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Course there's also the Virtual Laser Keyboard: http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/

when I read posts like this I always wonder, why nobody ever intergrated something like this http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/ into mobile devices. I rememder seeing the virtual keyboards when they where first presented on the CeBIT - this is years ago now and it seemed quite promising back then. would that not be an obviouse compromise for a tablet ? Am I missing some important point ?

That is only true if you need a PHYSCAL keyboard and display. A small brick the size of a Iphone, with a Laser Keyboard http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/ and Pico Display http://www.microvision.com/pico_projector_displays/ would allow for multiple options. I agree that a non-tactile keyboard is not the best, but for light web surfing/email it would work. It would have 3 modes.
1. An Iphone like slate, with a on a screen (3.5" built in physical screen) keyboard, when there are not a convenient surface.
2. A projection keyboard and display
3. At home/work where you need a full keyboard and a high quality display with a wireless link to both.
I leave getting that into a iphone size for a reasonable amount of money up to the engineers.

Sure there is such thing as zero force typing, but not in this product. Look at:
Virtual Keyboard

Holy cow! All we need to do is have this working with the virtual keyboard ( http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/ ), and we have a computer that has input/output devices that are mostly light!

Here's a slightly different way to do it: a laser projected keyboard. No keypresses to hear, and unless you can crack the bluetooth encryption (yes, I know), it suffers none of the problems previously discussed.

they are awkward but pretty cool. It's a virtual keyboard projected onto a flat surface which could be sterile. There's zero tactile feedback but you can use it for simple stuff.

Example

http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/

How long untill someone figures out how to hook one of these into a phone and laser keyboard ( http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/ ) to make a mobile computer of light?

With this and a virtual keyboard and mouse, you can carry your laptop in your pocket.

What, your laptop doesn't fit in your pocket? Would you settle for a cell phone running something like ThinStation and a cellular-internet hookup? Remember, "The network is the computer."

Combine that with the projection keyboard, and your PDA would turn into a laptop just by putting it on a table with a white wall behind it.

And there are even some that are EXACTLY that quiet: laser keyboards :) (I have no connection with the company, it's just the first result that came up in Google)

No, it's not the first, but it's important for a number of reasons. Most importantly, it's cheaper, piezo electric sensors are cheap and other solutions like I-Tech's Virtual Laser Keyboard are not ($180).

Yeah, but you already can buy a roll keyboard. You would need something to be able to SEE where the keys were. Hence, a LASER keyboard like the one at thinkgeek. Much more "Im Cool , you SUCK" factor from Starbucks types. http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/ Im thinking more Minority report with a BIG piece of tempered glass and a projector.

this has been out for two(?) years
http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/

And it sucks cock like your mom, which is quite badly, I'm afraid to say.

this has been out for two(?) years
http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/

An "invisible field? Well, I suppose that lasers, being light, are actually an electromagnetic field, but otherwise this is just trying to make it sound all Star-Trekky (or perhaps, Doctor-Evilish), complete with technobabble.

And looking at their site, there are some more gems:

"An infra-red plane of light is generated just above, and parallel to, the interface surface. This light is invisible to the user and hovers a few millimeters above the surface."

I saw a thing on Gizmodo about wireless HDMI. The bandwidth involved in getting that kind of transmission across a plane without major compression is hilarious. DVI is about the same. And the interference alone ... !

Once somebody shows me an affordable (less than $500 in this market), interference-free, non-carcinogenic device that can transmit 1080p 50 feet across a room without losing quality, THEN we will have reached a wireless nirvana.

As for the other peripherals, I still can't find a wireless keyboard and mouse that has a range above 12 feet. And even then, they really hardly work past 6. It's wireless, but not truly free.

On the other hand, Awesome, but impractical implementations of wireless technology hold a lot of promise in the whizbang 21st century. So, you know, I can hold my breath.

Like your other reply, I too bought a device with a slide out keyboard. I've never seen anyone regret that decission. You might be able to use handwriting for text messages but you do not want to EVER try it with vi over ssh. ;-) Also, imagine an "rm -rf" mis-recognition...

Mind you, there are some neat bluetooth keyboards you can get, such as The Virtual Keyboad, so it's not all lost if you don't have one.

I've been using my phone/pda for a year or two and I still think it's one of the coolest and most useful gadget I have. Google in my pocket, access to my home linux box, a camera and an mp3 player. Everything I'd ever need most days. One piece of advice though; get one with WiFi, this is an absolute must. It's much faster than GPRS and it's free most of the time.

How many people *have to* play Oblivion as *their work* ?
(I mean, really. Not what's the average slashdotter's dream).

Look around : in most enterprise, computer are just used for basic office work and accessing the intranet/googling information from the internet.

A lot of enterprise (inssurance companies, etc...) are starting to use laptops as working station for their employee, because it's easier for them to move their data around with them, faster to relocate them to different office, lets them work at home or in their train etc...

And docking a laptop to nice big screen and a full sized keyboard, isn't that much different than hooking a smartphone/PDA to those same peripherals. The only difference is in the "work in their train" part, where the Smartphone/PDA user loose some screen/keyboard estate.
(although there're nice fullsized foldable keyboards. I use one with my Palm. And in some professions having a pocketable unit is BETTER than a laptop. HINT: Doctors. We like to have drugs database on pockter-sized devices that are much more handy than carying around a full sized laptop when visiting patients)

Now look at the current trends in products :
- foldable keyboard (like Thinkoutside's, Targus', etc...)
- or even laser virtual keyboards
- smart phone that can be hooked to TV-Set and Projectors (initially designed so you can watch the nice picture you took with you phone. But now company realised that they can market them as "able to display your PowerPoint presentation without a PC !!!")
- Laser-based matchbox-sized Projectors are currently researched.

So yes, your home made l33t Beige Box is more powerful.
But for a corporate worker it is also clunky.

Tomorrow traveling salesman are very likely to have their work stored on their Smartphone/PDA.
(Even today some doctors keep their patient's medical imaging handy in iPods - Powerful radiology stations are nice, but taking an iPod to a patient's bed is easier).

It's useable, barely. A nightmare for a touch typist as there's nothing to tell you whether you're finger is on a key or smack in the middle of 3 keys.

I predict you won't see real miniturization until implants are available. Wait til you see what your grandkids can do!

But I agree, it must all fit easily in your pocket, or there's no point in not havinga laptop. Especially for $500+.

I want something about the size of a brick that uses a HelioDisplay free-space display and a laser-generated virtual keyboard.

Even better is not using a keyboard. Use a Virtual Keyboard

Dudes, you would be best served putting your computer in a well ventilated exterior grade cabinet OUTSIDE of your workroom. Here is the set up I use personally (sans PC):

1. Use a rubber grommet passthrough from the exterior grade mounted enclosure for the video feed to a CRT. LCDs don't like freezing temps (but if you insist on using a LCD panel make sure you use a space heater in the area that is temperature controlled and keep the temp above 50 F or take the monitor inside as you probably wont be working in your shop at those temperatures anyway).

2. Use a Touchpad for a mouse (this way nothing can clog a mouse ball or optical tracker LEDs).

3. Use a virtual laser/IR keyboard like this one:
http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/

Best of luck to you.