Engadget builds a Wii Laptop, world stares

by Christopher Grant { Jan 19th 2007 at 12:33PM }

We trust that you'll be able to refrain from Wii in your lap jokes long enough to gaze adoringly on BenHeck's latest creation for our friends at Engadget. Behold: the Wii Laptop! Painstakingly crafted from a Wii, a 7" 16:9 LCD monitor, and magic, the Wii Laptop has a built-in sensor bar, A/V output jacks (so you can hook it up to an external display), and a Gamecube controller port! Engadget has an image gallery and some video of the beauty , but just enough to whet your appetite before the multi-part How-To begins next week.

Tags: BenHeck, Wii, WiiLaptop

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

ill trooper @ Jan 19th 2007 1:18PM

Fun on the airplane! But wait... No bluetooth/wireless allowed on the airplane.

Ron @ Jan 19th 2007 1:24PM

is there blogging software that can detect "first post" in the first post and replace it with "i'm a dickwad"? That's not a comment on this article's first poster.... =D it's just a comment on first posters in general. =)

A Lurking Ninja @ Jan 20th 2007 2:47PM

looks weird but cool.......this is gonna start the wii jokes all over again

Anni @ Jan 19th 2007 12:55PM

... Holy crap, dude.

Tim A. @ Jan 20th 2007 1:14PM

Well the only problem is: when you point your Wii-mote to close to your TV the cursor will dissapear, so this hack isn't really usefull. cause you won't be able to point at things while this thing is sitting on your lap.

Plastikloser @ Jan 19th 2007 3:17PM

Wow, this guy is truly a great engineer. I hope his real job lets him use his kick ass skills like this too.

Brian @ Jan 19th 2007 1:17PM

How long will it play for?

crono141 @ Jan 19th 2007 1:24PM

Wow

Calviin @ Jan 22nd 2007 6:35PM

Not actually wishing to continue this off-topic train of thought, the logic should detect it in the first 10 comments because some people try it at the same time and only one of them wins.

Now to being on-topic, this is awesome and Nintendo should make an official one. it's can't be that big, heavy or difficult. I SO might build this...

Torn @ Jan 19th 2007 2:18PM

Console hacks keep getting cooler and cooler. I remember first seeing the Playstation 'buzzsaw' handheld hack, and now people are making liquid-cooled laptops out of 360s.
What an amusing, artful trade this is.

ddfof @ Jan 20th 2007 12:03AM

wow, how totally pointless.

JodyAnthony @ Jan 19th 2007 2:21PM

First Post!

Hart704 @ Jan 19th 2007 3:48PM

It's neat, but it's not a looker or anything.

Nick @ Jan 19th 2007 5:13PM

In response to the guy who's worried about putting the remote too close to the screen...

The sensor bar IR emitters are further apart than they appear to be on this portable device. When you move your pointer so close, it no longer has field of view to see both ends of the sensor bar, so it doesn't work as well. Moving the emitters closer together should resolve this.

ddd @ Jan 19th 2007 4:21PM

This looks cool but unfortunately not too practical. I have been bringing a ps2 slim and 8' portable dvd player for a while now on business trips. The screen is simply too small. You can't really play many games because the text becomes blurry. A better solution would be to mount the console on a projector.

bododot @ Jan 19th 2007 4:28PM

Anyway, I work at his forum, and he shortened the
Ir so the system thinks that he's 3' to 8' feet away.

It's a pretty sweet mod.

Killer Instinct @ Jan 19th 2007 6:10PM

does the battery blow up though?

moofree @ Jan 19th 2007 6:07PM

Needs 4 GC controller ports, and component out as well as composite, then this would be totally awesome.

As of now, it's just... really awesome.

Slaziman @ Jan 19th 2007 6:31PM

@17

It's not a Sony laptop

driven2sin @ Jan 19th 2007 7:44PM

strap a projector to it and then u got the bomb...small screen wiiing is no good

Mike @ Jan 19th 2007 11:05PM

@16... you obviously didn't read it or even look at the picture for very long. It has 4 GC controller ports.

Rubang B @ Jan 19th 2007 10:59PM

Anybody else notice comment #13's claim to have an eight foot portable DVD player?

Rubang B @ Jan 20th 2007 12:04AM

Those aren't 4 GC ports. Those are the power, reset, sync, and eject buttons. There's one GC port on the right.

Dude @ Jan 20th 2007 1:20AM

"is there blogging software that can detect "i'm a dickwad" in the i'm a dickwad and replace it with "i'm a dickwad"? That's not a comment on this article's i'm a dickwader.... =D it's just a comment on i'm a dickwaders in general. =)"

qckslvrsiete @ Jan 20th 2007 3:08AM

http://www.engadget.com/gallery/wii-laptop/139668/

Sad that there's only one GC controller port. I realize you could just hook up four classic controllers to 4 wiimotes, but even two would've been nice for when this thing is in console mode.

Otherwise an amazing mod.

Maximus @ Jan 20th 2007 3:25AM

as if waving your arms like an idiot in your home isn't enough, now you get to carry it around and do it in public

fuck Nintendo*

Fatass of Kickassness @ Jan 20th 2007 11:09AM

Tim A, the reason it does that is because the Wii Remote is too close to the sensor bar to detect both of the IR lights at the same time... which is why the IR lights are closer to each other on this hack.

some person @ Jan 20th 2007 8:02PM

it's ben heck's work, not engadget's

krizoitz @ Jan 22nd 2007 1:30PM

Definitely cool, and i couldn't do it, but i think the design could easily have been better. For one thing there is no need for this to be in a Laptop form factor. Lacking a keyboard or way of using one (so far) i would have made it tablet style, and i think if you'd gone for a bigger screen, say a 15 or 17" one it would be better to use in general. Then again cost my have prohibited such a device, although i imagine you might be able to find a 17" dead laptop with a still useable display, might even be able to make use of the batteries too