Information handling devices with touch-based reflective display

An information handling device comprising:

• one or more housings;
• a mechanical keyboard comprising a plurality of keys;
• and
• a touchable control area having one or more configurable areas, said one or more configurable areas providing both reflective display and accepting touch-based input;
• wherein said touchable control area is disposed in said one or more housings;
• wherein said touchable control area is disposed in place of at least one of the plurality of keys of the mechanical keyboard and does not overlap the display device, and provides functionality equivalent thereto in one or more configurations;
• wherein a power-on display configuration and functionality of each of said one or more configurable areas are dependent on an active application.

An information handling device comprising:

• a mechanical keyboard comprising a plurality of keys;
• a touchable control area having one or more configurable areas, said one or more configurable areas providing both reflective display and accepting touch-based input;
• wherein said touchable control area is configured to provide one or more outputs to a connected information handling device and is configured to receive one or more inputs from said connected information handling device;
• wherein said touchable control area is disposed in place of at least one of the plurality of keys of said mechanical keyboard and does not overlap the display device and provides functionality equivalent thereto in one or more configurations;
• wherein a power-on display configuration and functionality of each of said one or more configurable areas are dependent on an active application.