A US-based company is offering a product that is unique, as far as we can tell: a laptop with dual 17in displays, aimed at creative professionals and other high-end users.

The Spacebook from gScreen Corp is not yet available, but the company is taking pre-orders from customers in the US and Canada.

Looking like a conventional laptop when closed, the Spacebook has a second screen that apparently slides out from behind the first when open, giving two 17in displays each capable of resolutions up to 1,920x1,080 pixels.

The rest of the specifications include Intel Core i5 or i7 processors, up to 8GB of memory, an Nvidia Geforce GTS 250M GPU, and a DVD Super-Multi drive, making the Spacebook effectively a dual-screen mobile workstation.

Of course, this comes at a cost and weight disadvantage. The Spacebook weighs in at an arm-stretching 4.5kg and is over 40cm wide. Prices start at $2,395, or about £1,500.

Sadly, gScreen is taking orders only from customers in the US and Canada at the moment, but this will presumably change if there is enough interest from other territories.

It's pretty contentious to say that Windows 8 will change tablet computing entirely, especially considering that the operating system isn't even due on the market until next year. But despite doing the mirror opposite of Apple, we can't help but think there's a lot of sense in Microsoft's newly announced tablet interface.

Firstly, it's inclusive and universal, so all platforms could access the tablet-oriented interface. This is going to be important with Windows 8 supporting both x86 and ARM platforms. Manufacturers can build devices with touch screens using any hardware they like, but still give consumers the same interface.

Microsoft will also provide the likes of Office for ARM devices. While Apple does this for the iPad, it's fair to say that business users are far more likely to use Windows and Office than they are a Mac.

Familiarity with the operating system and office suite will surely serve as a driver for tablet adoption in businesses. After all, IT departments will be able to support these devices more easily, and retraining will be unnecessary.

The decision to provide support for ARM is also crucial. Windows-based tablets have dreadful battery life because they are based around a processor that's designed to be put in desktops, or large laptops with big, heavy batteries. Apple has been laughing, though, because its processor uses less power and still provides a great user interface.

But it's fair to say that Windows 8's tablet interface looks even more impressive than Apple's icon-based approach in iOS. While the iPhone makes perfect sense, on the iPad you can't help but feel the space is wasted. Where are the smart tiles, where are the widgets that feed you information from stock markets or your contacts' social media feeds?

Apple's iOS might be stable and brilliantly designed, but it's not keeping pace with advances led by Windows Phone 7 and Android.

What remains to be seen is how many app developers will port existing x86 apps over to the ARM platform.

Microsoft has always relied heavily on third-party developers, and Windows Phone has suffered because of a lack of them actively developing new software. Without developers co-operating and designing apps in the new tablet-style interface there's no hope for Windows 8 tablets, and an increasingly grim future for Windows as a whole.

Hopefully, Microsoft is readying good developer tools that make porting apps to the ARM version of Windows very straightforward.

It's your move, Apple. With iOS 5 being announced formally in a few days, has Apple realised that it needs to offer more to tablet users or will it continue with its existing attitude of doing everything its own way?

If you haven't already seen the early demo of Windows 8, have a look here: