Spotted at Computex: Triple Monitor Mobile Systems are Back
by Dr. Ian Cutress on June 6, 2019 5:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
- Trade Shows
- Computex 2019
- ACME
- Triple Monitors
Notebook users that want another screen often have to carry around a secondary USB display – it’s something that works great for working while travelling, especially in cramped hotel rooms. A couple of years ago, Razer showcased its 3-screen prototype that combines three screens into a single laptop implementation. This prototype demo was well documented not only for its unique feature, but because one of the units was stolen from the trade show and never recovered. Well it appears that other companies want a piece of the three-screen market.
Enter ACME Portable Corp. If it sounds like the Looney Tunes company that provided Wile E Coyote with all of his failed contraptions, you’re probably not too wrong. On display on their booth at Computex this year, which we happened to pass while walking from one meeting to another, was a tri-screen mobile display. Each of the displays folded out from the center, with also a fold out keyboard and trackpad and front-facing standard PC ports, along with a custom IO implementation.
This sounds great for a deployment. There’s only one catch.
It’s a full blown PC. No kidding. Inside are a series of off-the-shelf components. Anyone who wants this system can carry it in this handy bag however, which might be able to qualify for hand luggage on an aeroplane if there’s no hand baggage weight limit.
Truth be told, this system is likely more for remote military or commercial deployments. Take a full three-monitor system that folds up into its own wheeled suitcase, and all you need is a generator with a standard power output to plug it in to. (Or something like a commercial 100+ Wh battery pack.)
The funny thing is, as I approached the system on the show floor for the first time, it didn’t look like a full PC. It truly looked like a tri-screen notebook had found its way onto the Computex show floor. But hey, for any content creators out there that need a system at a trade show to edit videos, I may have found your solution.
| Want to keep up to date with all of our Computex 2019 Coverage? | ||||||
 Laptops |
 Hardware |
 Chips |
||||
| Follow AnandTech's breaking news here! | ||||||
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
22 Comments
View All Comments
stephenbrooks - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
If you want an extra large screen in hotel rooms, travel with a VGA and HDMI cable, you can usually connect your laptop to the hotel TV in the room.lazarpandar - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
Or an asus mobile screen, the usb-c one is tightDeath666Angel - Friday, June 7, 2019 - link
The hotel rooms I know have something between a 22" and a 32" TV in the corner of the room at the ceiling. Not really conducive to a good PC experience.Lord of the Bored - Friday, June 7, 2019 - link
I like to imagine the guy that stole the Razer laptop is using it to this day. The idea that he dumped it in a trash bin once he realized he couldn't fence it is too sad.qlum - Friday, June 7, 2019 - link
I can see this being very usefull be it for a niche audience.Manch - Friday, June 7, 2019 - link
We had these before 99 LOL Granted they weren't full color. By 99 we did have full color LCDs though. They were intended to be used as mobile workstations The triple monitor made up for the lack of resolution compared to a CRT. Was only slightly lighter compared to a single CRT & PCIt's actually a great format if you're going to be somewhere for a little while and need a lot of localized compute. Of course, we eventually didn't need them bc well internet got faster
YukaKun - Friday, June 7, 2019 - link
Such a sloppy implementation...A 17" notebook can get away with a single big screen with two smaller (half and half) slide panels that go to the side of the big one. As long as it has thin side-bezels it could be quite an interesting design.
Cheers!
abufrejoval - Friday, June 7, 2019 - link
These have been around for many years if not decadesI took a single screen variant with me when I travelled through France and Spain for 8 months in 1994-95 Simply took my 486 desktop and transplanted it into that chassis, which had a greyscale VGA (TrueVGA 640x480) using a Cirrus card. Three screen color variants certainly beca.me available shortly after, because I remember looking for an upgrade, after color seems more and more important. Held off, because the price was never "quite right"
mikegrok - Saturday, June 8, 2019 - link
About 4 years ago I was seriously considering getting one of their battery models. The battery models often get around 4 hours of battery life, but run a mini-atx motherboard in an atx case, and use the other space for 4 81wh swapable batteries.Skeptical123 - Saturday, June 8, 2019 - link
If I travelled for work I think I could justify this :)