Particularly on smartphones, it has become clear that the extended real estate offered by removing the keyboard from the front of the device can make a big difference in tasks such as Web surfing and watching videos. Nonetheless, there are a few obstacles that issues that could make the fate of the Iconia less than a touching story.
Indeed, after taking a moment to orient their fingers, touch typists may find themselves very much at home row with the Iconia's software keyboard. Indeed, with potentially even more real estate to spare in the case of the Iconia, they can theoretically provide an even better virtual keyboard experience than those devices. PC companies have no doubt been inspired to try dual-screen designs featuring soft keyboards given the way consumers have embraced smartphones and the iPad, which make a similar tradeoff. If anything, Acer signaled that it would be the first in a series of products that would unfold over the next several years.
Unlike the dual 14-inch hinged Kno device discussed in columns prior, this one is clearly designed to be used in a landscape orientation, and unlike the 7-inch Toshiba Libretto, the Iconia is not being positioned as some kind of limited-edition experiment. The single manifestation of a physical QWERTY text entry device was a keyboard dock designed for a 10-inch tablet running Windows.īut as much as Acer's tablet lineup seems poised to flounder in the coming sea of similarity, its Iconia laptop stood out, eschewing a keyboard for a second 14-inch touchscreen to match the main display. That's almost as broad a lineup as Archos, which has dipped down to what most would consider digital audio player turf with a three-inch tablet (tablette?) and a precursor to what is sure to be a merciless barrage of tablets on the slate for CES. The company introduced an array of tablets, most of which were running Android, with sizes ranging from five- to ten-inches each.
When Acer announced a slate of new devices at a New York press conference last week, the overarching message was simple - keyboards are as done as a Thanksgiving turkey.