AceMagic's X1 is a clever but subtle approach to dual-screen laptops

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  On the left is screen B, on the right is screen A. [credit:
  Scharon Harding ]

As I write this article about the AceMagic X1, two things in particular stand out to me. The first is its ease of use – you can write on one screen and use a second built-in screen to display specs and information about the laptop, as well as a chat window. The second is that this handy second screen wobbles just enough with every aggressive key press to distract me and fray my nerves.

I often use slim, ultra-light laptops with small screens, so I find dual-screen laptops intriguing. The dual-screen laptops I've used up until now, however, had one major drawback: no integrated keyboard. That's what makes AceMagic's X1 stand out for me. Not only does its second screen swing out of the system horizontally (instead of vertically), but the laptop also manages to fit two 13-inch screens And a conventional keyboard and a touchpad.

But the somewhat precarious way Screen B hangs to the left of Screen A, hovering above my tabletop, proves that even an integrated keyboard can't fix all the limitations of dual-screen laptop design.