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Vivo's all-screen NEX goes dual-display to ditch the pop-up camera
While Vivo is still a largely exotic brand for many of us, you may remember it as the first manufacturer to both tease and release a truly bezel-less smartphone. And of course, Vivo's NEX S gained extra street cred thanks to its pop-up selfie camera plus in-display fingerprint reader. Just months later, the Chinese company is back with a follow-up model dubbed NEX Dual Display Edition, and as the name implies, it packs a screen on both sides of the phone, just so that it can ditch the pop-up camera -- a cool but physically vulnerable feature -- while still avoiding the notch on the main screen.
Dual-screen YotaPhone 2 arrives in Europe this month
Yota was slightly cruel to YotaPhone fans. It unveiled the next generation of its dual-display smartphone way back in February... and left people wondering about the launch window for most of the year. At last, though, you can try this two-screened device for yourself. The YotaPhone 2 is now slated to launch in Europe this month for 32,990 rubles in the company's native Russia, or about $612. The hardware hasn't changed much since the start of 2014, which makes this a mid-range device with a few tricks up its sleeve. You're still looking at a 5-inch 1080p AMOLED display at the front, and that signature 4.7-inch e-paper touchscreen at the back for basic tasks and alerts; inside, there's a respectable Snapdragon 800 processor, 32GB of storage, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front shooter.
13-inch ASUS Taichi 31 with dual 1080p displays finally shipping after long delay
If you saw our review of the 11.6-inch Taichi 21, you'll know that its unusual dual-screen design had a pretty bad impact on battery life. ASUS is taking another crack at the whip, however, this time with the 13.3-inch Taichi that is finally shipping after a major hold-up in the US and promises a big boost to stamina -- a max of seven hours of use rather than five. If this claim stands up to scrutiny, the Ultrabook's other advantages should come back into play: namely the presence of pen or multi-touch input on the outer screen, excellent viewing angles and speakers, and a range of configurations based on either a Core i5 or i7 with SSD storage. We have no idea how pricing will compare to the $1,300 base of the 11-incher and the Taichi 31 hasn't appeared at any major retailers yet -- i.e., it still isn't quite as "available" as ASUS claims -- but we'll bring you an update when that changes.
LCD and E-ink dual-screen prototypes show up at IFA, one vendor already said to be on board
Well hells bells, it was only yesterday that the idea of an e-ink / LCD screen mash-up device was the stuff of patent dreams, and now it's a reality. The chaps at Stuff were shown the prototype handsets at a closed meeting at IFA, as expected with a regular screen on one side, and the e-reader-style display on the other. E-ink was apparently tight lipped about possible vendor interest, but they did confirm that one firm was working with the concept already. We're not about to make any leaps, but if we'd applied for the patent, we'd also want first dibs.
Sony patents a two-way folding device, wants you to have extra screen real estate where you need it
Phones with dual displays have been done, and Sony's foldable Tablet P brought similar functionality to tablets with mixed results. It looks like the Japanese electronics giant isn't done with such devices, however, as it's just been granted a patent for a gadget that can fold on multiple axes. The patent in question describes a device constructed of two rectangular casings that can be "rotated relatively in one of a first rotation direction and a second rotation direction orthogonal to each other." Translation: a sort of next-gen Jacob's ladder with hinges that open up on both sides of a right angle, which would allow you to set screens side by side or on top of one another. Want to know more? Check out all the patent claims and drawings at the sources below.
Microsoft's Mouse Without Borders: the KVM that killed the KVM (video)
Until now, running multiple computers with one keyboard and mouse has tended to require KVMs or wormholes, but Microsoft developer Truong Do has a better idea. Working at Microsoft's Garage -- Redmond's after-hours pet project program -- he built Mouse Without Borders: software that lets you control computers on the same wireless network with one set of inputs as if it was one machine with a multiple display. Up to four systems can be tied together and the software also provides for seamless drag-and-drop file transfer. Microsoft is releasing it free of charge at the source link, plus you can see Truong Do talking up his creation after the break.
Lenovo aims new ThinkPad Edge laptops and ThinkVision monitor at business weaklings
Lenovo's come to the aid of road-weary business users who want a second screen for their laptops but think a Spacebook is a little excessive. It's just released the 14-inch ThinkVision Mobile Monitor to accompany its new ThinkPad Edge laptops, which gets both power and data via USB, has 16 brightness settings and packs an independent kickstand. It can either be used as a dual display for those mammoth spreadsheets or as a presentation screen where lugging around a projector just isn't practical. The Edge laptops (a 14-inch E425 and a 15.6-inch E525) come with AMD A-Series APUs, an optional fingerprint reader and a choice of "midnight black" (seen above) or "heatwave red" (shot after the break). All three are promised to arrive this month, with the laptops starting at $549 and the monitor priced at $219.99. Of course, if you need a USB-powered display bigger than 14-inches, you might be better off trying one of these.
Onkyo's DX dual-screen laptop is a far better deal than Kohjinsha's DZ
Hellooo Onkyo. Sure, it's just a rebadge of the Japanese Kohjinsha DZ-series dual-display rig we've already seen. But Onkyo's DX raises the bar significantly by delivering a pair of 10.1-inch 1,366 × 768 pixel LCD displays (as promised at CEATEC) that easily trump the 1,024 x 600 panels used on the Kohjinsha without increasing the portable's overall size. While we're still looking at the same 1.6GHz Athlon Neo MV-40 CPU, ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and 3x USB jacks, Oknyo's offering starts with 2GB (not 1GB) of memory standard expandable to 4GB, a 320GB 5,400rpm disk (not 160GB), Gigabit Ethernet, and 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium. Here's the best part: it's priced at just ¥84,800 (about $966) compared to the Kohjinsha which lists for ¥79,800 / $909 on Kohjinsha's retail site or a steep ¥100,800 / $1,148 premium if purchased through the GeekStuff4u exporter. Guess which one we'd choose?%Gallery-79982%
Kohjinsha's dual-screen DZ Series laptop now for sale
Remember IBM's ThinkPad 701 with the butterfly keyboard? This isn't it, it's better... conceptually anyway. Instead of two halves of a keyboard magically jigsawing themselves together, Kohjinsha achieves a similar result with its DZ-series using a pair of 10.1-inch TFT displays with 1,024 x 600 pixel resolution (each) packed into an otherwise svelte 1.02 x 8.26 x 0.74~1.65 inches / 4.09 pounds (1.84 kg) portable. Best of all it's on sale now for ¥95,800 (about $1,110) with a Linux pre-load -- add another ¥5,000 (about $58) for 32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium. For that you get a 1.6GHz AMD Athlon Neo with RS780MN chipset and ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, 3x USB, a 3-in-1 card reader, 1.3 megapixel webcam, 1GB memory (expandable to 4GB), and 160GB 5,400RPM hard disk with claimed 4.5-hours "max" of battery power (1.1V, 5200mAh) -- likely far less in real-world usage. Ships worldwide ($60ish for US or €50ish for European delivery) in 3 weeks if you order today. Video of the sliding action after the break from our hands-on session back at the CEATEC show in Japan.
Nokia's Internet Tablet hacked into secondary PC monitor
What's more exciting than seeing Cupcake on a Nokia Internet Tablet? Seeing your Internet Tablet double as a secondary display, naturally! If you're too cash-strapped to go out and get one of those newfangled USB displays to run your widgets / chat windows / etc. in, and you're scrambling for reasons to not toss that N800 or N810 on eBay, you should certainly give the read link a look. We can't say this is the easiest hack in existence, but considering that no soldering irons are required, we'd say even the novice could at least give it a go. Plus, you can't put a price on extra utility. You just can't. [Thanks, Addae]
Matrox finally adds Mac compatibility to DualHead2Go and TripleHead2Go
Although a few determined Mac users got the Matrox DualHead2Go functioning with their Mac mini already, despite the lack of official support from the manufacturer, it's nice to finally see some real Mac-love from Matrox.The Matrox DualHead2Go and TripleHead2Go allow you to connect two or three VGA monitors to select Mac desktops and portables. That's screen real estate nirvana for some of us and it's about freakin' time. Sure, DVI would be better, but I'll take what I can get at this point.Mac OS X v10.4.x is needed and support is limited to a specific list of Mac models. Supported systems include:MacBook (DualHead)MacBook Pro (Dual and Triple)Mac Pro (Dual and Triple)Mac mini (DualHead)iMac 17-inch (DualHead)iMac 20-inch (Dual and Triple)iMac 24-inch (Dual and Triple)Be sure to check the compatibility table for a list of supported resolutions on each system. The DualHead will set you back about $169 and the TripleHead is just under $300, so start saving your pennies now or ask Santa nicely to hook you up this year![via krunker.com]
