Toshiba launches dual-touch screen mini laptop

Toshiba has launched a new dual-screen, touch-screen mini laptop designed for surfing the internet, sending and receiving emails and keeping up to speed with social networking sites on the move.

The Libretto W100 runs Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, and has two 7in, LED-backlit touch-screens. Toshiba says its compact size and clamshell form factor provides "unrivalled flexibility".

"One screen can be used for content creation, like Word documents or emails, while the other could be used to browse the web, social networks or multimedia programs," said Toshiba, the company that invented the laptop 25 years ago. "Additionally, the device can also be used vertically thanks to an integrated accelerometer."

Users type on a virtual keyboard, which boasts hectic feedback to provide a physical sense of keys being pressed. The Libretto W100 uses an Intel processor and a 62GB solid state drive to store applications, documents and movies, photos and music. It features integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and there is also a 3G version that will enable users to surf the web using the mobile phone network.

Toshiba also unveiled two other new laptops, the Portege R700 and AC100. The R700 is a lightweight laptop with a 13in screen, which uses a new cooling system to ensure it doesn't overheat, while the AC100 is only 14mm thick and runs Google's Android operating system. Toshiba said it could boot up in less than a second, allowing users to get online quickly and easily.

All three new laptops will go on sale next month. Toshiba has not yet confirmed pricing details for any of the devices.

The Toshiba Libretto W100 is an innovative little computer which is either a dual screen tablet or a mini-laptop with a virtual keyboard instead of a physical one, depending on how you look at it. Toshiba plans to offer a limited number of the devices soon, but right now it’s only available in Japan — unless you’re willing to drop $1400 to order a unit from Conics, a retailer that specializes in exporting Asian computers to the West.

The folks at Wow Pow managed to get their hands on a unit from Conics, with the Japanese operating system converted to English. The site has the first unboxing video for the Libretto W100 that I’ve seen. There are also a couple of video overviews of the device. You can check out all the videos after the break.

As a quick refresher, the Toshiba Libretto W100 has two 7 inch capacitive touchscreen displays with resolutions of 1024 x 600 pixels. It has a 1.2GHz Intel Pentium U5400 processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory, and a 62GB solid state disk. The device supports 802.11b/g/n WiFi, WiMAX, and Bluetooth and has a webcam, USB port, microSD card slot, and comes with 2 or 4 hour batteries. It weighs just over 1.5 pounds.

Probably one of the most interesting things Toshiba has done with this device is give it several different virtual keyboards, allowing you to hold it in two hands and type with your thumbs or place it on a tablet and treat it like a traditional laptop. You can see more about the virtual keyboards in my first look video.

The list price is expected to be around $1100, but Conics charges a premium for exporting the tablet from Japan. There’s no word on when the Libretto W100 will officially launch in the US.