It's not every day we see an all-new angle on the laptop form factor, much less a netbook with aims at innovation. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that a company dubbed "Always Innovating" is trying to spice things up a bit. The Touch Book is an
ARM-powered netbook that weighs less than two pounds and claims battery life of 10 to 15 hours, but the real magic happens with the removable screen -- it slides right out of its keyboard dock and acts as a fully functional touchscreen tablet. When docked, the screen can lay out flat, and the keyboard can even be folded all the way under into an "inverted V" shape. There are other oddities like internal USB plugs to cut down on dongle mess, and the whole screen is magnetic for mounting on a fridge. The machine is running a Linux OS with a touchable 3D UI. The only press shots right now are these sketchy-looking renders, but Always Innovating is currently previewing the Touch Book at DEMO 09 in California, and plans to ship in Spring of this year with a starting pricetag of $299.
posted March 2nd 2009 10:04AM
Am I the only one thinking of Bluetooth + PS3 controller + emulators = !!! on this thing?
Oh wait, I can do that on my MSI Wind... and adding a touchscreen is only $100 more.
Dah well, still cool, though. I really like the removable screen. However like someone else noted, if the screen is heavier than the keyboard that's a lot of problems. My 6 cell battery on my netbook makes it lopside if I put it on my lap. On a flat surface it's fine, though.