In its open front position it looks just like any other modern ultrabook: slim, sleek, and stylish certainly, but been there, done that. It's when one closes the lid and sees the second screen peering up at them, that one inevitably does a double take. Such is the double-taking prowess of the new Asus Taichi, a hybrid ultrabook/tablet computer unveiled at Computex 2012 in Taiwan.
The Windows 8-powered hybrid has dual HD screens which will come in either 11.6" or 13.3" sizes. The tablet screen on the top of the lid can be manipulated through touch, or the use of a stylus, while the standard notebook screen must be used the old-fashioned way, with keyboard. Both screens will come with built-in cameras as well, in addition to 1920x1080 HD resolutions.
The big selling point here is that both screens can be used independently to run different applications at the same time, opening up a world of possibilities for users and their friends, in both work and play.
Under the hood, beneath the glitz and glamour of the dual screens, the Asus Taichi will be powered by an Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7 processor, boast 4 GB of RAM, and come with dual band 802.11n Wi-Fi. And despite the slim design, the Asus Taichi won't be lacking in connectivity options - it comes with 2 USB 3.0 ports, a headphone jack, a mini VGA slot, micro DVI, as well as power ports and volume control. All of these features (and did we mention the two screens?) will come in a package weighing under 3 pounds, comparable to Asus' own Zenbooks.
While the dual screen Asus Taichi has no firm release date or price point currently, Asustek Chief Financial Officer David Chang stated that shipments of their newly unveiled products would begin in September of this year.
