As concepts go, here’s perhaps an obvious one: take one of the slicker keyboards around – in this case Apple’s waif-like offering – add some Optimus-style OLED keys and a dock for everybody’s favorite cult smartphone, and settle back to reap the praise. The work of
If the Eee Keyboard is a concept ASUS could pretty easily bring to market, their Shared Computing Concept is slightly more left-field. Designed around an origami theme, the notebook has a quad-fold format whereby the screen and keyboard sections fold into – and cover – the hardware. More interesting than the physical design, however, is the software; ASUS are really pushing the idea of collaborative working.
The software emphasizes shared experiences, either online or locally. For instance the laptop can be folded flat for two people to work at, or two of the devices can be pushed back-to-back and automatically interfaced. In one video demo, four people were shown collaborating on a presentation, sorting images and charts together while communicating through instant messaging.
As monstrous beasts of laptops go, HP Voodoo’s prototype Firefly certainly stomps its way near the top. Intended to demonstrate some of the innovation coming out of the hardcore gaming team, the Firefly pairs a 17.1-inch 1920 x 1200 main display with a 4.3-inch 800 x 480 sub-display underneath (similar to the Fujitsu N7010), together with Intel’s 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad Core processor, 4GB of RAM, a pair of ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 GPUs running in CrossFire mode, and a 7,200rpm 250GB hard drive. That’s comfortably enough to run Far Cry 2 with its graphics set to max.
We all have to face it, sometimes elderly people have slips and falls, but what about when they are in the bathroom trying to have a little privacy? How are you to alert anyone from behind closed doors? The Help Lock door handle provides a very simple solution to alert people when there is trouble afoot.
A concept computer is definitely a first for me. How far can a designer push the envelope, combining art and technology to extend beyond ordinary for a simple laptop? Designed by Kyle Cherry, Prime Gaming Laptop has envisaged a new type of laptop with creative in mind- a concept laptop with innovative collapsible OLED screens to offering a variety of aspect ratios for utmost gaming experience.
The Moto is a Multi Navigation System designed by Jeongmin Ok. This sleek looking navigation system is based of the design of a compass. As odd as that sounds, this device concept just looks so beautiful. Depending on what car you have this device just may make your ride look bad.
The mysterious T-swivelling MID that was mistakenly identified by some as the Palm Roteo has been correctly traced back to Compal, in the shape of their Tabasco MID concept. On show at Computex 2008 back in June, the non-working handheld was meant to demonstrate a 4.5-inch (or 5-inch) touchscreen device with a 3.2-megapixel rear camera with 2x optical zoom and flash plus a front-facing webcam.
The entrants to Intel’s MID design contest, held in the Czech Republic, have gone on show, and there are some interesting form-factors to be seen. Concepts varied between basic handhelds, through modular designs and then to folding, sliding devices such as Peter Kubík’s entry, seen below. If anything, it’s Kubík that perhaps best grasps what most people would like to see from a MID: a way of accessing the internet, when mobile, in a number of different ways from the same device.
If you’re big into Motorola handsets, then you might just be interested in this new concept phone from the maker. It’s called the Cute Phone and though it does possess a striking similarity to a cat, it lacks that soft cuddliness normally associated with “cute.”
Now this is pretty cool. Even though it’s only a concept at this point, the Silicon Touch iPhone case is an accessory for your iPhone that’s meant for those who are visually impaired. And the real plus side here is that it doesn’t take away any of the iPhone’s functionality.
JP
