Toshiba's SD Multi Tool and SD Photo Editor are a nice, touchable surprise

Toshiba is offering up a nice respite from the inane quantity of LCDs and, um, more LCDs at IFA this year. The SD Multi Tool and the SD Photo Editor are two touchable handhelds, offering up some beefy features where similar devices lack, and also skipping over some of the more traditional MID OS features that might put these over the top -- a confusing mix, but again, not an LCD, so we're hooked. The SD Multi Tool is the real wild one, offering dual 3.5-inch touchable (finger or stylus) LCDs, rated at 960 x 480 each if the spec sheet is telling the truth -- that could be a combined resolution. The device offers wireless connectivity of some sort, and can handle web browsing, email, videos, photo editing and pretty much anything else that isn't an actual phone call -- though it can't be tough to squeeze some VoIP in there. Meanwhile, the SD Photo Editor really earns its "SD" moniker with dual SD card slots, while the Multi Tool just has one microSD slot. The Photo Editor runs a similar OS, but seems distilled down to mainly the photo browsing and editing functions, with a bit of PMP functionality thrown in we hope. A 5-inch WVGA screen with 16 million colors should be plenty of room to work your magic. No word on what OS is under the hood, but it seems to be mostly homegrown Toshiba fare. We know the Multi Tool does HDMI out, and we'd hope the Photo Editor does as well, since they're both supposed to hit in 2009 for a similar price point: around $300 US. If the shots below aren't enough for you, check out the coverage at Engadget Spanish.

Gallery: Toshiba's SD Multi Tool and SD Photo Editor are a nice, touchable surprise

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[James[Ckeboss] @ Aug 31st 2008 7:07AM]

iPhonish Keyboard anyone?

[broli @ Aug 31st 2008 7:24AM]

STFU!

[YOO. @ Aug 31st 2008 8:01AM]

Gayish Comment anyone?

[lu1de @ Aug 31st 2008 8:48AM]

but he's right!

[Bassir @ Aug 31st 2008 8:59AM]

Nah, looks more like the Wii's keyboard.

[hexoDAT64 @ Aug 31st 2008 10:21AM]

Maybe until you realize it's just a keyboard on a screen! OMG!

[Lazerface @ Sep 1st 2008 12:16AM]

keyboard on a screen? is that like snakes on a plane?

[Darren @ Sep 2nd 2008 1:40AM]

iPhony keyboard. Actually, a slide-out *touch* keyboard is just about the most ridiculous thing I've seen in a while. These guys don't have a clue.

[edward @ Aug 31st 2008 7:25AM]

Looks interesting, I still havn't bought any of those things I have said I would consider buying in my past posts... maybe this... uhh naw.


BTW: Engadget you comments system fails. The main page says there's a comment but I see non on this page? Am I first? Guess not.

-Edward

[broli @ Aug 31st 2008 7:26AM]

Now I must say this is an ingenious idea. They now can have any keyboard layout they want on a full keyboard size. This makes buying overseas a good deal.

[nxtiak @ Aug 31st 2008 7:51AM]

BOOYAH! Photoshop is not dead!
You can now edit your photos on a 3.5" screen on the go!
LOL.

[chickenator @ Aug 31st 2008 8:50AM]

wow this is really innovative! the only one of its kind! do want!

[Jash Sayani @ Aug 31st 2008 9:13AM]

Photo editor ? I thought all devices are merging into one multi-funtion device. I can use Photoshop on a netbook for that.

[Rhino @ Aug 31st 2008 9:44AM]

My TOSHI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[strider_mt2k @ Aug 31st 2008 9:51AM]

That's not bad looking.
I like the idea of the touch screen keyboard, but I'd have to really live with it for a while to see how it would be on a day-to-day basis.

[techdude @ Aug 31st 2008 12:11PM]

MID version of the Nintendo DS

[grull27 @ Aug 31st 2008 2:07PM]

If you have that much space, make it a real keyboard.

[lens42 @ Sep 1st 2008 3:04AM]

I completely agree. It's a complete letdown to see products with fat borders around the screen and keyboard. My brain is wired to not even care what it does when I see that.

[overridemymind @ Aug 31st 2008 2:27PM]

Glitch! Cut and Paste!

Sorry, but it popped to mind when I read the headline "multi tool" -- Anyone get the reference?

[iHoppipolla @ Sep 1st 2008 11:28AM]

I like the direction that this ?MID? is going.

Now, if I only liked Toshi more.

[Benson @ Sep 1st 2008 4:59PM]

Well, nobody else has pointed it out; the 960x480 cannot reasonably be combined, because it's roughly a 2:1 aspect ratio; while each of the screens _is_ about 2:1, combined they'd be 1:1 or so. So barring some seriously rectangular pixels, or mad slice/dicing, you don't get 960x480 combined.

Result: almost a megapixel, square; it's really not bad from a hardware perspective, but I'm leery of the software. Give me Linux (Maemo, perhaps), and I'd be quite happy.