Sharp Netbook Has Touch Screen Trackpad

Sharp's netbook is made super cool with a high-res LCD trackpad

By now we’re all pretty jaded when it comes to the introduction of a new netbook. The hardware specifications of each are the same day in and day out, but Sharp’s just unveiled on that has our attention.

The Sharp Mebius line has always been one with a reputation for being sexy. Sadly, Mebius notebooks haven’t had much exposure in the western world, but we’ve always appreciated them from afar.

Sharp has just shown off the PC-NJ70A, which from the specification sheet appears to be the same old boring Intel Atom 1.6 GHz inside a 1024 x 600 10-inch form factor. The PC-NJ70A does have one striking differentiator though, and that’s an 854 x 480 4-inch touch screen LCD where normally a trackpad would go.

Such a concept has been dreamed up before, but with the multi-touch sensitive devices (mostly phones) filling the market, it seems that a touch screen trackpad is more possible and practical than ever.

Akihabara News went hands-on with the PC-NJ70A and posted a video demonstrating what the tiny screen can do. It appears that screen is of a high enough resolution for it to run its applications completely within it.

Could this thing be turned into the biggest Nintendo DS in the world? Only time will tell.