The new notebook PC prototype, which has yet to be revealed to the public, shows how a notebook can metamorphose from a tablet for capturing handwritten text to a mobile entertainment or messaging console, all while retaining a built-in keyboard.
Damn it, this newsposter has just lost count of the number of computing form factors!
Designers in Intel's research labs created the prototype, dubbed Florence what no Zebedee???, to illustrate the potential for designing notebook PCs using existing components. The prototype takes cues from previous Intel designs and some of today's so-called convertible tablet PCs, which run Microsoft's Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Convertibles allow a person to rotate the screen 180 degrees and fold it back down to create a writing tablet.
"The inspiration (behind Florence) was a two-way restaurant door" that swings both inward and outward, said Nick Oakley, who designed the prototype. "How does that work, and could it be applied to a notebook in some way?"
While the prototype itself is crudely constructed, using hinges fitted together with pins, a PC manufacturer could create a version for production using current technology such as Intel's Pentium M chip and a 12-inch touch-sensitive screen for handwriting recognition. Both are currently available.
News source: Yahoo News UK
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