V12-designed dual-screen laptop going into production?
Sure, we were skeptical when we first saw V12 Design's dual LCD concept -- but it seems to be one step closer to production. Named the Canova, the Italian designed laptop boasts an LCD where the keyboard and trackpad traditionally are. We don't have any specifics about the construction or innards of this crazy-looking beast yet, but they've hooked up with an American company, Estari, to bring the laptop into reality. We also hear it's going to cost somewhere around $400 when it hits the streets sometime "soon." Check a few more photos after the break.
[Via Notebook Italia]

[Via Notebook Italia]





















1. It won't cost €400
2. It won't hit the market any time soon............or ever at all.
Yeah, I can't see them meeting that price point with that type of hardware design, at all at least in the next five years or so.
Right, at 400...I dont expect it to be doing that much anyways. =/
Wanna bet?
The italian guy behind this project founded and owns Logitech,working prototypes have been spotted in the italian streets, and the folks behind this project just bought a touch screen tech company.
As for the 400 euros price OK, that's just whishful thinking
I think there was a big mistyping in the price. Not $400. $4000 sounds more realistically.
Besides, why screens? Can you type blindly on a screen? I doubt it.
Typed from a laptop with a physical keyboard.
You can actually type quite easily on a touch screen, perhaps not completely blind unless there's some kind of haptic feedback but it is possible to reach pretty good speeds as it's got the exact same layout as any other keyboard.
yea, probably $400 per side lol
400 for the screens and nothing else.
What about a bluetooth keyboard? I don't know where you'd put it in relation to the screens, but it could be useful for text input and then use the touchscreen for everything else...
That's a helluva nice home there!
cuddly polar bear FTW!
A bit thick now but I think the future is there; Imagine that you can make custom keys and layers management tools on that lower touchscreen... should be a very powerfull combination for 3D and graphics softwares.
I was thinking the same thing. With the proper design and tech build...it could be a innovative way to compute. But as it stands right now...it could use alot of work.
3D and graphic software? Are you kidding? Working with 3D where one screen render takes like infinity? And beyond that. I doubt it has anything more powerful than Atom CPU for that kind of price. Now imagine graphics software on Atom...
Its all about hype, style and beauty of second screen instead of a keyboard. Its not about how useful it is.
No way will it cost EU400 - maybe Eu4,000?
Niceish idea for media types, and I quite like the overall design, but why so THICK? Surely it would only add the thickness of a normal LCD plus maybe a bit for the hinges - the LCD on my laptop is about 7mm thick, not an inch
sexy :)
If it's going to be $400 (doubt it) I'm getting it, cheap alternative to a cintiq and well, sexy :)
Interesting.
I like the thoughts on paper with it. Imagine watching a movie...and not ever having to disrupt your viewing of it. Same with games, work, internet browsing. Only problem I would have with it is the lack of a physical keyboard. I have always been a big disliker of virtual keyboards. But that asides the applications of this laptop could be wonderful if they improved the design and give it a price that will make me think that the insides arent made out of a netbook...
m
neat, i could be showing a presentation in the office and looking for porn at the same time.
Oh My. =O
Just don't hit the "switch screens" button accidentally ;)
you honestly don't think that could ever be portable?
that thing is so thick it's unreal, a good idea yes but needs a lot of development to get it slimmed down to something sane
I believe this will actually come out. Reason?
Estari, two years ago, already produced a double-LCD 'laptop':
http://notebookitalia.it/estari-2-vu-dc15-il-notebook-dual-screen.html
Only it used to cost $4000+. So, while prices have certainly gone down over two full years, a $400 price for this new beast looks unlikely.
And by the way, I wouldn't buy it anyway. It would be fantastic for reading books - let alone graphic novels! - but the thought of typing even a post like this one on a touch-screen keyboard gives me pause. Maybe as a portable music workstation; or perhaps for visual artists, but the touch-screen would need to be of mighty good quality.
Same thing I was thinking. The time it would take to actually typing on a full virtual keyboard...I just couldn't see it hitting
I think we are limiting the concept with our assumption of a typing interface. Some possibilities include ...
- Text entry via the swype (is that the name, don't remember??) method
- Alternative character sets. For example, some kind of menu system to spell out kanji
- Handwriting
- any other ideas?
I cannot find the price point of Eu400 mentioned anywhere in the translated article, only a mentioning of the older Eu4000 box that was also found by Nihil.
Anyway, I liked their older design better, as it looked a lot more sturdy than this one, all those lids are bound to get lost over time, not unlike tear drops in rain, but what makes me the most concerned are the hinges on that thing, they look quite prone to break.
The list price is $4,000 not 400 if you actually read the link.
I believe it. The thickness brings down the price, design makes it attracive. The way the screen folds looks sturdy without the need for expensive extra-stong-stuff, the thickness will also help achieving structural strength for a low price.
Add two capacitve touch screens (the spanking new wacom set up please, not the n-trig/usb crap) and I'll be shoveling my liquidity to Italy.
Wim Tip
is to thick ;-)
That's what she said.
I had this idea a few years ago.
I'm so going to sue them...
I think the real question here is, can it run Crysis?
;-)
No, it does not seem to be capable enough.
wow, two lcd screens at $400 and i didn't even read the word touchpad anywhere around it! i've always wanted a dual screen polar bear picture frame!
just vaporware:
They use two displays with a high resultion, this will make a price around 400USD impossible. I also don't get how they plan to build it, one PC with two displays or two PC's each with one display, because only the latter seems to be possible. They have on both pieces USB, ... ports, but only a small hinge which could contain the needed cables (display, touchscreen, usb, network, ...)
It also won't get sold because it's too thick, too heavy, I can't imagine that this hinge design is solid, it will be too expensive, and the gap between the two displays is too large to be useable. You can't even move a windows from one display to the other display with the touch screen. This whole concept does only make little sense. It's just two slate tablets, connected via a hinge, WOW, how useless.
Without mentioning that LCD screen uses a lot of energy.
In the read link it says 4000
also, i really don't think it's 2 separate computers
Vadem Clio anyone? Sharp Mobilon PV-6000?
Finally, a computer worthy of me playing Battleship on.
Looks like the ultimate Battleship platform to me. Pong would be pretty awesome on it to.
No No No No No No and No. Touch screens are NOT the perfect, ideal interface. Having a real object to interact, feel and manipulate is what is needed, it is why we have this magic thing called sense of feel.
For $400....I'd tap that.
Umm yah. Laura need more caffeine....add another 0 to that figure....woah.
It looks like that BYB Balance cellphone I saw in yankodesign.com
$4000.00 I think that it would be a little more sturdy looking. There have been several atempts at a dual screen. To me the guys that I think have the most solid design are the guys at gSreen.
http://www.gscreencorp.com/
Check it out.