Originally posted on January 15, 2010 @ 1:33 pm
Sure, Asus conceptualized the idea first, but MSI beat practically every netbook manufacturer for doing this. MSI is showing off a netbook prototype with twin 10 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen displays and no physical keyboard. However, you can bring up an on-screen keyboard which, when pressed, actually vibrates the netbook. The haptic feedback is a nice touch, if you ask me.
Though MSI is calling this dual 10-inch screen device an e-reader, it’s really a netbook with two screens since it’s got an Atom Z Series processor and Windows 7 Home Premium. Again: Windows 7 Home Premium! I wonder what hardware is running under the hood. So far details regarding the hardware have been scant, except for the processor: an Intel Atom Z-series.
Brian of Liliputing was able to get his hands n a prototype and this is what he has to say about it:
The demo unit I tested out this afternoon is an early prototype, and the touchscreen wasn’t quite as responsive as I (or the friendly MSI rep) would have liked. I found it a little difficult, for instance, to drag items from one screen to the other, or to make the keyboard larger or smaller. But it’s likely that these kinks could be worked out before MSI would bring the device to market.
Here’s a video demo if Brian using the MSI netbook prototype:
Personally though, I wouldn’t bother with dual-screen devices yet. Call me old fashioned, but I really can’t live or work without a physical keyboard. Well, that is until virtual keyboards get their act together.