ToshibaLibretto
Latest
Switched On: Acer's Iconic Keyboard
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. When Acer announced a slate of new devices at a New York press conference last week, the overarching message was simple -- keyboards are as done as a Thanksgiving turkey. The company introduced an array of tablets, most of which were running Android, with sizes ranging from five- to ten-inches each. That's almost as broad a lineup as Archos, which has dipped down to what most would consider digital audio player turf with a three-inch tablet (tablette?) and a precursor to what is sure to be a merciless barrage of tablets on the slate for CES. The single manifestation of a physical QWERTY text entry device was a keyboard dock designed for a 10-inch tablet running Windows. But as much as Acer's tablet lineup seems poised to flounder in the coming sea of similarity, its Iconia laptop stood out, eschewing a keyboard for a second 14-inch touchscreen to match the main display. Unlike the dual 14-inch hinged Kno device discussed in columns prior, this one is clearly designed to be used in a landscape orientation, and unlike the 7-inch Toshiba Libretto, the Iconia is not being positioned as some kind of limited-edition experiment. If anything, Acer signaled that it would be the first in a series of products that would unfold over the next several years.
Toshiba Libretto W105 review
At this point Toshiba's dualscreen Libretto W105 shouldn't need much of an introduction -- or at least after glancing at the picture above we figure it won't. It looks like a laptop straight out of the future. And it kind of is. It's the sort of clamshell gadget we've seen rendered and rendered for years, but that's never made it to market... until now that is. In celebration of Toshiba's 25 years in the laptop business, the company's gotten bolder than ever, and it hasn't just created a gadget with two seven-inch capacitive touchscreens, but it's actually brought it to market. Sure, it's only available for a very limited run, and at a lofty $1,100, only die-hard gadget geeks are bound to fork over the cash. That said, it's still one of the most intriguing devices we've seen all year, and that's saying something. And it's even more compelling when you consider that packs the parts of a 12- or 13-inch ultraportable, including an Intel Pentium processor, 2GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD and also runs Windows 7. But that's exactly what's wrong with the Libretto -- it looks like the future, but it's held back by modern day laptop parts and software. We've spent quite some time with the W105 -- we typed half of this review on the bottom screen! -- so you'll want to hit the break to find out just what we're talking about. %Gallery-101684%
Toshiba Libretto W100 sells out at Amazon, really was a limited run
We know, we just told you less than 48 hours ago that the dual screen Toshiba Libretto W100 was finally on sale and after $1,100 of your hard earned cash, but it looks like those that didn't move quick enough are out of luck. Both Toshiba and Amazon list the Windows 7-running Libretto W100 as out of stock at the moment. Now, of course, Tosh has always said the W100 was going to be available on a limited basis so there's no telling how many of these were actually sold, but it certainly seems impressive for a very niche gadget. We've reached out to Toshiba to ask if they plan on refreshing the depleted stock and for a bit of information on how many they had boxed up to begin with -- stay tuned, we'll let you know what we hear. Update: If you're still lusting after one of these bad boys there's still some available through Conics.com and some Japanese retailers.
Toshiba Libretto W100 preview
The Toshiba Libretto W100 made a guest appearance on the Engadget Show last week, and since we got to spend a bit more time with the dualscreen laptop we thought it was only right to release some more impressions into the ether. We also got confirmation from Toshiba that the somewhat-of-a-concept-PC will be hitting retail channels in August, including Amazon, and will cost $1,100. It may be one of the only dualscreen tablets on the market, but no matter how you break it down that price seems a little outrageous. But you wouldn't make up your mind before reading some further impressions and watching a close up video of the screens working in tandem, would you? Well then, we'll see you after the break. %Gallery-96145%
The Engadget Show - 010: Jimmy Fallon, Kudo Tsunoda, Microsoft Kinect, iPhone 4, Samsung Captivate, Droid X
Well we've made it to our tenth show, and it was nothing short of explosive! For our entry into the world of double digits, we sat down with Late Night host (and all around awesome dude) Jimmy Fallon for a lengthy and hilarious conversation about games, gadgets, "The Wizard," and much, much more. Then Microsoft's Kudo Tsunoda joined the team onstage for a demo of the company's Kinect -- including a look at how the underlying tech actually works. Finally, Josh, Nilay, Paul, and Joanna sat down to rap about -- and play with -- the latest and greatest gadgets (including some unreleased gear). Oh yeah, and then we had a near riot during the giveaways! It was one crazy party, and if you couldn't be in the crowd, this is the next best thing. What are you waiting for? Watch it now! Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Paul Miller, Nilay Patel Special guests: Jimmy Fallon, Kudo Tsunoda, Joanna Stern Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm Executive Producer: Joshua Fruhlinger Edited by: Michael Slavens Music by: glomag Visuals by: Invaderbacca Opening titles by: Julien Nantiec Taped live at Cooper Union, New York City Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 010 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 010 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (M4V). [RSS M4V] Add the Engadget Show feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.
Toshiba Libretto W100 resurrects the classic UMPC brand with dual 7-inch displays
Oh yes, Toshiba's dualscreen laptop of sorts is real, and it's exactly what you've inevitably been staring at right up there. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the company's laptop business, Tosh gave its classic Libretto ultraportable brand some mouth-to-mouth with the W100. Yeah, we couldn't believe it ourselves when we saw it, but the device certainly is legit -- it has two 7-inch, 1024 x 600-resolution touchscreens, and is powered by a 1.2GHz Intel Pentium U5400 processor, 2GB of RAM, a 64GB SSD and Windows 7 Home Premium. We know -- it's all pretty zany, and though Toshiba is calling it a "concept PC," it's actually planning to bring it to market for $1,099 within the next few months on a limited basis. Thought we were done with the info? Surely not, we've got you covered with shots below and some in-depth hands-on impressions after the break. %Gallery-95639% %Gallery-95684%
ZX Spectrum Laptop mashes in a Toshiba Libretto 110 for some fun retro times
Let's not get hung up on trying to figure out a use for this thing, and just admire it for what it is: awesome. Jim built this "Spectrum ZX Laptop" out of an old ZX Spectrum 48k and a Toshiba Libretto 110, using the Libretto for innards and the screen, while the Spectrum serves as a case and keyboard. The "laptop" gets a couple hours of batter life, and naturally Jim is running Linux on here -- he plans to emulate some old ZX Spectrum games with it, but mostly it's just art. A shot of the two machines in their original states is after the break.[Via Hack a Day]
