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Acer's DualPlay Mini concept is both gaming handheld and mini-laptop

4 points by spankibalt 14d ago

spankibalt 14d ago
Acer following in Lenovo's footsteps with bizarre, overcomplicated contraptions. The ideal form factor is already on the market for a productivity device like this: the 3-in-1 detachable. Make it maintainable (user replaceable battery, RAM, and two SSDs), get Wacom on board for some EMR magic, and add a pogo-pin attachable and Bluetooth-connectable keyboard folio that is essentially a modern IBM M4 or M4-1 Space Saver with trackpoint, trackball or a recessed analog stick. Have a nice docking option, too. How hard can it be?
HardwareLust 14d ago
Can't help thinking that's going to be really thick and unwieldy when the screen is folded over the keyboard.
- spankibalt 13d ago
  Eh, thickness doen't really bother me much as long as it's within reason as maintainability/repairability demands it. I just don't see a need to integrate a keyboard into the chassis. Unless you go for a T-hinge or ezel-style convertible. But why would you, when you can design a detachable, a form factor that's much more versatile? And don't get me started on integrating (non-removable) gaming controls, or the terrible visual design that screams "I AM a GAMER!1!!". That might float for a device aiming for that specific market, but is a complete no-go for business professionals. The funny thing is... Acer already had a rather excellent pro design: the ConceptD 7 Ezel Notebook [1]. Wacom EMR, Xeon W CPU, RTX 5000, 32 GB ECC-DDR4, two SSDs etc. Keep Wacom EMR, exchangeable ECC-RAM, dual-SSDs. Miniaturize to flicker-free DCI-P3 screen between 8 and 13-inches. Offer good support. Done. 1. [https://store.acer.com/de-de/conceptd-7-ezel-notebook-cc715-71-weiss-nx-c5beg-001 https://store.acer.com/de-de/conceptd-7-ezel-notebook-cc715-...]
  - HardwareLust 12d ago
    That is a cool design.
    - spankibalt 12d ago
      It is, if a little bit overcomplicated and therefore prone to failures. HP had a competitive product in the HP x2 G4 detachable graphics workstation, which already conforms to a superior form factor: a 2-in-1 detachable. These days they churn out smallish 3-in-1s... but from a pro's perspective it's just machines full of bad compromises, complete with fugly gamerbro branding. I had hoped Framework would pick up the slack, but they bungled it with their underperforming F-12.

4 points by spankibalt 14d ago

Acer following in Lenovo's footsteps with bizarre, overcomplicated contraptions. The ideal form factor is already on the market for a productivity device like this: the 3-in-1 detachable. Make it maintainable (user replaceable battery, RAM, and two SSDs), get Wacom on board for some EMR magic, and add a pogo-pin attachable and Bluetooth-connectable keyboard folio that is essentially a modern IBM M4 or M4-1 Space Saver with trackpoint, trackball or a recessed analog stick. Have a nice docking option, too. How hard can it be?

HardwareLust 14d ago

Can't help thinking that's going to be really thick and unwieldy when the screen is folded over the keyboard.

spankibalt 13d ago
Eh, thickness doen't really bother me much as long as it's within reason as maintainability/repairability demands it. I just don't see a need to integrate a keyboard into the chassis. Unless you go for a T-hinge or ezel-style convertible. But why would you, when you can design a detachable, a form factor that's much more versatile? And don't get me started on integrating (non-removable) gaming controls, or the terrible visual design that screams "I AM a GAMER!1!!". That might float for a device aiming for that specific market, but is a complete no-go for business professionals. The funny thing is... Acer already had a rather excellent pro design: the ConceptD 7 Ezel Notebook [1]. Wacom EMR, Xeon W CPU, RTX 5000, 32 GB ECC-DDR4, two SSDs etc. Keep Wacom EMR, exchangeable ECC-RAM, dual-SSDs. Miniaturize to flicker-free DCI-P3 screen between 8 and 13-inches. Offer good support. Done. 1. [https://store.acer.com/de-de/conceptd-7-ezel-notebook-cc715-71-weiss-nx-c5beg-001 https://store.acer.com/de-de/conceptd-7-ezel-notebook-cc715-...]
- HardwareLust 12d ago
  That is a cool design.
  - spankibalt 12d ago
    It is, if a little bit overcomplicated and therefore prone to failures. HP had a competitive product in the HP x2 G4 detachable graphics workstation, which already conforms to a superior form factor: a 2-in-1 detachable. These days they churn out smallish 3-in-1s... but from a pro's perspective it's just machines full of bad compromises, complete with fugly gamerbro branding. I had hoped Framework would pick up the slack, but they bungled it with their underperforming F-12.