Geek In Me

by Thomas Ricker via engadget.com

Perhaps it’s just that nostalgia for the ThinkPad 701 but there’s something about this dual-display reference design that’s causing optical interrupts all over Engadget editorial. It’s certainly not as elegant as some other dual-display laptops we’ve seen, but what it gives up in looks, the Electronic Keyboards, Inc. design makes up for in practicality. They’re currently pitching it to OEMs and will gladly sell you the related US patents if interested. Though given our choice, we’d be more interested in patents related to an elongated trackpad which doubles as a secondary glass display or e-Ink informational widget. Hey, a boy can dream can’t he?





by Paul Miller via engadget.com

You know what’s cool, right? Big, luxurious, fast cars. Those are cool. And then, you know, when you put a car logo on a laptop, and maybe a bit of leather upholstery? You’re bordering on seriously cool levels, people. Take it from us, we know. Ego’s been making luxury laptops of questionable taste and shape for a couple years now, and seems to have finally met the “alright, I guess” mark with its Bentley laptops. Complete with cross-over hand-stitching, a seemingly transplanted car door handle, and a few crappy specs, the laptop is most certainly not worth the £10,000 ($19,943 US) asking price. They go on sale this summer.

by Luke Anderson via ohgizmo.com
When I take my laptop somewhere, I usually just toss it in my backpack (it’s meant to tote around laptops). It isn’t particularly stylish, but it gets the job done. If you’re looking for something that stands out a little more than the average laptop case, this one might be for you.

I can bet that if you walk around with one of these, you aren’t going to run into many people with the same one. Of course you’re probably going to get a lot of strange looks, since it is rather strange. I can’t say it is something I’d ever be caught dead using, but I’m sure that someone out there will just love it. There’s not much to tell about it that a picture can’t say. We do know that it’s made from vinyl and will be available at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair this weekend. No word on pricing.

NEC’s ShieldPRO ruggedized tablet PCs have never exactly put much emphasis on looks, but the company seems to at least be trying to spice things up a bit with its latest FC-N22A model, which ditches the usual nothing-but-business appearance for something designed to turn a few more heads. That brightly-colored exterior will still give you the same IP55-compliant dust and water resistance, however, along with enough ruggedness to protect it from three-foot drops onto a concrete floor. Otherwise, you can expect the usual 12.1-inch display, low-power Core 2 Duo U7500 1.0GHz processor, a promised 12 hours of battery life, optional built-in GPS, and good ‘ol Windows XP for an OS. No word on a price just yet, but you can look for this one to hit Japan by the end of June.

[Via I4U News]