As the UMPC market continues to grow, manufacturers need to be innovative in order to get noticed. Is innovation for the sake of innovation the right direction to take, though? Apparently Taiwan-based E-Lead Electronic seems to think so. Known mainly for car audio / video products, E-Lead recently revealed its new Noahpad UMPC at CES, and preliminary info leaves us with little more than a big question mark. The Noahpad’s specs are respectable but the eye-catcher is supposed to be the form and keyboard. E-Lead’s freshman UMPC folds open just as many UMPCs and laptops do, but the screen continues to fold a full 180° to sit flush with the bottom of the unit. The keyboard itself consists of dual touch pads that are supposed to somehow be conducive to blind operation as the user types…upside down. Hmm. Companies invest millions of dollars in alternative input technology but it looks like E-Lead might not be one of those companies. Has the UMPC market been clamoring for a device that will force its users to relearn the age-old art of typing? The Noahpad can also be used with the screen rotated open partially (as a standard laptop screen would be) leaving very little to separate it from existing UMPC offerings. We’ll have to wait for a full hands on before we come to any concrete conclusions but as of now, the Noahpad seems like it will definitely be eligible for a “WTF were they thinking?!?” award.
Upcoming E-Lead UMPC Features… Upside Down Typing?
Updated Dec 19th, 2018 5:55PM EST
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Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.
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