pounds to a laptop, more convienient too...

Re:No.

[Anonymous Coward]

-6 Troll

Stop telling us to mod other people up.

Re:No.

[jawtheshark]

Luckily you told me not to take the post personally, because I would. Alas, you seem to have overseen one crucial point of my post: desk space. The case I described was where a 19" LCD monitor is the maximum size allowed. 19" at a 5:4 ratio translates a width of 14,84" inches. With the modern "standard" of 16:9, this translates to 17" diagonal. Try finding anything close to 1280x1024 in that size class and tell me where to find it and at what price.

Don't also simply assume that I haven't known the better times. In 1999, the CRTs with the resolutions you tout were indeed getting in the "payable" range. However, keep in mind they were real huge "fishtanks", as I like to call them. I had one on my desk at work (doing development back at a bank) and it was an insanely great 1600x1200 screen. I loved it, but it wouldn't have fit on my desk at home, if I wanted to. Which brings us back at space constraints. Back then, I opted for LCD screen that became payable by then. That was a 15" 1024x768 LCD screen which was great and I still have today. It's attached to my parents server for the occasional console work.

So, yes, I am fully aware we lost resolution over the years and I think that was implicit in my post. Why can't I get a 19" screen with a 2560x2048 resolution? Now that would be great. To understand what happened, we must look back at the history of monitors. Back in the CRT days of TV (and for the record, I still have a 16:9 CRT TV, as I'm not a fan of useless upgrading), the pixels were not square. The pixels of CRT TVs were rectangles. This was not so with computer monitors where the pixels were square. Basically, the devices were each a class of their own. There was no relation between the two devices except for the fact they both used phosphorous substances and an electron beam. Then laptops came out, and let's ignore the initial days of grayscale LCD (the kind you still find on calculators) and suddenly colour LCD screens were mass produced and became cheaper. Cheap enough to start making standalone flat screen monitors. The economics of scale started to work. The resolutions surely weren't up to what CRTs offered, but they gave other advantages, mainly in the physical space used and (my guess) for the manufacturers reduced construction price. (Compare the complexity of a cathode ray tube to the simplicity of an LCD screen... Especially in the number of components required)

In the same time-frame, the TV industry started the concept of HDTV. As you may recall, the first HDTV sets were CRT and had rectangular pixels. They were also insanely expensive. What happened next is logical: the TV Industry saw the economies of scale made by monitor manufacturers and decided they could use that as a platform for their future sets. Go and look at your HDTV set, which is most likely LCD. The pixels are square. The technology had become one and the same. At this point, the economies of scale kicked in harder. Guess what: more TVs are sold than monitors and the maximum resolution was defined (1080p), but the physical size basically had no upper bound and on a TV, it makes sense. After all you don't sit with your nose in front of the TV.

So, demand is mostly for large panels at a resolution of 1080p and consumers don't want to pay. The monitor manufacturers on their side jumped on the higher volume and basically said "screw the consumer", and made 1080p the "standard". We're stuck with this. This is why, when I bought a new monitor for my mom, I went with the 149€ 23" monitor at 1080p (which basically is a HDTV without tuner) than with some smaller monitor (saving space) but much more expensive. Both me and my sister do not have the luxury of space.

I might have expected to much, but I guessed that every self proclaimed geek would know about this history and when we talk about "HD" (The term I didn't even use in my original post... I did use 1080p, though) understand that the market has chosen for the cheap low-res, instead for the "bit more expensive, but

Re:No.

[HereIAmJH]

I have a Qosmio too. Another thing that sucks is you have to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger (from his Conan days) to carry the thing.

And some models were available with LED back-lit keyboards.

Re:No.

[White Flame]

Um, no. I have two 200ppi 3840x2400 22" displays, plus a "normal" 30" 2560x1600 on my desk. That's 22.5 megapixels and taking up a fair amount of space, but I'd still take more pixels regardless of size. Oh, there's also a laptop typically stationed under the high-sitting 30" as well.

Unless you mean a single 30" at 300ppi, which would be more like 5-6k pixels horizontally, and I'd still want 3 on my desk. :)

http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/weight

[JamesonLewis3rd]

9.921 lbs.

Ugly as hell

[ChrisMP1]

This looks like something some stereotypical nerd in a movie would use, just so the writers could make fun of nerds. It's extremely tacky. Would anyone actually buy this?? I've a 17" laptop and it's already pretty unwieldy at times. I just plug it into my monitor with an HDMI cable at home when I want more space...

Re:Ugly as hell

[dotbot]

I feel like I'm looking at some sort of weird creature, like something from The Thing. A laptop with two screens? It's like someone with two mouths or three eyes... (Don't think it would be as bad if it was one very wide screen.)

Re:Ugly as hell

[inasity_rules]

I disagree.. A cyclops...? It is already ugly and you want to make it worse...?

Re:Ugly as hell

[mhajicek]

It would be perfect for doing CAD/CAM work at a customer's site. Dual screens are a huge plus when doing that sort of work (graphics window on one side, part print, parameter windows, and communications on the other), and it's rather awkward to set up a desktop in someone else's machine shop. Hey, with one of those I could do my work sipping mohitos on the beach. Might need a car battery and inverter to keep it going though.

Re:Ugly as hell

[Anonymous Coward]

To be honest, the picture doesn't even look real; it looks like a Photoshop. I don't think this product even exists yet in prototype.

Re:Ugly as hell

[Hognoxious]

A cyclops

That's the one eyed get.

4.5 kg isn't so much

[captainpanic]

The whole hype that laptops must weigh next to nothing is silly. If the laptop is your mobile office, and if it is important for work, then 4.5 kg is a tiny amount.

Anyway, if the 4.5 kg laptop means you don't carry 3.5 kg of paper with you anymore (which many business travelers - especially scientists - actually do!), then it makes perfect sense.

For me personally, the laptop screen is always too close and too small. I don't see how this contraption improves that. I guess I will wait until they build a laptop with a rolled up screen that can become two 24'' screens if rolled out. :-)

This spacebook is also a definite nono on an airplane!

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[cowboy76Spain]

If you move it from your home a couple hundred meters to your car and then a couple hundred meters to your office then it is not very important if it weights 4.5.

If you are a road warrior and drag it with you everywhere then 4.5 kgs can be a lot after a couple of hours.

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[CastrTroy]

I agree. It would make much more sense just to build a modular laptop with a base station, which would consist of the keyboard trackpad, motherboard etc. and then have small thin monitors you can plug in. This way if you only needed 1 monitor on a particular day, you would only have to bring 1 monitor, without all the extra weight. It would probably make sense to have each monitor contain it's own battery, so you aren't carrying extra battery weight when not needed, although it would make charging more cumbersome.You could set up your monitor any way you like, as far or as close as your like. You could probably easliy accommodate 3 or 4 monitors on a single laptop, and you could easily support different screeen sizes, without increasing the size of the base unit. For the standard setup with just a single 14 inch monitor, it would probably be about the same size as a regular laptop. Most people would just be happy with a very portable monitor that has it's own battery. Plug it into the existing VGA or HDMI port on your laptop and you instantly have 2 monitors.

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[Chrisq]

The whole hype that laptops must weigh next to nothing is silly. If the laptop is your mobile office, and if it is important for work, then 4.5 kg is a tiny amount.

But I am carrying it together with the water cooler and cubicle screens you insensitive clod. Have you heard of the last straw that broke the camel's back?

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[c0lo]

The whole hype that laptops must weigh next to nothing is silly. If the laptop is your mobile office, and if it is important for work, then 4.5 kg is a tiny amount.

Given the amount of physical exercise nowadays, I'd say 4.5 kilos isn't enough. But maybe I'm wrong (safe to click)

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[todrules]

Why even have the monitors built in to the laptop. Why not carry a lightweight laptop, and if you need an extra monitor, Toshiba http://us.toshiba.com/computers/accessories/mobile-monitor/ has ultra portable monitors that you can hook up? The laptop and extra monitor probably weigh less than the behemoth in TFA, and you can leave the extra monitor at home for the times that you don't need it.

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[vlm]

The whole hype that laptops must weigh next to nothing is silly. If the laptop is your mobile office, and if it is important for work, then 4.5 kg is a tiny amount.

You can tell quickly who is ex-military. So, let me get this straight, I've only got to carry 10 pounds, for only a mile or so, in an air conditioned airport? Admittedly this was a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, but back when I was a US Army computer guy, I had one road march well over 15 miles with well over 50 pound backpack on a warm summer day, no exaggeration. And it was up (and down) hills all the way. So carrying a small blade server chassis five miles in normal outside weather on flat ground should not be a big deal for the average civilian?

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[vlm]

If you move it from your home a couple hundred meters to your car and then a couple hundred meters to your office then it is not very important if it weights 4.5.

If you are a road warrior and drag it with you everywhere then 4.5 kgs can be a lot after a couple of hours.

Speaking of "warriors" that's only a couple grams away from the weight of my M-16 or my gas mask, both of which I hauled everywhere in the field in the 90s (when at base that stuff sat locked up in the armory or NBC cage respectively). In addition to the assorted computer-y thingies which were also very heavy due to TEMPEST shielding, like the 75 pound green 386...

I you wanna talk the talk about "warriors" then you gotta walk the walk, or at least carry the laptop, or something like that.

Another interesting analogy is the "road warriors" may soon require "shield bearers" to help them carry junk. Probably a good job for an intern.

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[realityimpaired]

A properly designed laptop bag can make that 4.5kg seem completely weightless, though. It's about weight distribution, and how you're carrying that weight. If it's in a briefcase at the end of your arm, then it'll suck. If it's in a shoulder bag that you're wearing on one shoulder, then it'll start to suck after a few hours. If it's in a proper backpack, or at least an across-the-chest messenger bag, then most humans can easily go all day without noticing the extra weight. 4.5kg really isn't that much.

That said, I'm typing this on a 1.5kg ultraportable 13.3" laptop. My main system at home is my former laptop... 17" 1920x1080 with a second 24" 1920x1080 acting as the main screen. The main reason I turned it into a desktop was because it's such a pain in the ass to simply close the lid and carry it somewhere... way too heavy. It's fine when it's all packed away in a laptop bag, but it's a behemoth when you want to just carry it under your arm. So I put the heavy duty desktop replacement laptop as a desktop, and do all my gaming and main development on it, and I bought what's basically an overgrown netbook with a real keyboard to do all the portable stuff on.

Of course... wouldn't the *real* portable solution to this problem be to use an operating system that lets you have multiple desktops, and easily switch between them? I mean, it's not as good as having a multiple screen display, but your eyes can only look at one screen at a time anyway. Since this isn't your permanent work environment, it's a laptop, why not simply alt-tab between the windows containing the information you want, or failing that, keep the windows arranged as you like it on a different desktop that you can switch to using ctrl-alt-left or ctrl-alt-right. Seems a much cheaper way of achieving the same goal, and even if you're stuck in Windows-land there are extensions available to the OS that enable desktop switching. Some of them are even free.

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[realityimpaired]

If I hadn't already posted, I could mod this one....

Only downside I see to it is that it's 1366x768. It'd be nice if it had a higher resolution. That said, it's plenty adequate for what it is, and would easily fit in my laptop bag alongside my laptop. Not only would it weigh less (1.3kg for the extra monitor, and 1.5kg for my laptop), it would cost significantly less ($200 for the monitor, and $400 for the laptop). That said, does it work in Linux?

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[Miamicanes]

Toshiba's portable display is a step in the right direction, but it's too dim unless you use their standalone power supply. And their official external power supply is a cruel joke of an afterthought that was obviously tacked on at the last minute with minimal dedicated design effort. I can understand it being dim when powered by 100mA from a wimpy laptop USB port, but for god's sake, it should AT LEAST be able to take advantage of a proper powered USB hub capable of supplying 500mA per port when available.

An interesting compromise would be if Toshiba chucked the current external PSU they sell, and replaced it with one that's ALSO a universal laptop PSU with a 4 USB ports: 1 for the monitor that uses the fifth pin to confirm to the display that it can supply full power for the display in addition to data, 1 that's a dedicated, data-shorted charging port for phones, and 2 that are proper powered USB ports capable of supplying 500mA. Then you could leave your laptop's official PSU at home, and enjoy the monitor at full brightness along with proper powered USB hub for only slightly more weight and volume than the laptop's original PSU.

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[Kjella]

If you go hiking, carrying 4.5 kg for hours is absolutely nothing. Most "road warriors" only cover a tiny bit on foot, mostly it's by car, bus, tram, subway or train - they very rarely actually carry their laptop all day. I've asked for the biggest, baddest laptop they issued because I essentially needed a "server in a laptop format" to lug around, GPU wasn't important but CPU, memory and HDD performance was. I'm guessing it weighed 3-4 kg, and the main reason I didn't go for one more extreme is because I'd have to go outside the normal procurement process. I'd typically be at one to three clients a day - anything more is too inefficient, so moving it two-four times a day, typically 5-10 minutes at each end of the move. That's 20-80 minutes total, I could easily have carried 10 or 20 kg as long as setting it up and packing it down is just as easy. It's more about how many actually have the need than the downside of the weight IMO. My impression is that designers mostly work out of their office, they don't go offsite to design. Then again, many want their laptop handy when they get inspired so I guess it's possible...

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[hedwards]

Theoretically yes, but in practice what it means is leaving the laptop at home most of the time. Which isn't really bad, but it's not really the typical point of a laptop. Personally, I had a laptop in college because it allowed me to bring it home on weekends so that I could finish my work. So, most of the time it would remain stationery except for when I'd go home.

The amount of physical exercise is more of an issue of sloth than anything else, it's not that hard to work a few minutes of exercise into ones day. And really one shouldn't be sitting for more than 20 minutes without standing up and pacing back and forth at least once.

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[minderaser]

If you go hiking, carrying 4.5 kg for hours is absolutely nothing.

Sure, if that's all you're carrying, but rarely is that ever the case. Real hikers know that reducing your load is a matter of trimming small bits of weight from every item possible. Pretty soon those couple of grams you've saved among a bunch of objects add up to real significant weight reduction.

In the (admittedly unlikely) scenario of taking a laptop hiking, every hiker I've known would absolutely take a 4kg one over a 4.5kg one. Hell, they would even be glad to have a 4.4kg instead.

cheers

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[admiralranga]

I wouldn't go so far to say only ex-military, more like anyone who has done a decent amount of hiking, its quite incredible the amount you can carry once you start using a real pack.

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[admiralranga]

Aside from the noise what would be nice for this kind of desktop replacement is a 1 or 2u server with a rackmount lcd/keyboard in softcarry bag like you can get for rackmount dj gear. I mean you now need power but really the battery on most desktop replacements is more like a small ups then for one the go use.

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[Amouth]

i like open source an no problem with it but Desktops has been available for a long time from SysInternals which is now part of MS.. if your in the windows world i'd recommend you take a look at it - lean and straight forward

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/cc817881

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[minderaser]

Well done! That has to be the most convoluted "solution I've ever read that starts with:

It would make much more sense just to ...

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[aaarrrgggh]

The spacebook would push the limits of your carry-on weight allowance as well. Some airlines limit to 8kg, although 18kg is more normal. You can't get much more than the suitcase and the laptop and be under the limit.

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[Kjella]

I mean you now need power but really the battery on most desktop replacements is more like a small ups then for one the go use.

Sometimes it just doesn't matter. I had a laptop with defective battery, it lasted just long enough for it to resume and show the "battery critical" warning so you could dive for the outlet. I was only lugging it office to office though so it stayed in service a long time.

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[Anonymous Coward]

Your average civilian also weighs like... 300 pounds, and will complain about the weight of their McDonalds bag as they carry it from their car door to their house.

Re:4.5 kg isn't so much

[Hognoxious]

You can tell quickly who is ex-military.

By the way they never mention it, especially when it's at best only barely tangential to the subject at hand?

For a "development desktop replacement"

[JBL2]

I've found two screens invaluable at work -- try opening an IDE, browser(s), database, code repository, etc. on one screen... no. If you're willing to lug the weight, it sounds great. I wouldn't want to travel with it (and my wife REALLY wouldn't want to travel with it), but I would consider it for "limited mobility" use. With that many cores, it sounds powerful enough to usefully run a database & web server; and connectivity these days is such that you could well have those available on your wireless network anyway.

How about a no-monitor laptop?

[mikael_j]

The main problem I have with my work laptop is actually that it's hard to place on a desk due to the monitor, I'd rather have two VGA/DVI/DP ports than a monitor and one port for an external display. And yeah, the keyboard really wouldn't be needed either, I just want it to be portable in the sense that I can move it between the office and my home office...

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[jschen]

Sounds like you want an external hard drive. Or a fast network connection.

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[mwvdlee]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_client
Basically a very small desktop computer.

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[royallthefourth]

Maybe you should build a mini-itx computer, or even run an RDP or NX server at home and login to it when you're on the road.

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[Elros]

Mac Mini anyone? Admittedly, only one display port, but maybe the next version?

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[UnknowingFool]

One mini DisplayPort and one HDMI port. The miniDsP supports 2560 x 1600 while the HDMI supports 1920 x 1200.

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[tverbeek]

A thin client is not "a very small desktop computer". It's a 21st century dumb terminal that you use to connect to a server which acts as a real computer.

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[jeffmeden]

The problem is that ultra-portable screens arent very common. NEC made one that seems to be discontinued, so apparently the answer to the question of "do people really want a dual screen laptop setup?" is a resounding no. Personally, i would probably buy (or rather, convince my employer to buy) a ultra-portable, maybe even battery powered LCD screen that was the same size or a little larger than the screen on my laptop. That way, I could have a reasonable two-screen setup on the road.

Back to the premise of this article: a guy wants a two-screen setup to do movie grade video editing on the road. If he is such a hot shot, he would get a Pelican case and have it fitted with slots for a nice compact PC and two nice monitors, and then pay a bellhop to carry it around and tip him extra if he unpacks the components onto the desk in his room. His under-powered laptop and two screens that need to be used from a generous distance (far too close to use the keyboard) are kind of a joke.

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[Amouth]

If it's a Thinkpad (and within the past 3 years) look at getting a Series 3 docking station.. they support dual VGA/DVI/DP .. compatibility differs on laptop model and the video card (aka mine will do dual DVI but not dual DP)

i use an x220 with dual DVI on the dock and Bluetooth keyboard/mouse to my office setup.. and the same at home.. works wonderful

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[Anonymous Coward]

How about a mac mini?

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[jawtheshark]

Something like this Foxconn NT535. It's my primary "desktop" (Mounted to the back of a 19" 1280x1024 monitor) Granted, it's only an Atom and that's probably not going to do it depending on your work. For normal office work, it suffices though and it's so cheap I considered stopping dumpster diving. With machines like this, a dumpster sourced 5 year old computer pales.

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[mikael_j]

Yeah, the perfomance is pretty much the main problem for me as it stands, my current work laptop is what qualifies as a "portable workstation" (meaning it's luggable) and I could actually use more RAM and a faster CPU/more cores.

I suppose I should be looking at a Mini-ITX box with a Core i5/i7 and 8-12 gigs of RAM...

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[tverbeek]

The Mac Mini is essentially a laptop with the display and keyboard removed, then refolded into a different shape (thicker, smaller footprint).

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[Ian-K]

Mac Mini???

I started off with this thing as a secondary development workstation and now it's the only one I use, running photoshop, netbeans and all. (Did upgrade the RAM to 8GB tho).

Re:How about a no-monitor laptop?

[mwvdlee]

It used to be like that in the past. Since about a decade it's a thin client is commodity PC hardware in a small box. Perhaps not quite as powerful as your ultra-expensive quad-core gaming rig but good enough to run any office application or media player. Perfectly capable for any user that doesn't need to run the very latest AAA titles at 1920x1280 resolution. The world of "dumb terminals" is far behind us ever since it became cheaper to just slap together mass-produced components instead of designing custom hardware than can do less.

The name indicates the market

[malignant_minded]

Get the Spacebook now and prove your manhood!

*Due to the weight of this laptop it is recommended to be operated in space where the weight will not be a hindrance to the operator, or buck up and be a man about it.

Re:The name indicates the market

[maxume]

A small (relatively fit) woman should have no trouble moving 10 pounds around.

(That isn't to say I would want to carry this thing while traveling, but yeash, 10 pounds ain't that much weight)

Re:The name indicates the market

[malignant_minded]

It's double the weight of my T61.

Docking Stations - Hotel TV's

[s31523]

I agree the two monitors is nice, but it's a laptop. TFA points out that carrying a docking station (along with extra monitor) with you is not practical, but neither is carrying a giant 4.5kg brick, plus think of the real estate you will need in a conference room. As far as plugging in at the hotel, I find most hotels I stay at have modern TV's that have VGA/HDMI inputs and I just plug in to the TV for my second monitor, and voila, a dual monitor setup.

Re:Docking Stations - Hotel TV's

[hedwards]

I haven't bothered to do it yet, but my new laptop has both HDMI and VGA outputs on top of its own screen and I have two monitors on my desk...

There is something absurdly ironic about a tiny laptop with two huge honkin' displays.

Re:Docking Stations - Hotel TV's

[JabberWokky]

I've found that using VNC on an iPad coupled with x11vnc is almost good enough for a second monitor, and is perfectly fine for things like monitoring tail -f, Twitter or iGoogle and the like. The delay is way too much for something like editing text, but that's what you have the other monitor for. The resolution is a bit too low as well (although x11vnc nicely scales the screen and text is readable), but that's part of the "almost good enough".

Honestly, I'd rather have a small laptop with a really high resolution screen and a tablet with a case that allows it to stand up next to my laptop. Thus, I can use the laptop in the airplane or on the sofa (or the tablet, if they get a bit better), and the pop the tablet next to the laptop in a conference, hotel room or cafe. The various Android tablets may already fit the bill. If there's an X server for them[1] then I'd say it may well actually be good enough for regular use.

Of course, at my office I have a nice 24" Samsung. If only Nouveau could see the mini display port on the 13" MBP 7,1, I'd be perfectly happy (I'm stuck with the Nvidia driver, which has some annoying peculiarities and no advantages if you don't care about 3D).

1 - If you're confused, keep in mind that X servers provide a screen, while the programs that draw on it are clients. For some reason it's a common mistake to get this backwards, probably because the web terminology is roughly the other way around.

My Brilliant Solution

[MyLongNickName]

I have a laptop. I have a monitor at my home desk that becomes my second monitor. When I am on the road I live with just having the one monitor. Typically on a plane, I wouldn't have space for two monitors anyway.

If I am in a satellite office, I can typically find a second monitor if I want it.

There is likely a market for this laptop, but I don't really see it being large. Most folks who need to travel want to travel light.

Re:My Brilliant Solution

[Anonymous Coward]

pft, just get a 3D screen (any 120hz computer screen really), put one desktop on each eye and close right eye to see the left desktop and vice versa.

Re:My Brilliant Solution

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're going that far, you may as well just use a desktop switcher. The benefit of multiple monitors is the ability to place objects in meaningful locations spatially, allowing your peripheral vision to assist you in multitasking operations.

Just need enough pixels, not two monitors

[anton.karl]

I cannot do my work without the two monitor kind of setup where you can easily split your workspace into an actual work area and a documentation area, terminal area, etc. However, this is really about having enough pixels and good shortcuts for positioning windows. I have a 1080p monitor on my 15.6" monitor laptop and using the default window positioning shortcuts in Ubuntu I get my dual monitor feeling without actually having two monitors. Two 17" monitors on a laptop is an overkill for most types of work.

calling ourselves human not good enough now

[Anonymous Coward]

the genocidal holycost is near fruition, as it was written, & re-written as needed for additional theatrical affect. this is what we want/our will?

the wish list is being edited to avoid any complicity in personal confrontation. the mandated disarmament includes the entire planet, & includes no caveats for big fauxking deals.

read the teepeeleaks etchings, before they disappear, again. thanks.

What a silly question.

[serviscope_minor]

Of course it makes sense... ...if you need a fast computer with lots of screen space in a portable package.

It's a niche, just like ruggedised laptops are a niche. Would you buy one if you didn't need the features? No. You'd be nuts. Would you buy one if you did need those feature? Of course since no other laptop would do the job well.

I personally don't need either at the moment, though I have bought in to both niches in the past.

Oh, just IMHO, but the trend towards thinness is really overrated. I like my eee, but it's not especially thin.

Re:What a silly question.

[CCarrot]

Mod parent up!

This sounds like one of those "let's see if we can do it" improvements, and would definitely be slanted toward the professional who needs this type of display space (PLC programmer who needs to commission/tweak/troubleshoot industrial sites scattered across the back woods, graphics design artists who need something to show their prelims to clients and at trade shows, etc.) instead of the everyday coffee-shop surfer.

I'd also imagine that the battery life on these things would be approximately 20 minutes (if they bother to include a battery at all). This would be like being able to quickly pack up your development computer and bring it to the job site, without sacrificing much in the way of usability. You'll need power at the site, but your on-site productivity could be vastly improved by using something like this...not to mention your in-flight productivity (if you're flying business class, that is!)

Re:What a silly question.

[Alex Belits]

slanted toward the professional who needs this type of display space (PLC programmer who needs to commission/tweak/troubleshoot industrial sites scattered across the back woods, graphics design artists who need something to show their prelims to clients and at trade shows, etc.)

It's in the category "If you can benefit from this tool, you are too dumb for this job".

Re:What a silly question.

[CCarrot]

slanted toward the professional who needs this type of display space (PLC programmer who needs to commission/tweak/troubleshoot industrial sites scattered across the back woods, graphics design artists who need something to show their prelims to clients and at trade shows, etc.)

It's in the category "If you can benefit from this tool, you are too dumb for this job".

I wonder how many people said that about keyboards/CRT screens and magnetic tape in the punchcard era?

Sorry, I'll leave you to your Assembly coding...

Re:What a silly question.

[Alex Belits]

I wonder how many people said that about keyboards/CRT screens and magnetic tape in the punchcard era?

None.

I WAS there.

Re:What a silly question.

[CCarrot]

I wonder how many people said that about keyboards/CRT screens and magnetic tape in the punchcard era?

None.

I WAS there.

Heh, good answer! I guess technically I was there, too, I was just more interested in punching holes in my soother than cards... ;)

No

[Zouden]

No, they don't make sense, because you can buy a 20" screen for $100.

The market for a dual-screen laptop is basically the intersection of these groups:
1. Those who absolutely need two monitors when travelling,
2. Those who aren't willing to pack a second monitor with them but are will to pack a 4.5kg laptop, and
3. Those who are moving around too much to justify buying a second monitor at their destination.
I think that's a pretty small market for an expensive device.

The article says the designer came up with the idea "when he needed a video editing workstation on a 6 month working holiday in Hawaii."
He then says, "I realized one morning that I did not want to haul my desktop and extra monitors around to every hotel for editing with the Adobe suite."
Well, fair enough, so this laptop would be great for him and anyone else on a 6-month video-editing holiday moving from hotel to hotel. But most people tend to stay in one place when working for 6 months, or if they're moving from hotel to hotel, they probably don't need 2 monitors.

If he finds a market for this laptop design, good on him, but to answer the headline's question: no, it doesn't make sense for the rest of us.

Re:No

[serviscope_minor]

No, they don't make sense, because you can buy a 20" screen for $100.

Seriously? Does that $100 monitor fit into the not especially huge laptop case? And how much does it weigh?

1. Those who absolutely need two monitors when travelling,

Fair enough. If I was having to frequently write large amounts of code on-site and was travelling by car, I would certainly consider such a laptop.

2. Those who aren't willing to pack a second monitor with them but are will to pack a 4.5kg laptop, and

Well, that doesn't really shrink the set by much. The barrier for packing a second monitor and setting it up is far higher than packing a huge laptop.

3. Those who are moving around too much to justify buying a second monitor at their destination. ..or those whose destination is not so much under their control, or not in a place likely to have a spare monitor.

I have actually needed a very large screen luggable beast before (dual screens weren't available then) and they make perfect sense given the right condidions.

The article says the designer came up with the idea "when he needed a video editing workstation on a 6 month working holiday in Hawaii."

Yeah, well, that's nutso. Especially the bit about "working holiday".

But it makes perfect sense for anyone doing enough work off site that this is prefereable to lugging a desktop. Just because you don't need that, doesn't mean it doesn't make sense. After all, you probably don't need a toughbook or a PC/104 machine either...

Re:No

[wisnoskij]

Ya and you can but a 20" laptop for $3K as well, so what is your point?

Re:No

[bill_mcgonigle]

2. Those who aren't willing to pack a second monitor with them but are will to pack a 4.5kg laptop, and

Right, and where AC power isn't available (sometimes laptops are used in the field).

It's a narrow subset of the market, but, hey it's a huge market, so if the company is well-run they should do fine. They should also be able to command whatever price they want, as this market is likely thirsting for such a product.

Re:No

[realityimpaired]

No, they don't make sense, because you can buy a 20" screen for $100.

Seriously? Does that $100 monitor fit into the not especially huge laptop case? And how much does it weigh?

Good question. I haven't seen a 20" screen that'd fit comfortably into my laptop bag. That said, another poster did draw my attention to this, which would fit comfortably into my laptop bag, and only weighs 3lbs.

1. Those who absolutely need two monitors when travelling,

Fair enough. If I was having to frequently write large amounts of code on-site and was travelling by car, I would certainly consider such a laptop.

I wouldn't. I'd ask them to have a second display waiting for me at my destination. Anybody who can afford to have a consultant drive on site to do some coding for them can afford to provide said consultant with a workstation or a place to work. I can simply commandeer the monitor that's plugged into that workstation to run a dual display with my laptop.

2. Those who aren't willing to pack a second monitor with them but are will to pack a 4.5kg laptop, and

Well, that doesn't really shrink the set by much. The barrier for packing a second monitor and setting it up is far higher than packing a huge laptop.

No so much. As said in the link above, there are options out there for a second monitor you can pack with you that will fit in your laptop bag. Between that monitor and my existing 13" laptop, the total weight would be about 2.8kgs for a portable dual screen setup that would fit easily in my laptop bag, and at a total cost about 1/4 what the laptop in TFA is proposed to cost. (not to mention that the 2nd display is a one-time cost that isn't incurred when it comes time to retire/upgrade my old laptop).

3. Those who are moving around too much to justify buying a second monitor at their destination. ..or those whose destination is not so much under their control, or not in a place likely to have a spare monitor.

I have actually needed a very large screen luggable beast before (dual screens weren't available then) and they make perfect sense given the right condidions.

They do. I have a multi-display high resolution setup at home on my desk. I also have an ultraportable laptop that I use on the road. The ultraportable laptop is usable for almost everything I do on the main system, thanks to desktop switching. It's not as convenient, but it's certainly workable for a temporary solution such as would be the case on the road with a laptop.

The article says the designer came up with the idea "when he needed a video editing workstation on a 6 month working holiday in Hawaii."

Yeah, well, that's nutso. Especially the bit about "working holiday".

But it makes perfect sense for anyone doing enough work off site that this is prefereable to lugging a desktop. Just because you don't need that, doesn't mean it doesn't make sense. After all, you probably don't need a toughbook or a PC/104 machine either...

No, I don't think it really does. It's a *lot* of money to spend on a laptop when there's alternative solutions available to you that are much less expensive, especially in the long run. My experience is that most people who use multi-display systems don't actually need 2 or 3 or 4+ monitors to do what they want to do, they simply find it more convenient to not have to desktop switch or alt-tab between windows. And I say that as somebody who uses a multi-display system almost daily. but even if you are among the few who actually *need* multiple displays, there's other options out there for you to have multiple displays on the road.

Re:No

[jeffmeden]

Add to your list:

"4. Those who don't have the foresight to book a hotel room with a nice wall mount LCD in the room that can easily be used as a second monitor."

I have stayed at a few hotels that have decent 720p or 1080p LCD screens, surely if this guy is a big shot movie editor he can afford to stay in one.

Re:No

[delinear]

Seriously? Does that $100 monitor fit into the not especially huge laptop case?

Speak for yourself - I'm rocking an Alienware Orion that can comfortably carry TWO bulky 17" laptops and all the relevant accessories, so one laptop and a monitor (not 20" admittedly) would leave room for a couple of books. Of course, the backpack alone weighs probably as much as than my other (ultraportable) laptop AND bag together...

Re:No

[serviscope_minor]

Good question. I haven't seen a 20" screen that'd fit comfortably into my laptop bag. That said, another poster did draw my attention to this, which would fit comfortably into my laptop bag, and only weighs 3lbs.

Looks neat: I wasn't aware of such a device. Still, if I needed one all the time, I'd probably buy the luggable.

I wouldn't. I'd ask them to have a second display waiting for me at my destination. Anybody who can afford to have a consultant drive on site to do some coding for them can afford to provide said consultant with a workstation or a place to work. I can simply commandeer the monitor that's plugged into that workstation to run a dual display with my laptop.

That's fine, though not everywhere is suitable equipped: if you're going to do on-site stuff in a non office location, you generally have to bring everything with you. In that case, it was part of my job: I wasn't a consultant.

Or, imagine if you're going to sort out a customer's problem. It's just easier to lug everything with you than to rely on customers doing anything other saying "FIX IT NOW!!!".

Again, it's a niche, but it does exist.

monitor and my existing 13" laptop, the total weight would be about 2.8kgs for a portable dual screen setup that would fit easily in my laptop bag, and at a total cost about 1/4 what the laptop in TFA is proposed to cost. (not to mention that the 2nd display is a one-time cost that isn't incurred when it comes time to retire/upgrade my old laptop).

Yeah, this one is quite expensive. How does it compare in other specs to the 13" laptop? I would be willing to pay a premium for the no-futz factor of having an integrated system if I was in need of such a system in the first place.

My experience is that most people who use multi-display systems don't actually need 2 or 3 or 4+ monitors to do what they want to do, they simply find it more convenient to not have to desktop switch or alt-tab between windows. And I say that as somebody who uses a multi-display system almost daily. but even if you are among the few who actually *need* multiple displays, there's other options out there for you to have multiple displays on the road.

Well, I certainly prefer a large screen area even with using a proper window manager, though I use a small screen (an eee) on the road. It does make some tasks rather harder though, but not ones I need to do often.

I suppose the question is whether it is worth having a large fast workstation which you can unpack and work in a small amount of time. I can certainly see niches (for non office work, even finding a good place to balance an extra screen could be a pain). I won't be purchasing one any time soon, though.

Re:No

[petermgreen]

The problem with that idea IMO is that not all HDTVs make decent monitors*, some do but other than asking for the model number and hoping someone has done a decent review of it I don't see any way to determine that in advance. Also even if the TV did make a reasonable monitor wouldn't using two monitors of radially differen DPI be really weird?

* to be a decent monitor a device must be able to do a 1:1 mapping of incoming pixels to displayed pixels without imposing any noticable blurring.

Re:No

[Anne_Nonymous]

I think they should make a dual screen tablet - one screen on each side.

Re:No

[shadowfaxcrx]

Well, actually, for TV news this laptop would be pretty fantastic. A lot of editing is done on the road or in the live truck at the scene. Having twin monitors is nice, but there usually isn't enough rack room (especially if you shoot in HD) in the truck to accommodate 2 decent-sized edit monitors because they're already stuffed full of other crap you need to run the truck, especially if it's a hybrid sat/microwave truck. Having external monitors that aren't rack-mounted isn't acceptable because the truck moves, and you can't have them bouncing around when you're driving. This one laptop would replace 4 pieces of equipment in a live truck, and you could yank it out of the truck and bring it with you if you needed to.

I definitely see a market for this thing in TV circles (assuming its durability is decent).

Re:No

[shadowfaxcrx]

oh btw, as to expense, it's not unusual for a station to pay $50,000 for one camera (and that's not counting the tripod or batteries or charger or case or rain cover or light or microphones). This laptop could be bought almost with couch-cushion change when your equipment budget is at that scale.

Re:No

[X10]

No, they don't make sense, because you can buy a 20" screen for $100.

I agree. When I work at a customers site, I bring my laptop, customer lends me an extra monitor and a keyboard, everybody's happy.

Tile?

[rgviza]

How about tile vertically/horizontally? Try it. I think there's absolutely no reason to dual screen a laptop. I'd rather have one big screen.

Re:Tile?

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree.

In the past, I always had 2 screens, and I hated the new trend of 16:10 screens. Then I started using a tiling window manager and now I can actually use 100% of the screen area of a 16:10 screen.

Also, if you think about it, it makes absolutely no sense to build a laptop with two screens. What most people really want (even if the don't know it) is a larger screen, and an easy method to arrange two windows side by side. When your window manager / OS can't do that, then it's a software problem, not a hardware problem. What's the benefit of having two physical screens that you cant move / detach on a laptop, instead of one large screen? Having an ugly black stripe in the middle?

Re:Tile?

[Anonymous Coward]

I would rather have 2 big screens. Then you can have 2 masters in Xmonad. I've used dual screen for 11-12 years and one monitor will never be as good. The boundaries of individual screens is a good thing.

spare monitor

[romco]

I have a laptop with a 15.6 display and a cheap 15.6 monitor. If I have to work on my laptop I want 2 monitors but if I am just taking it with me to answer emails and surf a little I only want one.

Best of both worlds and way cheaper.

ergonomics

[jschen]

Having two screens in a laptop won't solve the problem that a laptop inherently has poor ergonomics. Sure, there's lots of screen real estate, but it's not ideally positioned. That, or the keyboard won't be ideally positioned. To me, this setup seems even worse, with no main screen right in front. Though if you insist on that much screen space in a portable package (4.5 kg isn't so bad compared to laptops from a decade ago), I guess this works.

Stupid 16:9 screens

[kevinmenzel]

If they had kept making 4:3 screens then with today's display technology, there's no reason you couldn't have a 2048x1536 laptop. Not quite 2x1080p, but it'd at least have a hope of being standard, and it'd be a hell of a lot better than the single 1080p displays laptops come with these days.

Re:Stupid 16:9 screens

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree completely. My main laptop is 16:10, my netbook and my external monitor are 16:9. For nearly everything I do, an old-fashioned non-wide monitor would be better. The exceptions being watching movies (which I rarely do) and making music in sequencing software, where a wider playlist is quite handy. Unfortunately non-wide monitors are damn near impossible to find. Smaller external monitors are still available, if you look in the "business" segment as opposed to "comsumer" (you have to do that anyway to get a non-glossy screen), but a non-wide laptop is not easy to find. Your options would be very limited.

About TFA, I could totally see myself using one of these if I was on the road a lot but at the moment it's not for me. I would get an external keyboard for it though. To be able to see both screens I would have to place it some distance away from me.

Re:Stupid 16:9 screens

[kevinmenzel]

If the screen is the same physical width, I would take 4:3 over wide any day. At the same physical width, the screen is no worse for playing movies, and any task where you aren't going to lean back - where real world picture size isn't what matters, but rather screen real-estate - a 4:3 screen with the same horizontal resolution as a 16:10 screen... wins.

Re:Stupid 16:9 screens

[Anonymous Coward]

Agreed. I dislike widescreen, it takes away my vertical space and adds it on the sides, where I dont need it. I'll clinch to my 19" screens until they cant be repaired anymore.

RS232?

[Anonymous Coward]

I would rather see a serial port than an extra screen...

Re:RS232?

[Chrisq]

I would rather see a serial port than an extra screen...

If I could... I surely would... Hmm mmm.

Re:RS232?

[DrgnDancer]

Or you could pay $25 for a USB to RS232 converter? They weigh essentially nothing, and work fine in all major OSes (you have to be a tiny bit careful in picking them for Linux/Mac, but plenty work on everything).

Re:RS232?

[petermgreen]

It really all depends on the device that you want the serial port for. Some get on fine with USB to serial converters, others don't.

Laptop?

[mwvdlee]

At what point do we stop calling these huge things "laptop" and start calling them "luggable"?
The point of a laptop is that it can sit on top of your lap. Machines like this really aren't made for that purpose; they're basically desktop machines that are easy to carry around.

Re:Laptop?

[hedwards]

The keyword for that has been "Desktop Replacement" or at least that's what they were calling them the last time I was looking for a high res display. I can't recall what they were calling them back when portables were just desktops with a tiny monitor in a fold up form factor.

Re:Laptop?

[Anonymous Coward]

I've never seen a laptop that be used on your lap.. maybe the Mac's, but i never used one... All my "laptops" would fry my nuts if I ever tried to use one on my lap, with the exception of my Altima 386.. It was 8.5x11 and had no vents on the bottom... ofcourse it was 16 shade grayscale LCD, and only ran at 33mhz (66 in turbo)

Two Screens?

[Afty0r]

You guys do know what Alt-Tab does in Windows, right? right?

Re:Two Screens?

[Bing Tsher E]

Yes, we know.

Alt-Tab is for obscuring one part of what you're working on. You get to choose which part to block.

Re:Two Screens?

[Anonymous Coward]

you mean the porn-panic button combo for when my boss walks in?

Re:Two Screens?

[Anonymous Coward]

Try having an IDE for embedded design, a ECAD package and datasheets for the various ICs you're using and being efficient with a single screen. I've only got two monitors and I'm still Alt-Tabbing like crazy.

Add in the IDE for SW development when I've got to develop test apps for the hardware and it's way too much. Four screens, or two much larger high resolution screens would be really nice.

Re:Two Screens?

[Rary]

You guys do know what Alt-Tab does in Windows, right? right?

Question: When you're working on a real desktop (you know, like, with paper and stuff), and say you're doing work where you've got a multi-page document you're working on, and a reference book or two, and maybe a couple other charts and figures, or perhaps a sample document that you're basing your work on, do you choose a small desktop about the size of an 8.5" x 11" piece of paper and just constantly swap which one is on top, or do you spread out a bit so you can see what you're working on all at once?

ALT-TAB is for switching tasks. Multiple monitors is for spreading out and seeing multiple materials while doing one task. It's not necessary for every task, but it's almost essential for some.

For some people it might make sense... but

[Chrisq]

For some people it might make sense... but for a lot of people wouldn't it be better to carry a single screen laptop and carry an extra monitor for the times you actually need it?

Re:For some people it might make sense... but

[p0p0]

That's exactly what this is, except you don't need any additional cables or cases for the second monitor. Woo!

Re:For some people it might make sense... but

[delinear]

It's not technically "exactly what this is", because this is far less flexible than GP's solution. You can't leave one monitor behind when you know you won't need the two, you could with his solution. Also, have you seen the thing? I want my main laptop screen directly in front of the keyboard with the second monitor off to the side so I can glance at it when required and so I can sit with my body and head straight on, I don't want to be sat typing with my head pointing sideways because of the weird split. This solution does away with the cables but introduces some additional constraints, so they're not an exact equivalent.

Tablet as Monitor

[ThomasFlip]

You can currently hook up a tablet to your laptop as a second monitor. My understanding is that depending on the software your using though, it can be a bit laggy. It would be nice if someone decided to design a tablet specifically for use in conjunction with a laptop.

Does anyone know what the best laptop/tablet solution is?

Re:Tablet as Monitor

[tverbeek]

A laptop + tablet would be a much better solution for me. Use each of them independently when you want something lighter, or pair them for dual screens.

But frankly, anything less than a couple of 19-inch monitors is too small for my office/studio uses, and there's no way I'm going to carry even one physical display that size around, no matter how elegantly they package it. At a desk: I use a desktop. A laptop is for using in places that aren't your office; I don't expect it to match those capabilities. A netbook or tablet is for keeping with you so you have something all the time, size/functionality be damned. Each has different uses, and a dual-screen laptop is like a motorcycle with a roof: kinda missing the point. The whole idea of trying to carry your office around with you all the time has never really made sense to me. What profession actually requires that?

Re:Tablet as Monitor

[CCarrot]

The whole idea of trying to carry your office around with you all the time has never really made sense to me. What profession actually requires that?

Graphics and web designers (if they count on the client coming to them for design meetings, they generally don't work very long),
Programmers for remote industrial sites (final design programs often don't resemble the final commissioned version much, if at all),
CAD draftpeople who work on consignment (often requiring shifting office locations to suit their clients),
People who demo software/games at trade shows (bigger display=more people at your booth, and sometimes there's just no good place to set up a projector)...

The nice things about these unit are - no extra cables needed, quick setup/teardown, and you know the quality/abilities of your hardware and software before you get there. Yes it's a niche market, but I'm thinking that niche could be larger than you'd expect...

Re:Tablet as Monitor

[tverbeek]

Designers and trade show people don't need their production rigs; they just need demo rigs. A small laptop (or real desktop for the game demos) with a big external display is better suited for these situations than a laptop with a big(ish) display. If you need a big display and you're using a laptop, requiring the audience to look over your shoulder... you're doing it wrong. :)

That itinerant programmer and CAD user presumably don't change offices daily (i.e. carrying it around all the time), and could leave a desktop and display in place for the duration of an assignment. Sure, a close-and-carry unit is more convenient for the move, but having a better rig for the much greater time spent using it seems like it should be more important.

Re:Tablet as Monitor

[CCarrot]

Designers and trade show people don't need their production rigs; they just need demo rigs. A small laptop (or real desktop for the game demos) with a big external display is better suited for these situations than a laptop with a big(ish) display. If you need a big display and you're using a laptop, requiring the audience to look over your shoulder... you're doing it wrong. :)

That itinerant programmer and CAD user presumably don't change offices daily (i.e. carrying it around all the time), and could leave a desktop and display in place for the duration of an assignment. Sure, a close-and-carry unit is more convenient for the move, but having a better rig for the much greater time spent using it seems like it should be more important.

Well, for big startups, the itinerant programmers sometimes need to shift their rig multiple times a day, depending on the size and layout of the station ;) Sure they can sometimes remote in, but it's much more efficient to be near the actual process/PLC/GUI while trying to troubleshoot or optimize performance.

As for the designers and trade show peeps, well, it depends on how much capital they have to spend on equipment. A quality production rig plus a decent sized and capable demo rig could easily run much more $ than the cost of one of these, especially if they catch on and the price drops (and the screens get bigger). Plus, I don't see why these couldn't be designed with an option to fold back-to-back, so the demonstration can run mirrored on both screens. True, that cuts the overall demo size, but I would certainly stop at a booth that was running something like that, just to check out the hardware!

Re:Tablet as Monitor

[Anonymous Coward]

My take on this (and there are loads of interesting and well thought out suggestions in the discussion) is as follows:

Redesign the traditional laptop to be like a tablet, put a recess in the back so that a removable keyboard can clip in and a stand can fold out, like a picture frame.

By itself I can use it like a tablet. To do some work I unclip the keyboard and prop it up like a photo frame. I can position the keyboard and screen to be more ergonomic. The keyboard could have a track pad built into one end. The main display, since it's essentially a tablet, can be rotated between landscape or portrait.

Now all you need is a second screen in the same product line, same styling and size, with an internal battery and simple (preferably not propriety but I can see why it would be) cable connection for display and power. The second screen clips to the tablet when not in use, protecting both screens. To use, unclip (perhaps put a clamshell style hinge in there as well, I'm not immediately sold either way) and quickly set up your work station.

If you don't need the extra display you can leave it at home.

I think such a device would be very powerful and flexible.

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I'd rather my tablet could be used as a 2nd screen

[obarthelemy]

or even my phone.

I'm not using them when I'm on my PC... They might as well do something useful !

Ew.

[JustAnotherIdiot]

That is by far the most hideous laptop I've ever laid eyes on. Even my old one with it's cracked and busted screen would be preferred over that.

Well, that's not a 'lap-top'

[roman_mir]

That's not a laptop anymore, when it's that big and heavy.

But I am scared that at some point my SyncMaster 2493HM may go out, because where the hell can one get a good screen on this planet again with 1920x1200 resolution, good contrast, tiny pitch, every port one ever thought of for a screen?

Re:Well, that's not a 'lap-top'

[ATMosby]

ASUS makes a wonderful 1920x1200 resolution monitor.

Re:Well, that's not a 'lap-top'

[Anonymous Coward]

Just about every monitor manufacturer offers a premium 24 incher with 1920x1200 resolution, usually with a better than TN panel. For example: Asus PA246Q, Eizo FlexScan S2402WFS-Gy, Fujitsu B24W-5, HP ZR24w, Lenovo L2440P, Nec MultiSync EA241WM, Samsung SyncMaster 2443DW. All of them cost about 400 euros around here.

Re:Yes

[Anonymous Coward]

In the case of creating GUI applications, sometimes it is nice to not have to scroll around to place components. Also, dual-screen is excellent for keeping documentation in one place and development in another. If there was a single screen with a logical split in the middle, but a much higher pixel count, that would make dual-screen support a moot point.

What about the 3-screen macbook concept? If they ditched the ultra-wide pad, it might sell.

What's a Bing?

[Charliemopps]

This is the type of thing that's going to end up on one of those "10 stupidest gadgets that never caught on" lists in 10 years. Everyone will look at that demo picture and wonder "What's a Bing?"

Re:What's a Bing?

[thedonger]

I just wonder why someone would spend all that money on a laptop with two displays and have Bing in both of them...Or one of them.

Overkill

[Anonymous Coward]

An overkill is still a kill

Duel Display when you need it.

[jellomizer]

Having 1 monitor for a laptop is good, and allowing for external monitors to be hooked up is ideal. If you are at your desk and ready to get real work done you hook up your external displays, and you good. Otherwise you are either on the move or in some location where you probably just need to do some quick tasks where one display is sufficient.

I'm sure they make sense to someone

[itsdapead]

...who, like the inventor, regularly has to do screen real-estate-intensive work "on the road" ...for example, on-location video editing, where two screens are particularly useful. If there are enough people in that category, good luck to the product.

However, for anybody who spends more time working at their desk than on the road, 2 x 17" is a bit small (...and they look like 1080p monitors to me) - I'd fancy something rather bigger for my main screen, and for the price premium of a dual screen laptop you could probably equip both home and office with a 26" display. I quite like the combination of a 13" laptop (for true portability) and a 28" display.

What's particularly annoying, though, is the MS Office "ribbon" concept infecting new software - particularly c.f. the previous version of Mac Office which used a floating palette. Pin a load of clutter to the top of the window just when everybody is being pushed to 16:9 displays? Brilliant.

I don't get it...

[Joce640k]

He wanted this because he was going to Hawaii for six months and didn't want to carry a second monitor.

Does that make sense to anybody? This has to be the most complicated/expensive solution possible to the problem.

How about:
a) Fly to Hawaii
b) Buy a second monitor when you arrive there.

Re:I don't get it...

[redemtionboy]

He was going to be in and out of hotel rooms, meetings, and other locations from the sound of it. Constantly being mobile in this situation. So, a little more reasonable .

Re:I don't get it...

[iamhassi]

"Buy a second monitor when you arrive there."

And what, lug around a laptop, plus a second monitor, power cord and monitor cable? Thanks but no thanks, I'd rather have a laptop that fits in a laptop case. Expensive? Yes. Worth it for the extra space and not having to drag around a second monitor everywhere? God yes, to me at least, I'm sure there's plenty of people that would rather take a $500 laptop and buy a $200 second monitor and drag them both around everywhere.

Detachable screen + keyboard

[Compaqt]

Give me a screen that can be mounted, placed, or moved up high so I don't have to bend my neck looking downwards at the screen.

Oh, and the keyboard should be detachable, so it can be placed at the proper height for a keyboard (a few inches below normal desk height).

And a real mouse, also at keyboard level, not desk level.

And the screen should either be portrait, or it should be huge.

I think after I'm done, I'd end up with a desktop.

Re:Detachable screen + keyboard

[Anonymous Coward]

no you wouldnt. try the ACER ICONIATAB W50.

Re:Detachable screen + keyboard

[Anonymous Coward]

Agreed. I could do about 60 minutes per day of detail-work on a big-screen laptop. Maybe someone will make an upside down periscope device you can wear while working on it? Other than that, it makes about as much sense as bench seats on a bicycle.

Re:Detachable screen + keyboard

[del_diablo]

I guess you are looking for something like a iMac, or computers buildt on the same concept of desktop PC.
Basically that the computer is buildt into the back of the monitor.
And perhaps a battery with 30 minuttes of power, to protect it against power surges, and enable you to do a quick move of it, without it losing power.

Re:Detachable screen + keyboard

[ElderKorean]

Give me a screen that can be mounted, placed, or moved up high so I don't have to bend my neck looking downwards at the screen.
Oh, and the keyboard should be detachable, so it can be placed at the proper height for a keyboard (a few inches below normal desk height).
And a real mouse, also at keyboard level, not desk level.
And the screen should either be portrait, or it should be huge.
I think after I'm done, I'd end up with a desktop.

If you still want portability you should get a docking station for you laptop. then you can plug everything into that for when you need to work.
I've got a wireless KB, Mouse, Monitor, network and audio all connected through mine, and can unplug the laptop by pressing a button.

I don't think that mine can deal with multiple monitors, but it is about 5 years old (and so is the laptop)

Re:Detachable screen + keyboard

[ElderKorean]

Actually I meant to say a port replicator instead of a docking station.

virtual desktops

[sourcerror]

I use VirtuaWin on WinXp for virtual desktops, and works pretty well for me.

Re:virtual desktops

[Osgeld]

I use desktops.exe on XP you can download it from MS's website, instant 4 screens and I dont need to lug 10lbs

Re:virtual desktops

[Anonymous Coward]

It still doesn't let you see more than one desktop at a time, and it is also shit and doesn't do the job properly

Just use an iPad

[Anonymous Coward]

I use my iPad as a secondary display for my macbook. Works well over wifi and is snappy for non-video/game requirements.

It depends

[VincenzoRomano]

If you use a laptop just like a desktop replacement, then it'd make some sense.
But if you use a laptop as a ... ehm ... portable computer sitting atop your laps, then it doesn't.
Two screens means twice screen consumption, heavier laptop etc.etc.

Keyboard

[wisnoskij]

Now all they need to do is have a fold out keyboard and laptops don't have to be so annoying.

I think this is the technology of the future, that way laptops can continue to get smaller but have the same or bigger screen size.

Re:Keyboard

[Trracer]

You mean like this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfUYph4p9rA

Made back in 1994 or so.

Re:Keyboard

[tverbeek]

They've worked all of this out on Gallifrey.

S.I.

[alex67500]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_System_of_Units

Apple anyone?

[PARENA]

Maybe Apple will make one, claim they are innovators, patent it and sue everyone using more than 1 screen. :P Seriously, though. I don't see this going anywhere if it isn't as portable as regular laptops can be now. But the first ones were not that portable, either and things seem to go way faster, so if there really is a market for it, who knows.

It's a washer-tumble dryer

[ledow]

It's like a washer-tumble-dryer. Twice as much to break, twice the cost when it does, little advantage (except space) over having two the separate things.

Laptops have a high screen-damage rate - about 50% of the ones that I see die do so because of:

- Broken plastics on the screen corners making it vulnerable
- Broken hinges
- Broken screens
- Broken backlights.

They've managed to take the most vulnerable, power-hungry and costly part of the laptop and double its vulnerability, power needs and cost so that people can save themselves a window resize or an Alt-Tab.

And they are laptops - if you're using one, it's because you need to move it a lot, use it away from power sources and desks and spaces you can unfold stuff in, or a pretentious ponce who thinks they look better on your desk than the one-quarter-of-the-price desktop that out-specs it.

Now, if you'd have said two hard drives, there would be people tearing your arms off to get it. Two displays? Hell, I don't even use dual displays at home or in the office, why would I bother on a laptop where it's the most expensive and ridiculously dangerous device on which to try to juggle two screens?

Re:I'd rather my tablet could be used as a 2nd scr

[Guidii]

There's a product called MaxiVista that will do this for you. Haven't tried it myself, but it seems cool.

Two screens that is just silly because

[Anonymous Coward]

You can plug in a fucking monitor any time.

two problems...

[nerdyalien]

1. isn't the laptop now more "luggagable", rather being "portable?
2. if the CPU and RAM specs are bad, then having extra screen is not productive at all!

Measuring systems

[Anonymous Coward]

Am I the only one who found it odd that the laptop is described as 1.7 inches thick and 4.5 kilograms? I'm cool with either system, just pick one!

Re:Measuring systems

[Hognoxious]

It hath a brace of one cubit displays, verily.

Orientation

[Anonymous Coward]

Can I get a lappy that folds out one landscape and one portrait monitor, like I have furnished all my workplaces with since many years?

Preferrably 16:10 or 4:3, if I may. The vertical needs at least 1600x1200 to show an A4 paper 100%.

Pretty please, with sugar and cream?

Re:I'd rather my tablet could be used as a 2nd scr

[hedwards]

Wacom makes those and they cost about $1,000.

How about ...

[PPH]

1. Allow the auxiliary display output to be driven as a second screen, with its own graphics h/w, memory, etc.
2. Build a battery powered LCD/LED display that I can slip into my laptop case and whip out when I need. Or use the second display output to drive a big desktop display. Or projector.

Re:How about ...

[gl4ss]

it's not half as easy to set up or fast to close when you leave the hotel room. there's a market for these, but it's mostly rich moving professionals.
 
  but a dual screen movable desktop isn't a bad thing to have if you'd be spend time outside of home but would need a full desktop you could put in a bag without hassle in minutes. I guess some people might want these at home because it's cleaner and easier to move from desk to desk. would need to have a lot of money to burn though.

USB Powered LCD Displays

[Drethon]

http://www.amazon.com/UM-710S-Powered-Swivel-Screen-Display/dp/B002RMPASG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311172395&sr=8-1

Not quite what I would want but its a start in the right direction, give me a 17 inch capacitive touchscreen that can be plugged into a USB port. What IPad? (yes I know the IPad would be smaller than a laptop plus that display but its the functionality of the touchscreen I want, not the small package of an IPad).

Or GUIs...

[xded]

Or GUIs that shouldn't grow in size just to be "touch compatible". See Windows 7 vs. XP, I can't stand the excessive spacing between menus lines in 7 when I will use it as a mouse-only OS for the foreseeable future...

Finally!

[Anonymous Coward]

Two screen slashvertisements on the go!

I guess I'm weird

[AngryDeuce]

What's wrong with having the desktop computer at home with the dual or triple 24" monitors and the netbook for travel? How many people really need that kind of screen real estate when they're traveling? Sure, it would be nice, but not worth the hassle, at least in my opinion.

To each their own, of course. I doubt you'll see many of these sold, so hopefully the few that buy them don't get screwed because the manufacturer drops product support.

Wrong Solution

[bWareiWare.co.uk]

This is a ridiculous solution. What they need to develop is a LCD screen which draws its power from the laptop's IEEE 1394 port (IEEE 1394's 45W is fine for an efficient 17" LED monitor).
Customer:
* Take or leave the second monitor on a per-job basis
* Can upgrade at any time
* >2 panels possible
* Can combine with other specialist requirements, (i.e. a Mac or a ToughBook etc.)
* All your eggs aren't in one basket when something breaks.
Manufacturer
* The high R&D can pay back over a much longer product cycle (A decent 1080p LED monitor should be viable in a decade, any extreme-high-end laptop is obsolete in months).

Re:Wrong Solution

[badkarmadayaccount]

Would work well with standalone modular screens, and standard mount point on the base (commodore 64 form factor laptop?). Package in one box for the sheep.

Are there any ultra-portable monitors around ?

[SirKveldulv]

Maybe a silly question, but are there any monitors around similar in size to a (17"+) laptop monitor, that could be lugged around and used as a 2nd monitor ? I imagine most people who want 2 monitors on a laptop are happy to settle for 'reasonably portable'.

I always have a look at the dual screen laptops that come up, but I'd be just as happy to plug in an extra screen if it solved the same problem.

Yes akin to Mac Book Air

[j33px0r]

Makes sense if you need to actually do work on your laptop and need enhanced visuals. Sure, it's heavy but weight isn't a concern for everyone and every situation. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Mac Book Air which weighs nothing but has lower computing power at a premium price.

But if you are traveling to nice hotels, why not just plug into the Plasma/LCD in the room for a second display?

Does a President who...

[Anonymous Coward]

is so spineless that he would flop over his teleprompter but for the starch in his shirt make sense?

The Goggles, they're too low-res

[billstewart]

The meme says "The Goggles, they do nothing!", but there are goggles out there that do something. They're mainly for gamers and for watching TV, and don't have enough resolution for coding (typically TV resolution or 2xTV for 3D.)

Laptop + HDMI Cable

[billstewart]

While it's certainly not universal yet, more and more hotel rooms have flat-screen digital TVs in them. Get a laptop that can talk to HDMI and VGA, and you should be able to hijack the TV as a second monitor.

Meanwhile, if he's there for six months, yeah, get a second monitor when you arrive. They're down to $100 or so these days - get one for the hotel and one for work.

No

[Bert64]

Personally i don't really like having 2 screens, i would rather have a single screen of the highest possible resolution. Although i absolutely cannot live without virtual desktops, i find it easier to make a quick keypress to flip between a large number of desktops than to keep moving my head sideways to look at additional screens.

Nothing new

[solidraven]

A Japanese company already made a similar laptop that was cheaper and lighter last year. Don't really understand the fuzz about this.

Too big for me

[Thraxy]

I have a 15.6" and would actually go smaller if I could afford it. For something I have to carry around with me, a 13.3" or 14" would be perfect. I have to admit tough, it does look cool with two monitors.

Less weight on a widescreen

[tepples]

If the screen is the same physical width, I would take 4:3 over wide any day.

I disagree. A screen that's not as tall generally means a smaller chassis, meaning less weight. And a 1080p screen has room for two side-by-side 960x1024 pixel windows.

Re:Less weight on a widescreen

[del_diablo]

The thing is: Where can I find 2 applications that runs fine in 980 width? And lets not ignore the middle needs a border of 1-4 pixels either.

Re:Less weight on a widescreen

[kevinmenzel]

Not having two screens is going to be less heavy though. Obviously, if you want less screen real-estate you're going to have less weight. I'm not convinced that laptops today couldn't afford to be a bit heavier (albeit less heavier than having 2 screens) in order to solve the issue of consumption focused design. After all, I'm fairly sure that the transition from 4:3 screens to 16:9 screens wasn't driven by concerns that laptops were too heavy.

Focus

[tepples]

Multiple monitors is for spreading out and seeing multiple materials while doing one task.

How many monitors can your eyes focus on at once? If you have a dedicated key for switching between two workspaces, and the switching is instant and not laggy, that's almost as good as two monitors.

Re:Focus

[jvkjvk]

>> If you have a dedicated key for switching between two workspaces, and the switching is instant and not laggy, that's almost as good as two monitors

And right in your argument you defeat it. Why would I want almost as good if I don't have to do that? Especially for something I use every day for multiple hours a day?

Regards.

Why fight biology?

[VortexCortex]

"Given the number of people who prefer a multi-monitor setup, surely someone can come up with a lighter, less cumbersome, and cheaper design?"

We solved this problem in the 90's -- It's called: VR.

The display res has shot up, and the weight is very low now... When I turn my head I have a whole world of screen-space. When people see me developing a 3D terminal emulator / IDE for my cross-platform game-engine, they always say: "WTF? Multiple terminal regions navigable in 3D? Why? That's a waste!

It's because it will soon be my 3D OS of choice. Go put your polarized or shutter glasses back on, or have your display dictate your head placement. I'll just wear the displays and have a full 360 degree "surface" for cheaper than your ridiculously priced wall of "HD" screens.

Too bad it wasn't as "hip" to be a geek in the 90s as it is today, otherwise more of us would have better/cheaper VR; Instead of me having to use clunky old low-res helmets or build my own light-weight VR units by mounting used Android phone parts to my comfy gaming headset (protip, accelerometers = cheap head tracking).

Hell, if the phones keep getting lighter and thinner: I'll just make a generic helm and slot 2 phones into place -- My OS can then be side-loaded as an app or installed as a custom firmware and I won't have to have a "utility-belt" full of mobile phone guts (it'll be much easier to upgrade), displays can sync wirelessly. Voice recognition is decent, but I still need my portable keyboard... I can't wait till that brainwave sensing tech can let me type.

Someday I may replace an eye with an ocular implant to take full advantage of altered-reality tech -- Leave the other one normal for now, can't risk having my senses hacked just yet. I bet by then the nay-sayers will still be paying too much for non-portable Super Duper HD Gigantron Screens...
--
Once a cyborg, always a cyborg; Still sad about the stem-cell organ ban.

Re:Why fight biology?

[TagrenHawk]

There is one major drawback to VR: sharing. If I want a fellow programmer to see my code I have to either be able to slave my display to his helmet as well, or give him my helmet for a minute. The same goes for youtube parties. I am not saying it isn't a solvable problem, but it is a problem. None of the VR systems that I have seen have been able to do this.

One other point: if VR is such a great thing, why don't military flight simulators use it? It would seem to be a really good fit here. Why aren't manufacturers pushing the technology in the places it would fit really well?

IBM already did it (sorta)

[macraig]

Doesn't anyone recall the Thinkpad(?) model that had the pull-out secondary LCD display? It wasn't full size, but still useful. I think there was one other mfr. that tried to copy the idea as well.

Only one usage I can think of

[ThatsNotPudding]

Backgammon

Or use the tool that already exists for this

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm talking about the dozens of options using displaylink. (No I am not a displaylink shill.)

www.displaylink.com provides a number of options that provide a comfortable second screen for the somewhat mobile. I work at an accounting firm and these accountants are very fastidious (picky as hell) about their multiple monitor needs.

We found a really really durable 15" clamshell display that folds up like a laptop, weighs less, runs right off USB for display and bus power.

The idea TFA espouses is impractical in every way. It's too expensive to be your second computer in most cases, which means you need to put up with that ugly monstrosity even on your desk where you could otherwise have 4 monitors tiled if you wanted. As others have noted its too huge for almost every setting in which a laptop makes sense (airplanes, conferences, classrooms, etc.)

What about a portable extra display?

[Anonymous Coward]

I would much rather have an mobile monitor like this. http://us.toshiba.com/computers/accessories/mobile-monitor/ I could put it in my laptop bag along with a laptop.

If I was doing something like surfing the web, I would leave it in the bag. If I was writing software, I'd pull it out and plug it up.

Tile Vertically

[tepples]

The thing is: Where can I find 2 applications that runs fine in 980 width?

Under Windows XP, click one window's button in the taskbar, Ctrl+right click another, and choose Tile Vertically. Under Windows 7, use "snap": drag one window's title bar to the left side of the screen and drag the other to the right. Under your favorite operating system, read the manual for how to accomplish the same task.

Ob

[Hognoxious]

Perfect for people who have two laps.

It's left as an exercise for the reader to invent their own snide comment about Americans.

I'll join the "thin and light" group

[Ian-K]

The key thing about laptops, methinks, is being portable and still having enough oomph to do your work when out in the field.

I've done thousands of miles with my work during the last 5 years and my 15 inch 2.5kg vaio feels like a stone already. Wherever I may go, there's always a monitor one can spare for a couple of hours, if the necessity arises (and most tv sets have a VGA-in anyway).

For me the perfect balance is to be found in the Macbook Air (or equivalents). Especially after today's update to i5/i7 processors. And a 1440x900 resolution is quite enough, especially given that the whole damn thing is 1.35kg. (stick the new 27" TB display alongside and we're talking! )

1485 pounds

[fantomas]

=2395USD, for British readers ;-)

Get Organized?

[snadrus]

Ubuntu's desktop recently got reorganized (called Unity) and now it's effortless to have a 4-6 apps on the screen at once depending on what you're doing. For those considering this, perhaps getting a better OS, learning windowing, or considering the low quality of the apps you use would help?

No car analogies? What's wrong with you people?

[Radical Moderate]

Since I have to do frickin everything:

In related news, MINI today announced the Mini HiLuxDelux, with a fullsize pickup bed and built in water closet. For the multitudes of people that want a small, nimble car to carry sheets of plywood home from Home Depot without having to stop to use the restroom.

OK, if you can do better, have at it.

That's not a laptop....

[Radical Moderate]

it's a space station!

Just imagine...

[Anonymous Coward]

that in a an 11" MacBook Air type chassis :) The screens almost seamless :)) Two Retina type displays providing 1080p together :))) A virtual, semi-transpearant auto-rotating keyboard that could be dragged anywhere onscreen and stretched/shrunk to any size or ratio :)))) I've been waiting about 4 years since I imagined it :/

Weight

[tepples]

Because lighter carry weight often makes up for almost as good.

lighter, cheaper, and with linux?

[uigrad_2000]

The article says:

Given the number of people who prefer a multi-monitor setup, surely someone can come up with a lighter, less cumbersome, and cheaper design?"

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/27/kohjinshas-dual-sceen-dz-series-laptop-now-for-sale/

geekstuff4u.com had it available for sale at one time, but it's currently listed as out of stock. That model is almost 2 years old now, and I don't see any indication that they plan to update it.

More Screens? XD

[LifesABeach]

Using DisplayLink to add extra monitors sounds useful for my needs.

Bigger keyboard area

[tepples]

Obviously, if you want less screen real-estate you're going to have less weight.

True, but at this point I think I'd prefer 1920x1080 over 1600x1200 because 1920px width lets me use snap with full-size web pages.

After all, I'm fairly sure that the transition from 4:3 screens to 16:9 screens wasn't driven by concerns that laptops were too heavy.

Might it have had something to do with the fact that 16:9 screens allow a bigger keyboard area for the same screen real estate? For example, a switch from 1152x864 to 1280x720 keeps roughly the same pixel count but allows 11% more keyboard room.

Re:Bigger keyboard area

[kevinmenzel]

Sure, but why not 2048x1536 instead of 1600x1200? Good point regarding keyboards, though I don't recall all 4:3 laptops having terrible keyboards, they just tended to do other stuff with the space left over, like putting in bigger speakers or whatever.

Re:Bigger keyboard area

[tepples]

Sure, but why not 2048x1536 instead of 1600x1200?

At a higher pixel density compensated in the window system, one would run into problems with applications not designed to handle higher window-system-wide pixel densities. At a higher pixel density not compensated in the window system, one would run into problems with human visual acuity. At a higher physical size, carry size and weight would increase.

Re:I'd rather my tablet could be used as a 2nd scr

[Anonymous Coward]

there are apps like this; air display for ipad/iphone; i imagine there are alternatives for android as well; only downside to air display is it only supports mac/windows; i do actively use Linux and wish it had support...