Anything Is Possible
What will laptops look like in five years? Ten? Predicting future tech trends is always tricky, but these notebook concepts from both PC makers and straight-up tech fans provide a few clues as to what could lie ahead.
D-roll
Designer Hao Hua's radical redesign of the laptop replaces the conventional clamshell with a lightweight, foldable roll modeled after artists' storage tubes. The flexible OLED screen and arc-shaped keyboard fold into the tube when not in use, and the carrying strap features a few easy-to-access USB ports. How about naming it the Stag Beetle instead?
Rolltop
This effort from Orkin Design has much in common with the D-roll in that both designs fold into an easy-to-carry tube when not in use. But unlike the D-roll, the Rolltop also lies flat for tablet use. The tube packs the power supply, a Webcam, USB ports, speakers, and an extendable power cord. A flexible OLED display, a screen keyboard, and a stylus (for tablet writing) round out the feature set. See the Rolltop in action.
Projection PCs
Why bother with a space-hogging keyboard and monitor when a humble pen would suffice? Researchers are developing projector PCs (for lack of a better term) capable of projecting a computer display and a touchscreen-like virtual keyboard on a smooth surface, such as your desk.
Flexible Displays
Your laptop, tablet, or e-reader may soon have a flexible display rather than a rigid glass screen that can break too easily. TheSkiff Reader, a Kindle-like device designed for newspaper and magazine content, may be the first such model to debut. Its bendable "metal foil" e-paper display is built to last, as are similar monochrome prototypes from LG Display and other tech companies. HP and Arizona State University are developing aflexible color display, as well.
Napkin PC
This oddball concept is fascinating, though wildly impractical. It consists of a series of pens with shortwave radio frequency, a computer base station (probably in the napkin holder), and several "napkins" that are in fact multitouch, color e-paper surfaces. Users in a workgroup setting could use a fresh napkin to scribble down every new idea. Great, but how do you wipe your mouth?
This oddball concept is fascinating, though wildly impractical. It consists of a series of pens with shortwave radio frequency, a computer base station (probably in the napkin holder), and several "napkins" that are in fact multitouch, color e-paper surfaces. Users in a workgroup setting could use a fresh napkin to scribble down every new idea. Great, but how do you wipe your mouth?
iWeb 2.0
This futuristic concept is surprisingly retro. Designer Yang Yongchang's petite iWeb 2.0portable has a folding keyboard that expands to desktoplike dimensions. Given the netbook's tiny, 6.5-inch screen size, an expandable keyboard makes sense. So what makes it retro? The iWeb is a variation of the "butterfly keyboard" concept that IBM (IBM) tried briefly back in the 1990s.
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