Kohjinsha DZ dual-screen laptop released

First shown at the CEATEC trade show in October, Kohjinsha's dual screen laptop/netbook is now on sale in Japan. The combination of an ATI Radeon HD3200 graphics processor and an AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 1.6 GHz chip gives the DZ the power to offer independent or combined dual screen action. The first full dual screen laptop to the marketplace also benefits from a 160Gb SATA HDD, an integrated TV card and a multi-touch, gesture sensitive touch pad.

Unlike Lenovo's screen and a half effort (the Thinkpad w700ds), the 280 by 210 by 19~42 mm (11 by 8.26 by 0.75~1.65 in) DZ features two full 10.1 inch LED backlit screens with 1024 by 600 pixel resolution on each. This benefits gamers and business users alike by offering a single standard display, a dual ultra-wide-screen single display or two independent workspaces sitting side by side. The display can also be turned 180 degrees to allow comfortable keying via an external keyboard or for outward video display.

Secure fingerprint access to the system can be set up courtesy of a scanner to the right side of the screen. Separate mouse, pointing device and screen rotation functionality can all be found surrounding the screen along with a 1.3 megapixel webcam and digital mono microphone for quick and easy videoconferencing.

Onboard memory ranges from the supplied 1Gb to 4Gb maximum via two slots. The device features 802.11b/g/n wireless LAN as well as Ethernet and Bluetooth 2.1. There are three USB 2.0 ports, a 3-in-1 media slot to handle the SD, SDHC and MMC cards and plus a MicroSD slot.

The 11.1V lithium ion battery is claimed to provide some four and a half hours power between charges which should be more than enough to watch a few of your favorite TV shows via the built-in tuner. Realtek HD audio provides quality sound through stereo speakers or headphones and stereo audio input is also catered for via an input socket at the front of the unit.

As well as the Windows 7 Home Premium operating system, Kohjinsha also throws in some software including Presto PVR to allow recording and playback of TV content, CyberLink PowerDVD, McAfee Security Center, the EI Office 2009 suite and ebi Book Reader.

While we're still to see a similar offering promised by gScreen, the DZ is available now from Kohjinsha's Japanese website for 79,800 Yen (about US$923 at time of publication).