Every so often comes a new idea that revolutionizes the market and creates a trend. Despite its great potential, the first tablet with two touchscreen displays is far from being a revolutionary product

In the computing world, the appearance of the Asus Eee PC marked a new beginning, the start of ultra-light mobile computing. However, since 1996 Toshiba had introduced a small-sized notebook called, the Libretto, the forerunner of what we know now as a netbook. This year, with the booming touch technology and coinciding with the 25th anniversary of its first commercial handheld, Toshiba has released the first dual-touchscreen tablet, the Toshiba Libretto W100.

This stylish device is halfway between a tablet PC and a netbook, with a size no larger than a paperback and weighing just over 800 grams, and has outstanding specifications for its size. But the most remarkable is its dual multi-LED 7” with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels.

Toshiba Libretto W100 is a product that is difficult to classify. Its two touch screens displays, has multi-touch capability that is below than what is offered by the iPad or Galaxy Tab. The 4 hour battery life may make you wonder whether it is a good mobile solution. Its small size makes it too complex to use as a pure workstation.

It has some overheating issues and also missing some video output that allows us to connect it to a projector or a larger screen. Hopefully someday we will see a new model that addresses these limitations.

LifeSpace

One of the most striking features of the Libretto W100 is the inclusion of Toshiba LifeSpace application. This utility is the integration of two features: Bulletin Board, which makes it easier for you to locate movies, videos, and notes with a graphical interface and ReelTime, which automates the process of searching and information management. Both processes are synchronized.

Two screens

Having two twin displays offers many possibilities, especially the fact that these screens may improve our productivity. This feature can be particularly useful when using design programs, where tool palettes often obscure the work area. The provision of dual screen also makes it an excellent candidate for reading electronic books just like normal printed books, despite the fact that the LCD screens may not be ideal for prolonged use.

Touch Keyboard

To make up for its lack of physical keyboard, Libretto W100 offers up to six types of touch keyboard in different formats for both alphanumeric and numeric, tailored to our needs at all times.

Small size

The tablet has a fairly small size (202 x 123 x 25.4 mm), which is equivalent to an electronic book reader but a lot thicker. It is the most powerful 7” UMPC in the market and its nearly 800 grams of weight makes it ideal for easy transport.

Heat

Generating so much power in so little space makes the tasks of dissipating heat somewhat tricky, the heat may make it inconvenient to hold the tablet for a long time.

Ports

One of the weaknesses of the Libretto W100 is its limited connectivity options. It only has an audio port, one USB port, a microSD card slot and a SIM card slot to access 3G connection. You may miss the Ethernet or a video output option.

Pros

+ Two touch-screen displays

+ High Performance hardware

+ LifeSpace

Cons

– Low battery life

– Overheating problem

– Noisy fan

– Very few ports and no video output

– Expensive