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ASUS TAICHI 21 and VivoBook X202 go up for US pre-orders, spoil the party a bit early (update: VivoTab RT, too)
Just because ASUS has planned a grand October 23rd event to outline its US Windows 8 lineup doesn't mean we can't get an advance peek. Pre-orders have officially kicked off for at least two touchscreen PCs that also give us a very good feeling for the hardware we'll see at our doors. The dual-screened TAICHI 21 is naturally the star of the show, but it will cost you: a base version of the 11.6-inch hybrid with a 1.7GHz Core i5, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD starts at $1,300, while an uprated model with a 1.9GHz Core i7 and a 256GB SSD will set early adopters back by $1,600. We'd say the VivoBook X202 is more likely to get some purchases sight-unseen at $600 for an entry laptop with an 11.6-inch touchscreen, a 1.8GHz Core i3, 4GB of RAM and a conventional 500GB hard drive. Both of the systems should arrive in tandem with Windows 8's October 26th launch and compound the traffic jams for couriers and retailers on what could be a very busy day. [Thanks, Donny] Update: As Computerworld noticed, Newegg also has a pre-order listing for the VivoTab RT, which costs $599 in its lone 32GB configuration. It ships the same day as its bigger cousins.
GScreen's Spacebook begins shipping this November, doubles your laptop editing fun
Twins, like cupcakes, are universally regarded as a good thing. So, it stands to reason that GScreen's attempt to double your laptop's screen size would be an equally appealing idea. Turns out, duping a display took the Alaska-based company a wee bit longer to fully flesh out, but the time has finally arrived for its debut. Shipping this November, the aptly-named Spacebook will bring a capacious, portable desktop solution to on-the-go creative professionals. The girthy, 10-pound rig won't be winning any style points from the svelte is better crowd, but that's easy to overlook given its dual 17-inch 1920 x 1080 screens, choice of a Core i5 or i7 processor, up to 8GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB of storage, NVIDIA's GeForce GTS 250 (1GB) and DVD burner -- all encased in a magnesium alloy frame. You can grab the entry level model for $1899, but the higher-end, two-headed beast will cost you $2099. If you're in the market for the king of all laptop displays, then head to the source to get your order on.
GScreen's dual-screen SpaceBook touts twin 17-inchers, now up for pre-order
Look out, ThinkPad W700ds -- there's a new dual-screen beast in town, and it's not settling for second best. After first appearing in September of 2009, we hadn't heard a peek from GScreen save for one brief blip in 2010. Now, however, it seems that a dream has become reality. The first run of SpaceBooks is now up for pre-order, with each one offering a pair of 17.3-inch displays that boast a 1920 x 1080 screen resolution. Each panel slides out horizontally (think wings, but on a laptop), and creates quite the spacious area for creative professionals to immerse themselves in. The entry-level piece is being hawked for $2,395, which nets you a 2.66GHz Core i5-560M CPU, 4GB of DDR3 memory, NVIDIA's GeForce GTS 250M (1GB), a 500GB HDD, DVD burner and a magnesium alloy frame. The pricier sibling is marked at $2,795, with that premium grabbing you a 1.73GHz Core i7-740QM, double the RAM and quadruple the bragging rights. There's no exact word on when these will ship out, but you'll need th in-between time just to wrap your mind around the object you're certainly still peering at above.
Mintpass planning a dual-screen, dual boot tablet for 2011
Mintpass, the Korean firm known for its Mintpad tablet (as well as a few baubles, including a flashlight that looks curiously like a chapstick tube and the Cube MP3 player), has recently announced that it will soon be releasing a dual-touchscreen, dual OS device. We don't have too many details yet, but we do know that it's, um, slated to ship with Windows 7 and Android, as well as Android Market access and some sort of feature called "Space Touch" (which we have no details about but sounds pretty awesome nonetheless). Like the Toshiba Libretto W100, this will be able to either operate as two independent displays or, when folded up like a laptop, feature the keyboard on one display with your apps on the other. The company is currently looking for a manufacturer and plans on launching the thing sometime next year.
Acer's dualscreen laptop leaks out with Core i5 CPU?
We knew dualscreen laptops were the future after our Toshiba Libretto review, but unfortunately for Toshiba theirs was a future attempted too soon. Acer, however, is apparently testing a rig that might be powerful enough to do the trick -- pictures bequeathed to Tech Review Source purportedly show a 2.67GHz Intel Core i5 processor (likely a Core i5-580M) with dual fifteen-inch multitouch screens, making both the Libretto and MSI's 7-incher look positively dated by comparison. Sadly, the publication's source says this device is "still slow and buggy," so retail availability is probably a long while off, but now you can tell your friends you too saw the future and it looked reasonably good. Peep a couple more shots of the laptop at our source link while you wait for a frameless version to pop out.
Toshiba's dual-screen Libretto W100 laptop on sale in America for $1,100
Terrific news, laptop shoppers. Toshiba's concept-turned-commercial Libretto W100 is now on sale in the US of A, but there's no telling how long it'll remain in stock. We heard from the get-go that this dual-screen wonder would only be a limited run, and just a week after going on sale in Japan, the W105-L251 is getting prepped right now for a shipping label with your address on it. $1,099.99 buys you a Pentium U5400 processor, Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit), integrated Intel HD graphics, a memory card reader, 2GB of DDR3 memory, a 62GB solid state drive, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, an inbuilt webcam and an 8-cell battery. Oh, and twin 7-inch WSVGA LCD panels. Toshiba reckons that you'll get yours in "2 to 3 weeks" if you order direct, though Amazon has a pre-sale of its own going for those who like to press their luck. %Gallery-99541%
Toshiba's dual-screen Libretto W100 hits Japan next week
It's no Courier, but Toshiba's dual-screened Libretto W100 is about as good as we're going to get and, if you're in Japan, the getting is about to get good. The key-free lappy is due to start shipping there on August 11, which means you're just a few days (and, possibly, a few very long flights) away from getting your fingerprints all over one. If, however, you're not so much into the importing scene, you're going to have to wait a bit longer for this $1,100 curiosity to hit US shores through normal retail channels. How much longer? Toshiba promised a summer release, and let's just say that the days aren't getting any longer.
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%
Kohjinsha DZ gets unboxed and stretched out
It's been a good while since we've seen an unboxing as thorough as this, even if the quality of the recording could be better. The chaps over at Wow Pow have sourced one of them dual-screen Kohjinsha DZ netbooks, which have had us intrigued since we saw them at CEATEC earlier this year. What we find from their cardboard adventuring is that the DZ comes with a LiteOn charger, a 6-cell 5,200mAh battery with endurance rated at four hours (though they've suggested that might be for only one screen), a 1Seg tuner that works only in Japan, and a multitouch trackpad. Powered by a 1.6GHz AMD Neo and 4 gigs of RAM, this machine definitely wants to escape the netbook tag, and its neat inclusion of an internal USB port intended for wireless connectivity dongles gives it another unorthodox selling point. Go beyond the break to see its de-boxing.
Dual-screen gScreen laptop gets pictured, hopefully launching this year
We were pretty skeptical of gScreen's plans to produce a line of dual-screen laptops rocking when we first heard about them in February, but here we are, looking at the first picture we've seen of the Spacebook laptop. We're told it has two 15.4-inch displays -- since the company knows you don't always need both screens, the second stows away behind the first and slides out when you need it, just like the Lenovo W700ds. Except, you know, with a full-size screen. Inside, you'll have a selection of Core 2 Duos, 4B of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 900M GT graphics, and a 7200rpm drive -- all of which explain why it's expected to cost just south of $3,000. gScreen's planning on having this on sale by the holidays, along with a dual-13-inch model -- let's hope the company can pleasantly surprise us yet again.
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]
V12 Designs' dual-screen laptop coming in two years?
No, not that dual-screen, silly. Or that one. Or that one! The dual-screen lappie we're talking about actually has two LCD panels, one of which takes the place of a traditional keyboard / trackpad. Reportedly, V12 Designs -- which takes credit for dreaming up the design some four years ago -- is working with an undisclosed US firm in order to bring said concept to market. We're told that the keyboard display will likely support haptic feedback so users can feel when a keystroke is registered, and of course, voice recognition will also play a large role. It's not that we don't think these are coming, but V12's Valerio Cometti is suggesting that they'll be ready for consumption in a mere 16 months. Don't hate us for being skeptical, but... we're skeptical.
