HP Firefly shows with multi-touch, dual screens
updated 11:55 pm EST, Thu January 1, 2009
HP Firefly Preview
HP will reveal a concept notebook at CES that acts a showcase for the future of desktop replacement notebooks, Laptop reveals in a hands-on preview. A prototype known as the Firefly carries the 17-inch display typical of many notebooks its size but centers on a multi-touch trackpad borrowed from the Voodoo Envy 133 placed in an unusual location. Rather than ahead of the keyboard, the pad is placed at the side in a reportedly more comfortable position. The pad supports more complex gestures like pinch-to-zoom and scrolling but also supports left- and right-clicking and is said to be closer to a true mouse in terms of input.
Echoing Fujitsu's LifeBook N7010, the Voodoo-backed Firefly also has a second, 4.3-inch display that serves as a 800x480 secondary screen that can be used for IM and other small tasks without interrupting a game or reducing the amount of available space on the main panel.
The system as built is pitched as a gaming system and carries a 2.4GHz Core 2 Extreme mobile quad-core processor at its heart, and carries dual Mobility Radeon HD 3870 graphics chips teamed together in CrossFire mode. A 250GB, 7,200RPM hard drive and 4GB of memory also eliminate common complaints about slow load times on notebooks, while a customizable backlit keyboard and a unique infrared webcam mode tailor the notebook to nighttime gaming.
HP doesn't plan to put the Firefly as-is into production and is using it as a technology demonstrator, though the PC builder is one of the first with a multi-touch display notebook for the home and is known to translate at least some of the technology from its designs into production models.












Ugly
01/02, 04:27am reply
That thing has been hit with the UGLY stick!
Parky
Mac Elite
Joined: Oct 1999
A Production Nightmare
01/02, 06:40am reply
If this were to go into production, it would be fine for right-handed people, but will HP produce a left handed version? If so, won't that be a production and support headache?
srmoll
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2004
Dumb gets Dumber
01/02, 07:44am reply delete
Absolutely, but so typical of the (un)PC world to make a laptop for right handed people only. Dumb idea that simply makes HP look desperate to make something look 'innovative' but simply shows that change for changes sake is definitely not the way to go.
spyinthesky1
Joined:
dumb and dumber
01/02, 08:16am reply
I'm right handed, but use my left hand for mousing and trackpading (try it - once you get used to it - its pretty efficient, especially if you're like me and press return and delete a lot!)
I guess I won't be buying one of these (but then that was a given...)
chucker
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2007
swappable
01/02, 12:08pm reply
It would be wise to make keyboard pad and touch pad swappable.
coffeetime
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2006
um...
01/02, 12:58pm reply
It is a CONCEPT notebook, so while it is nice to criticize stupid details or looks, what you should be looking at is the concept.
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
CONCEPT
01/03, 10:36am reply
Hi Testudo, guess what; I looked at the concept.
Analyse: the thing is dog-ugly! Who in their right mind would carry a thing like that around? Or does it have folding legs like, say, a blackjack table?
Maybe Darth Vader? He could probably wipe-out the entire "EnergyStar" with this baby.
The glove has to go though!
henk
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2004
Off Center Keyboard?
01/05, 01:27am reply
Not centering the keyboard . . . talk about the ergonomic hazards. Move over, carpal tunnell -- there's a new syndrome in town.
JEB
Junior Member
Joined: May 2001