Intel is working on a reference design known as
"Florence" for mobile products that expands upon a convertible
Tablet PC blueprint to incorporate a double-hinged
design.
Nick Oakley, an industrial designer in Intel's Mobile Platforms
Group, said the main idea was to combine the portability of the
Tablet PC with the ease of data entry provided by a laptop's
keyboard.
Several Tablet PC makers, such as Toshiba, have released models
that can be used as either Tablet PCs or conventional notebooks.
These convertible devices come with a display that swivels to cover
the keyboard when used in Tablet PC mode.
Intel's non-working prototype both a base that rotates to enter
Tablet PC mode, and a keyboard with its own separate hinge.
"With tablets, you can stand up, walk around and make notes. But
with notebooks you're fundamentally lap-bound or desk-bound, Oakley
said.
"What we tried to do was try to find a way to make a tablet work
as well as a notebook, where you can hold the device like a tablet,
and can use a little keyboard."
The prototype can be opened and closed like conventional
notebook,. To use Florence like a Tablet PC, the base of the unit
rotates almost 360 degrees underneath the 12.1-inch display,
disabling the keyboard once the base passes through 180 degrees.
But if the user wants to enter information with the keyboard while
the device is in Tablet PC mode, he or she can bring the keyboard
down below the display while the base remains folded behind the
display.
The 7mm-thick keyboard could then be folded up against the
display, leaving a small gap at the top of the display that could
still show information such as incoming e-mail or a calendar
appointment.
Oakley said the ability to walk down the hall to a meeting while
still having quick access to both the keyboard and the display will
appeal to many users, while users accustomed to Tablet PCs can keep
the device in that mode while they travel.
He stressed that Florence is just a prototype, and that its main
goal was to get people both inside and outside Intel thinking about
future notebook designs.
"By creating concepts, you ask questions of users that feed back
into how Intel goes about developing technology road maps," he
said.
Oakley admitted the multiple hinges could present a problem, and
future designs will have to ensure those hinges are sturdy.
Notebook sales as a whole are growing at around 15%, while
desktop sales are stagnant, or falling, analysts have said.