What Is A Dual Screen Tablet Notebook?
A dual screen tablet notebook is a foldout, portable computer. It has two screens, which fold out the way a book of a journal would. The two screens allow for users to view a textbook on of the screens, and to use the other side as a notebook, for writing.
Currently, there’s not many on the market. One has currently been release, the Entourage Edge, Microsoft’s Courier seems to have been discarded, and then there’s the ‘Kno’, which has a lot of promise.
In the tablet market, most of the products are single screen tablets, which is led by market leader Apple with its iPad range and Samsung’s Galaxy. Both single screen tablets and dual screen tablets are new technology on the market, and the potential for growth in the area is high.
First, laptops took over from desktops. It is becoming possible that the next step in the evolution of computers is the tablet. Whether or not it will be dual or single screen remains to be seen.
Who Makes The Dual Screen Tablets?
Not many companies are planning on making a dual screen tablet, with many preferring to stay with the single screen model. Microsoft attempted and then scrapped its ‘Courier’ project, an unknown company named ‘Kno’ is releasing what it claims to be the most powerful tablet device yet, and the first released dual screen tablet Entourage Edge shows promise.
The Microsoft Courier
Previously, Microsoft had a project in development it named ‘Courier’. This was a dual screen tablet notebook, with an emphasis on drawing and writing as its main input, over a touch screen keyboard and mouse. Microsoft did release some information on the project, and some other information has been leaked on to the net over time. The work looked promising, and it would have possibly dealt a blow to Apple’s iPad had it seen the light of day. Microsoft shelved the project, and does not plan to release the ‘Courier’. In October, however, Microsoft was hoping to be able to get a patent on a ‘dual screen device’, which leaves the door open as to what they will decide.
The ‘Kno’
A company that not many people have heard of are quite possibly leading the way in the dual screen tablet field. ‘Kno’ are unheard of by just about anyone. That may be changing soon, if their tablet takes off. The ‘Kno’ is aimed at University and College students. One side is used as a textbook, and the other side as a notebook. The ‘Kno’ will give its users the ability to download any textbook they require, without having to go to a library or carry around thousands of handwritten notes.
One side of the tablet works like a Kindle, and the other side similar to the iPad. The main difference is, it’s the two products together. It has a touch screen, which can also be written on using a pen stylus. The pen stylus allows users to write in their information just as they would a book. The screen will be good quality, so video and clips won’t suffer. The ‘Kno’ will be completely portable.
‘Kno’, according to its makers will be the most power tablet built so far. This is a bold claim, and going against the likes of Apple with its iPad is a big risk. Many people out there will remain with the iPad, no matter how good the ‘Kno’ is compared to the iPad. Apple seem to have a cult following that is almost impossible to penetrate for other companies.
The makers of the ‘Kno’ have promised that the dual screen tablet will be under $1000, however many in the industry question this estimate. For a product with as many features as it has, getting it to under $1000 will be a challenge.
The Entourage Edge
The Entourage Edge is possibly a product dead in the water. Like the ‘Kno’, the Edge has two screen, an ‘e-ink screen’ and a ‘pen on paper’ screen. Like the ‘Kno’, this sounds like a good idea. Especially for college students as it give them easier access to textbooks and their notebooks. The Edge, however, fails to provide much for the promise it had.
Working on an Android 1.6 operating system, the tablet is 10.1 inches. Currently, this is the only dual screen tablet on the market. This doesn’t mean the product is selling though, or that there’s any demand for it. Being a heavy device is a downfall. So is the hardware inside, which doesn’t work as smoothly as users would hope. Made of a flimsy plastic, the Edge seems more like a disposable toy than a serious hardware device.
The ‘Kno’ is aiming to be under $1000, while the Entourage Edge is priced at $499.99. Many are saying that the Edge is overpriced at $499.99, so the ‘Kno’ looks like it may have priced itself out of most people’s price ranges. Especially the students it’s aiming to gain as customers.
Should I Get A Dual Screen Tablet, Would It Make Life Easier?
Dual Screen Tablets do seem like fun, and a good idea. If you’re a college or a university student, high school student, or even a college lecture a dual screen tablet is something that would come in handy. Textbooks and notebooks already there no need to carry around too many textbooks, an end to messy notebook pages your entire course, right at your fingertips. The writing side is very handy, especially with the ‘Kno’, which is a breeze to write using.
If you’re on a budget, or looking at changing your laptop or desktop to a tablet, it’s possibly a better move to go for something like the iPad, at least until more dual screen tablets are on the market. The Entourage Edge isn’t that great for it’s promise, and the ‘Kno’ is set to be priced extremely high, quite possibly pricing it’s target users out of the price range.