Netbooks aren’t known for innovation. In fact, most of them look nearly identical and seem to float out of the same handful of factories in Taiwan. However, Sharp managed to puff some much-needed fresh air into to the category this week with the debut of the Mebius NJ70A, the first netbook of its type to boast an optical LCD screen where the touchpad normally goes.
Unlike the typical undersized netbook track pad, Sharp’s new Mebius adopts a generous four-inch model more akin to what you might find on a full-sized notebook. And it’s not just a track pad, it’s a secondary display with impressive 854 x 480 pixel resolution and an LED backlight. That means you can use it for everything from ordinary desktop mousing to playing a virtual piano, writing your name, or adjusting an equalizer by dragging the knobs in real time. And it supports multi-touch, so pinching, stretching, and all the other two-fingered tomfoolery you’re used to will work with it, too.
Sharp seems have poured the majority of its R&D into fitting the little LCD into the palm rest, because not much else on this machine really stands out. Other specs include a 1.6GHz Atom N270 processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 160GB hard drive – pretty much the netbook status quo.
Right now, the Mebius NJ70A remains a Japanese-only release, but popular U.S. importer Dynamism recently listed the notebooks for pre-order. Innovation doesn’t come cheap though – especially when you have to fly it over from Japan – so you’ll have to shell out $999 for the privilege of two screens in one notebook. More information can be found on the translated version of Sharp’s product page.
Sharp Mebius NJ70A Netbook with LCD Track Pad
Apple has just introduced a redesigned MacBook Pro with a few bells and whistles. The focus this time around is on a thinner and lighter build, and an upgrade to a touch-sensitive OLED screen without any ugly notch. And, in case you were wondering, there is definitely a price premium to pay for these niceties, which also include a glowing Apple logo at the back. What if you wanted to get the best that Apple has to offer? Well, the numbers are finally here.
For a mere $14,549, you can get yourself the fully kitted 16-inch MacBook Pro PROLED XDR with the beefiest laptop chip that Apple has to offer, and the best memory configuration in tow. For nearly $15,000, you treat yourself to the 16-inch version of the laptop with a nano-texture glass layer on the screen to reduce reflections and glare.
Apple has unveiled its first-ever touchscreen MacBook Pro. The company seems a bit confused about the naming, calling it the "MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display," which is tough to remember. If you look past that and review the full spec sheets, you might ask a genuine question: what are the differences between the touchscreen and non-touchscreen versions?
Given that Apple continues to sell both variants together, that's a genuine question. Luckily, you don't have to spend more time lining up the spec sheets side by side and hunting for differences hidden in the fine print. I took that bullet for you. Here's everything that's different between the PROLED XDR Display and the regular MacBook Pro.
MacBook Pro you can touch is genuinely exciting. We've been talking about it for more than a year. All the pent-up anticipation has finally ended. But now there's a new headache: pricing.
The new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display is available in two screen sizes: 14-inch and 16-inch. Pre-orders open today, October 28, 2026, and deliveries and store stock follow on Friday, November 6, 2026.