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  • jkresh - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link

    I do not see this selling much with current specs, you could just buy 2 17" laptops each with better specs and they would take up a similar amount of space in a bag, and weigh a similar amount, you could then use some kind of kvm software to run the 2nd laptop as a 2nd screen for the first if you really needed to. If this actually had mobile workstation specs (ie sandybridge, one or two ssd's, some kind of professional gpu) then maybe it would fit a small market (even if the price was a bit higher) but as it stands it doesn't seem to have a target audience.
  • MonkeyPaw - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link

    Or just have an external screen that plugs in. They could save a ton of trouble and still be creative by merely building a portable, battery powered monitor that runs on standard video connections. Just build it to match size and Res of the laptop, and maybe make a way for it to dock so it can offer its battery to the notebook, a la Eee pad transformer dock.
  • mageslayer - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link

    People often connect their laptops to external monitors for additional screen real estate. I can't think of a scenario where "filmmakers, photographers, designers and CAD engineers" would need to do intensive work and not be able to access an external monitor. Workplaces and even some hotels have external monitors readily available for use. Coupled with its poor battery life and last gen specs, this product is targeting a non-existent market.
  • Rubinsson - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link

    Or you could buy two pretty decent laptops and dual wield... ;)

    Seriously though the price and the hardware does not really capture me....

    I would rather, as Kristian writes, take a laptop with good hardware
    and two bigger professional IPS screens for stationary use and be
    content with the smaller screen estate when I am on the move...
  • Impulses - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link

    Ironically, two laptops would weigh less and cost about the same, with better hardware on each... Not as usable in terms of screen real estate (can't easily shift stuff from one to the other, etc.), but still...
  • web2dot0 - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link

    To people saying that it's cheaper to get 2 laptops .... that's not the goal for this laptop .... to replace 2 laptops.

    The ingenious idea behind the product is to allow extra real estate limited by current laptop counterparts in a PORTABLE format. That means you can carry 2 screens with you.

    Do you carry 2 laptops with you? Are you going to find a monitor laying around everywhere you go? That's the purpose of this design.

    I can totally see potential candidate for this type of laptop geared towards serious computer programmers ....

    I would definitely consider getting one as a desktop replacement assuming the specs are more up to date and the battery life is reasonable (that extra monitor is going to suck the life out of the batteries). I'm ok with the weight because I'm more concerned about reclaiming my desk space and being able to lug it around to/from work, not using it in coffee shops or bring it to LAN parties with it ....
  • Solidstate89 - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link

    This would be a portable workstation of my dreams if it weren't for the absolutely crap hardware. No Sandy Bridge? A 250m GPU? I mean, really? What are you going to do with two 1920x1080 screens with a 250m GPU?

    Absolutely ridiculous. 3,000 dollars is insane considering the kind of hardware and screen quality I can get for just two grand in portable workstations from Lenovo, HP and Dell.

    Now if you throw a Sandy Bridge Quad-core and a high-end Mobile Quadro in there, I would highly consider this notebook. As it stands, I don't see it selling.
  • CZroe - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link

    What they need to do is sell a portable, folding, dual-display using their designs which can be connected to anything instead of building a whole laptop around it. They could integrate a huge battery in the base to offset the weight of the panels or make a power pass-through so that you can plug your notebook into it with a universal DC cord and not have a tangled outlet mess
  • colinw - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link

    It's rubbish on its own, and complete madness when price is factored in.
  • Iketh - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link

    I'm a computer programmer and immediately clicked this article to find out more. I frowned at the hardware, but that wouldn't have held me back. Only the price prevented me from purchasing this. With the current configuration, I wouldn't pay more than $1200.

    With integrated Sandy Bridge graphics & 2.2GHz, I wouldn't pay more than $1500.
  • Iketh - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link

    I'd like to add that I can't think of anything else that says "I mean business" or "I'm the real deal" when visiting clients and my laptop morphs into dual displays.... pure sexiness
  • peternelson - Monday, July 18, 2011 - link

    I think when you wheel in a mil-spec 19 inch rack flightcase on castors, containing your personal workstation cluster and slide open the operator console, you will likely have their full attention.

    The guy with the dual screen laptop just got owned. Sure it may look nice, but because he isn't even running Sandy Bridge yet, you can deliver the project results before he even finishes his slide presentation.
  • peternelson - Monday, July 18, 2011 - link

    I agree that programming is a good use case for the extra screen real estate. Having open a browser or e-book to copy code examples, running your editor/compiler, the application being developed also visible, some test/debug window.

    I've found worthwhile increase in my productivity on desktop machines moving from single 24 inch to dual side by side 24 inch on an extended desktop. Actually I now use more eg Samsung 40 inch Syncmasters but they will never be "portable" :-)

    That's mostly the reason I'd seek out a "desktop replacement" laptop of some sort, and for me it is irrelevant how much weight I will carry (as versus taking a desktop case, separate monitors, keyboard and mouse). I think I can also live with perhaps only an hour of battery life or less, because most places I would use this provide mains sockets eg home, my office, client's office, Starbucks, the public library, even trains now. This kind of form factor is acceptable for hot-desking.

    I will mention the potential market in financial trading eg forex, stocks will also benefit from the double screen for technical analysis charting, which is using 2D rather than 3D. A bit like a dual-screen Bloomberg professional terminal, just portable.

    Even so, the GPU did seem to me to be a weak point. Improved (or upgradable) GPU would help GPU accelerated applications.

    I'd also be impressed if they could have an optional third screen which you can take along with you if you wish. The sliding would ideally be flexible to place the keyboard centrally between either the resulting two or three screen array. That would allow an Eyefinity type setup where the bezels do no hide crosshairs in FPS games. The graphics power to drive this triple setup may strain a mobile GPU though.

    For a premium machine like this I would be looking for at least space/capacity for TWO hard drives (one or both of which could be SSD or upgraded later). Some desktop replacement or gaming machines had this feature eg M1730.

    They could even produce a higher version with two 18.4 inch or even two 23 inch screens if they can bring it to market at a more affordable price point.
  • peternelson - Monday, July 18, 2011 - link

    Virtualisation could also be relevant to how people could use this type of machine.

    With two screens you have the potential to run multiple operating systems in windows better, eg Windows 7 Ultimate and the virtualised XP side by side, or perhaps VMware workstation for testing multiple environments, or some linux distributions. The cpu and chipset should be selected to support hardware virtualisation and where possible I/O virtualisation too. You might also use one screen as a VNC or similar session to a remote machine.
  • jhh - Tuesday, July 19, 2011 - link

    The terms and conditions on their web site seem odd, like they took them from an estore without spending much time fixing them. There are inconsistencies, such as saying they only accept business checks, wire transfers, or money orders. Then later, there is a list of credit cards accepted. The second payment will be requested 30 days before your order is ready (implying that it will be at least 30 days). They also say they can use your deposit for anything - paying the rent, paying for getting FCC certification, you name it. Since you pay the first half up front, if the company goes bankrupt, you don't even have the protection of a credit card chargeback. The company may have honorable intent, but the machine could be even further obsolete by the time you get it.

    I bought a Notion Ink Adam (Android-based tablet) from a startup in India. While I did receive the product eventually, there was a lot of incomplete and wrong information about the state of product completeness, and shipping. If you are really interested in the product, ask questions. For example, is FCC certification complete, and what is the certification number. Is the product built to UL standards and certified? If not, you may not be legally able to use it in businesses. Is it certified for use in other countries? If not, you may not be able to take it to international destinations. If you remember, Israel confiscated iPads at the border until they were approved. Are the machines assembled yet? Will they be direct shipped from China, or will they be imported to the US and shipped from the US? If you are the importer, you are responsible for customs charges, if any, and/or VAT charges in Canada. It will be stuck in a bonded warehouse until it clears customs, and has to be properly classified for import.
  • KevinTrent - Tuesday, November 5, 2013 - link

    Or you could use an additional three screens like this: http://www.rugged-portable.com/multi-screen-displa...

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