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MSI’s SketchBook puts a new twist on the convertible

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MSI is showing off a new concept device called the “SketchBook” at an event in Amsterdam. It’s not quite a tablet. Instead, it has a swiveling base that can flip between the keyboard and a pen tablet. No details yet, but the idea is interesting and certainly I can’t fault them for wanting to pursue pen input. Depending on the price though, I think carrying a separate Wacom Bamboo tablet would be more feasible alternative.

Via Engadget

6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. ChrisRS

    05/20/2010 at 2:05 pm

    Wouldn’t it be cool if you could use that pen thing to point to and write on the screen?

    Seriously, this would have to be alot cheaper that an active digitizer to make sence.

  2. Nameless

    05/20/2010 at 2:17 pm

    I’ve found that I prefer using the pen directly on the screen rather than a separate drawing tablet, and I’m not alone. I still don’t get how that doesn’t appear to be an option here.

    This looks like a logical extension of the Lenovo ThinkPad W700 approach (it has a small Wacom digitizer built into the palmrest, to the right of the trackpad). Some like it that way, but those people are probably using external Wacom tablets to begin with-possibly the high-end Intuos models. What’s to wean them away from just getting a standard laptop and plugging their existing drawing tablet into a free USB port?

  3. Tomas Antila

    05/20/2010 at 3:09 pm

    I could see this being usefull if it has great preassure sensitivity. I haven’t seen any tablet pc with preassure sensitivity over 256 levels, and as an artist you need at least 512 levels or even 1024. This with the combination of being mobile would be great!

    • RJ

      05/20/2010 at 9:48 pm

      As a Tablet PC artist, I find your comment pretty offensive, as would many other artists I know that produce professional grade work on Tablet PCs. Between my tablet PCs, graphires, bamboos, and Intuos, the difference in Pressure levels has no effect on my art. 256 is more then adequate.

  4. RJ

    05/20/2010 at 9:39 pm

    While I too generally prefer the on-screen approach, I have to say that this is not a bad idea. If your trying to draw something from life, The disconnect element is a plus since you can constantly keep the reference in the same general view without having to bob your head up and down constantly.

    I tried a similar thing with the new multitouch Bamboo and my Eee PC 1000HD. The Bamboo Tablet is almost the exact same size as the keyboard and it fits perfectly over it. The only sucky thing is the huge cord on the side, so interrogating the tablet in this capacity is pretty cool.

  5. SAM

    05/21/2010 at 10:55 am

    In the “old days” we had pucks(sp) that we used on
    gigantic drafting boards.

    What a pain, you couldn’t see your work without leaning
    over to see the screen. Do that all day and what a pain in the neck–literally.

    The on screen digitizing is so much faster and more accurate, at least for our type of work. I don’t miss
    the headaches either…

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