Acer has unveiled a new “concept device” that they think represents the future of laptopping. The Iconia has two 1366×768 capacitive touchscreens, one in the usual place and one where the keyboard would be. The idea being that it vastly increases the stuff that you can do. Of course, you can only look in one direction at once, and the bezels nix any ideas you might have of folding this thing into one big screen. The guts are respectable, but nothing crazy: Core i5, integrated graphics, 4GB of DDR3, a 2.5″ HDD, 3G, and a USB 3.0 port. That all could change, since this isn’t a final spec device.
They’ve got a few concept touch apps, including a journal and a scrapbook, and a social stream.
The “Acer Ring” and gesture editor demonstrate the power of a touchscreen, namely natural gestures like “grabbing” the screen or putting your palms on it, and I’m glad to see that being advanced. The trouble is, this thing runs Windows 7, and Windows 7 just isn’t that touch-friendly. Engadget notes that the keyboard is hard to use, which I would have expected. A real keyboard lets you rest your fingers on the home row, and the muscles we use to go to U, or R, or comma, are different when you’re hovering over something, trying hard not to touch anything.
Blah blah blah. . . To the real question, can it DJ!?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twvdv...ure=popt1cus14
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