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A concept PDA/ebook device demonstrated by Toshiba at the IFA 2006 consumer electronics show in Berlin shares a design philosophy that is very similar to another gadget that should be very familiar to our QJ readers: the Nintendo DS. Right now all we've found on this are a set of snapshots and a few words from AVING.net, but they do give a few clues as to how this gizmo works - and if this concept ever makes it onto the manufacturing floor, how the production version might work.
Just like the DS, the concept ebook folds open like a laptop to reveal two screens, with the touchscreen replacing the usual keyboard in a notebook computer. This might make tap-typing with the device rather cumbersome, but there are separate keyboard accessories for PDAs (both first-party and third-party), so typing might not be too much of a problem if the user can spare the space for that extra keyboard. Then there's handwriting recognition to consider.
  
The concept device runs off Windows CE; in the pictures, it's running Excel on the top screen and what looks like the traditional Windows Desktop GUI on the touchscreen (as well as another program, looks like something video-related to us, but the glare keeps getting in the way). It will take SD memory cards; nothing else seen or noted concerning other removable media, but again, this is a concept device. Its production versions - if it makes it to production - should feature additional options for more discerning customers.
 
That's all we can gather from the photos of this concept PDA, but we do hope to see more of it - or even a production version - soon. Of course, there are those who've thought of converting a DS into a PDA...
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