The display performs as advertised, and has a few neat little tricks up its sleeve. There are preset launch buttons for a variety of programs as well as some screen-specific apps, like a photo slideshow, that have been adapted for touch and gesture recognition. There is also some interesting interaction between the lower and primary displays, with the former at time acting as an input pad for the active application, like a second, gesture-oriented touchpad.

The display really comes into its own when used as a raw display. Screen resolution is high enough that the screen is useful for displaying emails, and IM window or video without straining the eyes too much. Touchscreen capability is nice, but I suspect users will do most of their interaction with the touchpad with their mouse, as in this video.

The vid is needlessy drawn out, so skip ahead to the meatier bits starting at 1:15 and 4:05—HD is available if you click through. [Akihabara]

The primary backlight system may block light from the secondary backlight system except for those one or more regions. Thus, the size and shape of the status indicator may be set by sizing and shaping the transparent or semitransparent regions of the primary backlight system. In addition to setting the size and shape of the icon, the color of the icon may also be set by adjusting the color of the light provided by the secondary backlight system.

For example, each indicator may have a particular color, blinking speed, or light intensity. These properties may be programmed into the electronic device by the user, or may be hard-coded or hard-wired into the system. Thus, when the secondary backlight is turned on, the properties of the light provided by the secondary backlight system may depend on the status of the device. Also, if the status of the electronic device changes while the secondary backlight is on, the properties of the light provided by the secondary backlight system may change to reflect the new status.

To avoid depleting the battery, these icons' backlight system will be low-power. Don't get your expectations too high, however. The patent doesn't clearly explains how the icons themselves may be displayed. By the look of the diagrams included, they may not even be actual pixel-based icons, but cut-outs illuminated by individual LED lights shining through the main display.

But of course, you know that this may be something completely different from what the diagram shows, since the drawings included in patents always seem to be drawn by a monkey on drugs. At least, I want to believe this thing is more like the illustration I did, because if it's just little icons—like every other single cheap clamshell cellphone out there—I won't be very excited. [Apple Insider]

Asus ScreenDUO [MobileWhack]

Asus tech showed the notebook at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, and that they're not the only ones—Acer and Mitac Technologies are also reportedly jumping on the secondary display notebook bandwagon. If the big boys take notice, this could become a standard feature in the near future. – Charlie White
Asustek presents notebook with "second display" design [DigiTimes]