UMPC Keyboard Transforms Into Giant Touchpad

I just checked out Samsung’s UMPC I (SPH-P9200), aka the “Butterfly.” I know it’s not a mini-notebook, and more specifically, a UMPC from Korea, but it had an awesome feature worth noting that I think could be really useful in mini-notebooks.

Instead of having a full trackpad at the bottom of the keyboard, it has just a small touch one up top. That isn’t very useful, so instead, you can opt to use the function key to turn part of the keyboard into a giant touchpad itself.

Once the feature is turned on, you can just move your fingers across the top of the keys, and the operating system reacts as if you’re using a regular touchpad. It’s a really innovative approach, and the technology would be useful in mini-notebooks like the Eee PC where room is an issue as manufacturers try to cram in larger keyboards.

Check out the video for a better idea of what I’m talking about.