Portability alone does not a laptop make.

by WyldKard on January 11, 2009

The Osborne portable computer, circia 1980. Asus has prototyped a future laptop that sports a trackpad that also acts as a screen. The idea is great, as it allows users to display widget-like information on the trackpad instead of taking up valuable screen real-estate. Interestingly, this is exactly the idea behind the OLO netbook and our own proposed iPhone-driven netbook.

Adding a “data” screen is a natural evolution for notebooks, especially if it the screen doesn’t add bulk and is instead integrated into an existing component – in this case, the trackpad. This is contrary to other design proposals for future notebooks, as can be seen in the case of the recently-announced dual-screen Lenovo, which sports a 17-inch screen with a “pull-out” 10.6-inch screen on one side. At this point, we’re coming dangerously close to non-portability in use, but merely in transportation.

In other words, one of the core principles of a portable computer is its ability to be used on the road, in various environments. If, then, a portable computer cannot be used on, say, an airplane because of its size when open, then it’s note quite fair to consider the computer a laptop. After all, we saw portable desktops in the past that were, effectively, suit-case sized , but no one considered them laptops because they couldn’t comfortably be used on someone’s lap.

We see an even more ridiculous design coming out of the Toshiba X305 design contest winner, dubbed the HCG202: Longbow. What’s most silly about this design is that it’s clearly not aimed at portable use, merely, perhaps, portability when closed. Worth noting is that by the time the technology is ready to bring something like the Longbow to the consumer level, it’s pretty unlikely that the necessary components will even necessitate bulkiness. That is to say, consumer-level computers are getting smaller and smaller all the time, so in the future, we won’t see huge computer rigs in our offices anyway, so it’s more appropriate to call the Longbow a future desktop design instead of a laptop design.

We’re already seeing the terminology for portable computers changing, particularly with the recent netbook craze. What’s important to realize is that netbooks are a form factor, not necessarily a performance indicator. In the future, we’re bound to see some pretty powerful netbooks emerge, wit the ability to plug large displays in for office use. In this respect, the netbook term will likely die out, and we’ll baseline back to “notebooks” to describe nearly all portable computers.

As we said earlier, however, as desktops get smaller and smaller too, the only differentiating factor between a notebook and a desktop will be the screen and input sizes. It’s not hard to picture future computers as simply consisting of a “brain”, with standard outputs for slapping on whatever accessories one needs. In other words, consumers on-the-go would buy the brain, and slap it into a notebook chassis, which would consist of a display, keyboard, and trackpad. When at home in the office, the brain could be removed from the notebook chassis and hooked up to more traditional components like a full-sized display, keyboard, et al.

In any case, as far as portable computers go, there’s clearly a limit in regards to display size before we’re no longer talking about laptops. Otherwise, we may just as well consider towers with handles laptops too.

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