Wacky dual-screen laptop prototype for sale
(Credit:
eBay)
Eagle-eyed eBay watchers latched onto an auction this morning for a bizarre dual-screen laptop, made by a company called Xentex. According to the eBay page, this is a semifunctional prototype, but this system was actually sold briefly in 2003, as the $5,000 Flip-pad Voyager.
It features two 13-inch screens, side-by-side, and each screen can pivot around individually, like a convertible tablet. The whole thing looks to be about the size of an HP HDX desktop replacement.
(Credit:
eBay)
Bidding is up to $405 right now, but the auction runs until May 29, so there's still plenty of time. Of course, you should note this isn't exactly a system that's ready to run out of the box.
The seller says, "This was a prototype and is missing some parts but does turn on so I have no doubt someone can make this work with the right skills...The keyboard is functional and it does type and you can enter the bios but I have not been able to go past that since I do not have a hard-drive cable (which appears to be a custom cable with 1mm pitch) and I do not have a CD-ROM for the unit. I have tried to getting it to boot of an external USB CD-ROM but it would not detect that."
Buyer, as they say, beware.
New York native Dan Ackerman, a former radio DJ turned journalist, has written about technology and music for publications including Spin, Blender, The Hollywood Reporter, and USA Today. He hosts the weekly Digital City podcast and the New York edition of Editors' Office Hours. Dan's new album, Tales Out of Night School, is available now. E-mail Dan. 
First we need way better batteries, cause battery technology is garbage.