Toshiba Libretto W100

Here’s an iPad killer that’s really worth waiting for

The iPad has changed the way we look at personal computers. It has even spawned a new genre of products dubbed iPad killers. While none of them has hit the market yet, Toshiba’s Libretto is worth waiting for. It is the world’s first dual touch-screen laptop which also runs a full operating system. 

Each of its LED backlit screens supports 1024 x 600 pixels. With a dedicated key, you can even convert the lower screen into a virtual keyboard. Like the iPad, it too has an accelerometer—so if you hold it like a book, it will read like a book. And because it also folds like a book (or like a regular laptop), the two touch screens stay protected. Unlike an iPad, thankfully, it also has USB and micro SD ports. Though the unit is 3G compatible, I could not test if it will work with the 3G Sim cards available in India. Its standard connectivity option is Wi-Fi, and as it has a USB port you can also use it with a high-speed data card to connect to the internet. 

The standard battery on Libretto runs for two hours. The extended battery is rated for four hours. Both of these come bundled with the machine. It runs on a Dual Core Intel Pentium U5400 processor at 1.2 GHz, with a 3MB smart cache—this processor works much faster than the Atom. It comes with a 62 GB solid state drive and 2 GB Ram. This ensures that the pre-loaded Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit edition will run without a hitch. Maybe because of its size, this gadget reminds me of my Nintendo DS.

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