More than a year ago I wrote about an extraordinarily odd laptop with seven displays called the Aurora 7. Designed by a UK company called Expanscape, at the time it was described as an engineering prototype, although the company said it was willing to sell models to contract buyers before the design was even finalized.
This week, for some reason dozens of websites seem to be writing about the Expanscape Aurora 7 again… even though not much seems to have changed since last year. I guess it’s because it’s hard to pass up on the opportunity to publish images of this monstrosity once you see it:
The Aurora 7 still seems to be in the prototype phase, and Expanscape hasn’t officially announced any pricing details.
But sometime in the past year the company did add some new pictures to its website that show how the screens unfold, as well as a spec sheet that makes it clear just how massive this laptop is — it weighs 26 pounds and only offers up to an hour of battery life, despite having two massive batteries, one of which is just for the screens.
Here’s a roundup of tech stories from around the web.
- Moar screens! Expanscape unveils 7-screen laptop and dual-screen handheld prototypes [Liliputing]
Since this seems to be making the rounds again this year for some reason, here’s the article I wrote more than a year ago about the 7-screen Aurora 7 laptop from Expanscape. It doesn’t seem like much has changed since then. - An Ultralight Laptop Powered By Your Phone [Leef/Kickstarter]
The 2.2 pound LEEF laptop dock for smartphones hits crowdfunding for $228. Connect your phone with a USB cable and you can run your mobile apps on the 12.5 inch FHD display, use the keyboard and touchpad, and charge your phone via the battery. It reminds me of NexDock… and the Superbook… and the Mirabook… and the Motorola Lapdock… and a bunch of other products, many of which are no longer manufactured, likely due to limited demand for this type of product. - New Kobo eReader Clears the FCC, Has Bluetooth
A new Kobo eReader with 32GB of storage, WiFi, and Bluetooth is on the way… and that’s about all we know so far, since it hasn’t officially been announced yet. Those are just details gleaned from a recent FCC listing. - A new lens technology is primed to jumpstart phone cameras [Ars Technica]
A new lens technology for smartphone cameras could lead to thinner lenses and reduced camera bumps, among other things. - The fastest Core i7-1165G7 PC available is now over two times faster than the slowest Core i7-1165G7 model [NotebookCheck]
A problem with PC shopping based on the spec sheet is that it doesn’t always predict performance. Case in point: different computers with Core i7-1165G7 chips can offer wildly different CPU and graphics performance scores depending on other factors. - This may be our first look at Android 12, Google’s next Android OS [xda-developers]
These leaked images could give us our first look at changes coming to Android 12 including overhauled notifications and Quick Settings areas that fit… less stuff on the screen? You may get a privacy notification when the mic or camera is in use. I wouldn’t read too much into the beige color scheme though.
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