Asus ScreenDUO auxiliary desktop display previewed

The ScreenDuo measures roughly 4″ wide, 2.5″ tall, and 0.75″ thick, and features a 2.5″ diagonal QVGA display. It has a four-way directional pad and a couple of buttons up front, in addition to three buttons located along the top edge of the unit.
A handy stand pops out of the back of the unit, making it possible to mount on a desk for easy viewing. Asus also throws in a USB cable to connect the ScreenDuo to your PC, and that’s where the fun begins.
Windows Vista’s SideShow feature was conceived to allow laptops to display information on a secondary display, but that functionality hasn’t been limited to the mobile world. Auxiliary displays are nothing new on the desktop, of course—I’ve been running dual monitors for years. However, SideShow isn’t quite the same as a secondary monitor. Instead, it’s designed to be an interface for what Microsoft calls gadgets—mini applications similar to widgets on the Mac.

b rocking, Saturday, December 5, 2009