Netbooks & Smartphones...Future Synergy?
Smartphones could soon merge with netbooks, as Intel and other manufacturers look for ways to combine the two form factors into new kinds of mobile Internet devices and handhelds. Will these new wireless devices catch on with road warriors and other mobile workers?
Intel recently unveiled a concept design for a new echelon of mobile Internet device that merges the functionality of a smartphone and a netbook in a tablet-style device.
Many netbooks today use Intel's Atom processor, but no smartphones do. So far, the smallest mobile Internet device that uses the Atom is Fujitsu's Lifebook Mini, which still has the netbook form factor and no phone. By proposing a new echelon of MIDs between smartphones and netbooks, Intel's People and Practices group hopes to stimulate OEMs worldwide to implement their vision of future Atom-based mobile devices.
Intel's initial idea was to design a single MID that bridged the gap between smartphones and netbooks, but after surveying what consumers really want, the group concluded that three sizes of device could fit in that space.
"We've done an exploration into the MID and smartphone space," said John Cross Neumann, industrial designer in the People and Practices group at Intel Labs' Future Technologies Research (Beaverton, Ore.) "But rather than try to find the perfect form factor, we arrived at three form factors to accommodate different experiences and different environments."
The first and smallest of their designs resembles a slimmed-down version of a T-Mobile myTouch. The small size is to allow its use as a mobile music and video player as well as a means to perform simple Internet tasks for which its small screen could suffice, such as for tweeting.
Intel's midsize offering has a larger screen resembling an iPhone, but also houses a hidden second touch screen that is revealed by sliding it apart, similarly to the way some smartphones reveal a hidden keyboard. The second touch screen could serve as a keyboard by merely displaying one on it, but it could also be used to multitask.
"Multitasking is an experience that we have not seen yet on mobile devices," said Neumann. "On the top screen you could be watching a movie, while on the bottom you could be instant messaging."
The third design is larger than any smartphone today, plus includes a dock to back up and sync with your PC, but it is still small enough that you could pick it up and carry it with you anywhere around the office.
The addition of a transparent plastic overlay for the bottom of the screen provides raised keys you can see through to the screen below it. This allows a keyboard to be displayed under an overlay that could be redefined for different applications by rewriting the screen with a different layout.
The most innovative feature, which works with all three MIDs, is a wearable camera that clips onto clothing to record events without users having to separate themselves from the fun by becoming "the camera man."
Intel recently unveiled a concept design for a new echelon of mobile Internet device that merges the functionality of a smartphone and a netbook in a tablet-style device.
Many netbooks today use Intel's Atom processor, but no smartphones do. So far, the smallest mobile Internet device that uses the Atom is Fujitsu's Lifebook Mini, which still has the netbook form factor and no phone. By proposing a new echelon of MIDs between smartphones and netbooks, Intel's People and Practices group hopes to stimulate OEMs worldwide to implement their vision of future Atom-based mobile devices.
Intel's initial idea was to design a single MID that bridged the gap between smartphones and netbooks, but after surveying what consumers really want, the group concluded that three sizes of device could fit in that space.
"We've done an exploration into the MID and smartphone space," said John Cross Neumann, industrial designer in the People and Practices group at Intel Labs' Future Technologies Research (Beaverton, Ore.) "But rather than try to find the perfect form factor, we arrived at three form factors to accommodate different experiences and different environments."
The first and smallest of their designs resembles a slimmed-down version of a T-Mobile myTouch. The small size is to allow its use as a mobile music and video player as well as a means to perform simple Internet tasks for which its small screen could suffice, such as for tweeting.
Intel's midsize offering has a larger screen resembling an iPhone, but also houses a hidden second touch screen that is revealed by sliding it apart, similarly to the way some smartphones reveal a hidden keyboard. The second touch screen could serve as a keyboard by merely displaying one on it, but it could also be used to multitask.
"Multitasking is an experience that we have not seen yet on mobile devices," said Neumann. "On the top screen you could be watching a movie, while on the bottom you could be instant messaging."
The third design is larger than any smartphone today, plus includes a dock to back up and sync with your PC, but it is still small enough that you could pick it up and carry it with you anywhere around the office.
The addition of a transparent plastic overlay for the bottom of the screen provides raised keys you can see through to the screen below it. This allows a keyboard to be displayed under an overlay that could be redefined for different applications by rewriting the screen with a different layout.
The most innovative feature, which works with all three MIDs, is a wearable camera that clips onto clothing to record events without users having to separate themselves from the fun by becoming "the camera man."
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