Starline NB1000 netbook's giant, invisible touchpad is the only thing it's got going for it
By Laura June 
posted August 14th 2009 6:10PM
posted August 14th 2009 6:10PM
Starline -- a Hong Kong-based PC manufacturer -- has unleashed the netbook you see above, the NB1000. This 10-incher's got all the standard, yawn-inducing specs -- an Intel Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB HDD, three USB ports, plus ethernet and VGA ports. The thing that makes this little guy stand out? Well, it's got a massive touchpad running all along the palm rest beneath the keyboard, and that's enough for us to want one -- or at least to touch one, repeatedly. Sadly, this baby is a Hong Kong-only affair, and runs HK$2,498 (about $322), but there's a video of it after the break.
[Via SlashGear]
[Via SlashGear]
how many people does it take to make such a crappy video?
One person with an invisible touchpad.
Kill yourself?
So where shall I lay my hands?
There's several dirty responses I could give to that question...
so if the N270/N280 without ION is all they have to work with, why not innovate?
lets put an E-Ink display on the other side of the LCD foldy panel.that way it doubles as a book.
Um 150gb hdd? That's a weird amount...
LOL, I have enough trouble typing on laptops as it is - hitting the touchpad with my palms always causes the cursor to jump or the system misses my keystrokes. Now they're turning the whole palm rest into a touchpad? Screw that... Ultranav w/ deactivated touchpad FTW! :)
Your palms shouldn't touch that part of the laptop.
If it does, you're doing it wrong.
Doesn't Windows have a feature that can disable touchpad input while typing?
I don't mean to be an ass, but why does it seem like firstards are all over Engadget, but not Gizmodo?
Just recently Gizmodo moved to a comment system that by default only shows Starred commenters(Similar to high karma on some forum systems). Starred commenters can promote un-starred commenter's posts, eventually promoting them to starred. Post a pointless comment, no promotion or star for you. Post good comments, your comments get promoted and eventually you get a star.
Smart of doing it, really.
Thanks for de-mystifying Giz' new system. I was really confused for a while.
You sure it's not just a standard sized touchpad without a border? Either way, it doesn't seem THAT useful.
First thing I look for in a laptop is the OS. OS X / Ubuntu only.
Second thing I look for is screen resolution. Gotta have 1280x800, 1440x900 preferred.
Third is the gpu. Intel X4500 minimum.
Then, oddly enough, I look at how long the space bar is. You see, a really short space bar means that the thumbs can comfortably be used for both shift and control (in addition to space).
I also prefer a machine with no optical drive. I do not use them. I'd rather not lug them around.
The next machine I buy new is likely to be a Japanese keyboard MacBook Air, but the laptop in this video looks very good to me.
why do we care?
I hold out hope that there's someone high up in some computer company that skims the comment sections on tech blogs.
In that case...
WE
WANT
W I N D O W S 7
ON EVERYTHING
INCLUDING PHONES
"...but the laptop in this video looks very good to me."
Even though it'll have few if any of the specs you just said you looked for in a notebook?
It's got Ubuntu, no optical drive, and a short space bar. I wouldn't buy one of these, but it encourages me to see progress.
And the aspect ratio of the laptop wide trackpad vs the screen....
Fail
Why use those crappy chrome left/right click buttons for touch pads? Those things are so cheap.
bad idea, nobody needs such a huge touchpad and people will keep touching it by accident while typing
I can only imagine what a pain in the arse this would be when using this as a wrist-rest when typing.
This looks like a piece of junk how its made.
No cardreader, touchpad that you will no doubt accidentally touch all the time, and no right shift key and the home key next to the enter key, so that's what designed in poland brings you eh, I see, strange that the did add USB ports, what with all the that usability? But I'm sure the USB ports are installed upside down for extra fun.
Without seeing the touchpad in action on the screen and while someone is typing it's tough to see how well this actually works. Netbooks definitely need bigger touchpads but if something like this runs the risk of moving my cursor all over the screen while I'm typing I wouldn't be too interested. But, if they can compensate for my palm touching while I type and not move the cursor then this could be really cool.