The laptop form factor is still evolving. Research definitively shows that two screens are better than one, offering a 40-50% increase in productivity and 98% increased satisfaction.
Three dual-screen laptops have reached market to date, being the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i, Asus ZenBook Duo and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold – all run Microsoft Windows and all have the secondary monitor above the primary monitor. Hence they do offer a dual-screen solution, but not the ideal side-by-side configuration preferred by most people, particularly those who wear variable focus glasses.
Chinese company AceMagic has now begun taking pre-orders for the dual-screen X1 laptop it showed at Computex in Taiwan two months ago, and at $900 the X1 just might be a game-changer.
The Acemagic X1 (not to be confused with the Lenovo ThinkPad X1) has a pair of 14.1-inch 1080p displays incorporated into the package. Unfolded, the screens sit side-by-side, but thanks to an ingenious spiral folding mechanism, the second screen can also be flipped so that it is back-to-back with the primary screen, enabling one-on-one screen-sharing with eye-to-eye contact.
From there, the possibilities for better computer-enhanced collaboration seem endless. Being able to see the face of the person you are sharing the screen with has obvious potential for one-on-one coaching and teaching, better sales presentations and enormous potential for new one-on-one gaming experiences.
We think this is a significant new design with enormous collaboration potential.
Alternatively, it offers a portable side-by-side dual-monitor laptop for the first time, which in itself is a significant milestone in the history of the computer.
