14 DAY TRIAL // The ASUS Taichi is a curious invention, which lacks a lid due to having a second screen on the top instead.
We saw the product at IFA 2012, but the company can't really sell it before Microsoft launches the OS it runs.
ASUS can accept orders for it though. Shipments will start only on October 26, but those who want the device can go to Amazon and reserve one already.
As far as notebooks go, the product has fairly standard hardware, not counting the existence of two 11.6-inch touchscreens instead of one.
Rather than bothering overmuch with creating a strange hinge or sliding mechanism, ASUS just slapped the laptop with a second display on the lid. Both are IPS panels with Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) and 10-finger touch and gesture input.
Two configurations can be found: Taichi 21-DH51 (Core i5 CPU, 128 GB SSD, $1,300 / 1,003-1300 Euro) and Taichi 21-DH71 (Core i7 chip, a 256 GB drive, $1,600 / 1,234-1,600 Euro).