iPad, SchmiPad.

I’ve detailed the reasons why I’m not the least bit excited over the iPad in Gadzooki. To be honest, I’m not an Apple hater. I think the iPod – all its iterations – is the greatest thing ever. Macs are pretty spectacular devices. But the iPad left me a bit cold. And the disappointment over the iPad has left me looking for other touchscreen devices, and I see that MSI’s dual-screen netbooks are going on shelves pretty soon.

From EeePC.net:

MSI is taking advantage of the current tablet craze by pushing up the launch of the concept dual-screen netbook they showed off at CES a couple of weeks ago. LaptopMag found this out in its interview with MSI President Joseph Hsu and MSI VP for Sales and Marketing , North America Andy Tung.

During the interview, Tung mentioned that the device will be a eReader and netbook combo, with the second screen acting as a haptic touchscreen keyboard when needed. They plan to release this mid-year with Google Chrome OS possibly bundled in. Despite the dual screens, MSI notes that the device will still boast 4-5 hours of battery life.

The device itself looks pretty promising since it gives more screen space in the same netbook package. No price yet though I’m sure this will cost as much as a regular notebook with the new tech going into it.

This won’t be an iPad-level hit to be sure, but it’s nice to see other manufacturers, MSI in particular creating something different from Apple’s products, unlike the Macbook air-like laptop they unveiled a few months ago.

While I can’t say that I’m really excited for the Google Chrome OS (look, guys, based on what I’ve seen so far, Jolicloud’s a way better cloud OS), I can’t deny the impact Google Chrome OS will have once it comes out. We all know that this cloud-based Linux flavor is being back by no less than Google, so I think Windows has reason to be scared at least in the netbook market.

On smartbooks, however, I think Chrome OS will be more than a threat. I’m pretty sure Chrome OS will become the de facto OS for smartbooks in due time, since smartbooks can’t run Windows. Speaking of smartbooks, we can see a pre-release version of Google’s OS on a Marvell Armada 510 chipset.

More from Liliputing:

Google has already stated that its upcoming Chrome Operating System can run on x86 or ARM-based processors. But it’s still pretty nifty to see a pre-release version of the OS running on devices with low power ARM-based operating systems.

We’ve seen Chrome OS running on a tablet prototype from Freescale using the company’s i.MX515 chipset. Now Charbax from ARMdevices.net has posted a video of a prototype device from Marvell using the Armada 510 chipset running Chrome OS.

There’s no support for Flash yet, and Marvell is still just testing the operating system. But seeing as how the Marvel Armada 510 platform is powerful enough to run Ubuntu 9.10 Linux with support for 1080p HD video playback, I can’t imagine why a light weight OS that’s basically a glorified web browser wouldn’t run smoothly on the same hardware.

[via]

You know, travelling doesn’t just mean vacations and whatnot. If you take your laptop to work like I do, then you must be pretty familiar with the tedium of the daily commute carrying a huge and heavy laptop around. Granted, the laptops that we’re carrying now aren’t as huge and bulky as the ones that came out fifteen years ago, but they’re still heavy. You can argue that with the advent of netbooks, commuting has never been easier, but sometimes working full-time on an Atom-powered netbook isn’t enough. I need a full-powered computer for office work, and a huge, bulky laptop fills that particular need. Read more…

I know we travel a lot with our laptops, and wherever we end up, we usually have no control as to how we position our laptops, and we don’t have a choice if we end up in a non-ergonomic setup. This usually ends with us being reduced to a screaming contorted ball of pain. Personally, I am taking the time to set up a nice, comfortable working area at home. I use my laptop as my main computer, and back when I was using an Asus Eee, I was used to just setting it up wherever I can. I usually work on the bed – which explains the typos of posts past, but that’s another story – which is in no way comfortable or safe for the laptop. Read more…

Sure, Asus conceptualized the idea first, but MSI beat practically every netbook manufacturer for doing this. MSI is showing off a netbook prototype with twin 10 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel touchscreen displays and no physical keyboard. However, you can bring up an on-screen keyboard which, when pressed, actually vibrates the netbook. The haptic feedback is a nice touch, if you ask me.

Though MSI is calling this dual 10-inch screen device an e-reader, it’s really a netbook with two screens since it’s got an Atom Z Series processor and Windows 7 Home Premium. Again: Windows 7 Home Premium! I wonder what hardware is running under the hood. So far details regarding the hardware have been scant, except for the processor: an Intel Atom Z-series. Read more…