Dual Screen Windows 7 Laptop: Will it be the Next Big Thing?

Gman496

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Staff member
There was a lot of excitement generated by Microsoft's Courier project, a prototype dual screen device developed by Microsoft Research that could be held like a book or e-reading or like a traditional laptop for typing, with the bottom screen then becoming an on-screen keyboard. When the company killed the project, many were unhappy. But it looks as if the premise isn't dead, after all. Other companies are picking up the baton on this one and bringing the idea to fruition.


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And now it appears Toshiba may be the first to get to market with a dual screen device. They've announced the libretto W100, and 1.5 lb. dual screen clamshell design that is coming in August (but some web sites have suggested that release date is for Japan, so we're not sure whether it will be available in the U.S. then). It runs Windows 7 (Home Premium Edition) and it boasts a solid state drive, an Intel Pentium processor, 802.11n wireless and a built-in webcam. The screens are 7 inches, making it truly ultra portable.

How well will a device like this compete against the iPad and the flood of one-screen slate competitors that are expected to be coming in its wake? I can see several advantages that a dual screen device would have over an iPad type device - and a few disadvantages. I've been using the iPad for several weeks now and have gotten to know its strengths and weaknesses. I'd love to try out the dual screen device to see how it compares.

The iPad has a 10 inch screen, which makes for nice viewing but is just a tad big for best portability. Since the libretto will have a smaller (albeit thicker) overall footprint, it will be easier to carry around with you. The weight is close to the same. When opened, because it has two of those 7 inch screens, this will be particularly nice when you're typing. The iPad keyboard takes up too much of the screen, so that sometimes it's difficult to see the form that you're typing into. Putting the keyboard on its own separate screen should help solve that problem.

A big problem with the iPad is that you need to put it in a case to avoid scratching the screen. I found that out the hard way. The libretto closes, so that its screens aren't exposed when you're carrying it and aren't vulnerable to dings. I like that - you can just toss it into your bag without worrying about covering it up. It also has a webcam, which the iPad is missing, so you can do video calls/conferencing. The Toshiba Bulletin Board UI is included. It's a somewhat interesting overlay where you can "pin" notes, gadgets, your calendar, to-do list, photos, etc. I haven't used it, but it looks a lot like the UI on our HP TouchSmart. My complaint about that one is that it's not integrated with Outlook/Exchange, so its calendar doesn't pick up the appointments on my Exchange calendar, etc. Still, some folks are bound to like it and you don't have to use it if you don't like it.

For reading ebooks, the dual screen form factor presents a more "natural" look and feel for an experience that's more like reading a paper book with two facing pages. And it appears to open up all the way to lie down completely flat, with the screens side by side, if you want something that's more like a slate. There's a lot of versatility in the design.

The Windows 7 OS on the libretto could be a help or a hindrance. A big drawback of the iPad for power users like me is that it doesn't run a full-fledged, multi-tasking operating system. On the other hand, that's exactly what many consumers like about it. Because it runs a stripped-down phone OS, it's faster and simpler. Still, the lack of multi-tasking drives me nuts sometimes when I'm wanting to switch back and forth between my email, web, maps and other apps. The challenge for Toshiba is to optimize the Win7 OS on the libretto to be as fast as possible, because people coming from the iPad are going to expect speed.

If you checked out the libretto web site, you might have noticed the "Questions and Answers" section at the bottom - and you might have noticed that there are far more questions than answers. A little digging turned up some information beyond what's on the web site. For instance, the processor powering the device is a 1.2 GHz Pentium U5400, and it has 2 GB of RAM and a 64 GB SSD. The Toshiba site doesn't give a price but according to Engadget, it's going to cost $1099.


Will that pricing present a problem? Maybe, maybe not. The iPad can be had for $499 - but that's the wi-fi only version with just 16GB of storage. If you want a comparable size drive, you pay $699 for the wi-fi model or $829 for the 3G model. And you're still missing the USB port and SD card slot that the libretto has.

Is this dual screen laptop the device that combines the best of both the laptop and slate worlds? Not having had the chance to actually put one through its paces, I can't make that pronouncement, but I do think it has promise. Prior to getting my iPad, I would have said that I'd never be able to touch type on a soft keyboard but I've found myself able to adapt surprisingly well to its on- screen keys, when in landscape mode and with the sound feedback turned on. And the Toshiba gives you six different keyboard modes to choose from, with haptic feedback. There is a virtual touchpad, too.

If the Toshiba gets good reviews and sells well, we can expect more dual screen options to choose from in the future. We reported here a few weeks ago that Sony had taken out a patent on a dual screen design, and I would love to see what they do with it, since they make some of the nicest small form factor traditional laptops.


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