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Intel Prototypes World's Thinnest Laptop
aalobode sends us to an article up at BusinessWeek about Intel's design for a new, ultra-thin laptop — almost as thin as a Razr — designed as a fashion accessory. Intel hopes to get the high end of the laptop market growing faster, and so they are particularly targeting female consumers with the new model. It's unlikely that all of the advanced features in this prototype will make it into products, and if they did the resulting laptops would command a daunting price. One feature we can hope makes the cut is built-in cellular Internet access. From the article: "The result, code-named Intel mobile Metro notebook, is less than 0.7 inches thick — about one-quarter of an inch thicker than Motorola's iconic cell phone, making it the world's thinnest notebook. And at 2.25 pounds, it's also one of the lightest small-sized portable computers. Other features include always-on Internet connectivity via various wireless technologies."
photos of the new laptop
something with less girth than me ! I no longer feel inadequate.
WOW. Can you imagine having a laptop with 14 hours of battery life? You could pretty much work on it all day, then charge it while you're sleeping at night. Assuming, of course, that the figures aren't overinflated estimations. Still...
One thing I'm disappointed by is the lack of any sort of specs. (Or am I just blind?) What kind of processor, how much memory, how much flash disk, and what kind of graphics card this thing has are all factors that would figure into purchasing this or not. For my own needs, I think the size of the flashdisk would be the biggest factor.
I'm not so keen on the purse idea. While it might appeal to some women, I have a suspicion that it would be at risk of theft at all times. Better to use a more nondescript bag than a fancy cover with an external screen that shouts, "Steal me! I'm expensive!"
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
they'll release a new model soon that will cost $200 more just because its pink.
That is a beautiful laptop. And apart from the Macs, there aren't many beautiful laptops out there IMO. If I were Intel I would lose the screen on the outside. Though it raises the WOW factor a whole lot, it's not practical when traveling, especially if you carry the laptop around like it's a purse as shown on the first picture.
-- Cheers!
Anyone else here remember when it was social suicide to even admit you knew how to turn on a computer, let alone use one? Now they come in pink, with armstraps. Somewhere along the line I have slipped into a strange parallel universe. If anyone from my homeworld can read this, please send help.
I'll get tarted up if it means I can have one.
Intel's design for a new, ultra-thin laptop -- almost as thin as a Razr
And just like like the Razr, the keyboard is flat. And just UNlike the Razr, you'll want to type a lot on this thing, and the flat keyboard will make it a very bad experience.
I hope the other benefits of the technology (flash drive, 14 hours online battery life), carry on to "thicker" laptops.
A couple of years ago I had a Sharp Actius MM20 that was .62" thick vs. the .7" of Intel's latest. Granted there's more to Intel's prototype than small size, the 'ultra-thin'ness was the focus of this sub. And for the record, the RAZR V3 is .54" thick.
"Other features include always-on Internet connectivity via various wireless technologies." Hmmm, by automatically joining unsecured wireless access points, perhaps? Turn on your laptop, commit a felony! (According to some Michigan prosecuters, at least)
"Champagne-colored" or not, the use of magnesium is encouraging. The thinness is worthless if it's not sturdy enough to withstand being sat on, stepped on, jammed in a bag or purse, or even just twisted in your hands. I have never bought myself a laptop, because the real road warriors require sturdier case materials than I care to spend, but I worked with a lot of old GRiD laptops and, man, they could withstand rough handling. Not dropping -- mag will shatter -- but just about anything else users could dish out.
Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
The details look suspiciously mac like, and I would much rather have a tough shell than a screen on the outside so that I can carry it without a sleeve. I'm jitter enough thanks to my Blackberry!
One day I'm hoping for that Powerbook 2400 replacement...
It's not a purse, it's European!
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
Reminds me of when I bought my ultra slim Sony Vaio laptop, with a Pentium 300MHz processor. I thought it was pretty cool. Eventually I grew tired of waiting for it to boot up, load programs, do anything. Maybe if it comes with a tight Linux distro.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Since it's apparently made for Women, I'm guessing no.
More accurately, I'm betting they're using the case to dissipate heat (which is going to be tough when it's covered in pleather) so they really can't afford to stick any sort of high end graphics in there. I'm betting keeping that Core2 cool will be work enough. The 14 hour battery life is another good indication that it won't play games very well, although it looks like they managed that by not putting an optical drive on there and filling up half of the case with battery.
I read the internet for the articles.
Since you seem to keep buying them, exactly why would they change?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Magnesium in a proper alloy for a computer case is rather difficult to ignite.
The HP Sojourn (a rebadged Mistubushi Pedion) explored this corner of the design space in the very late 1990s, just about 10 years ago. I've owned a few of them. Fantastically thin at 0.72 inches (just 0.02 inches thicker than the claimed thickness of the new Intel device), with a then state-of-the-art 2 or 6 GB 9 mm disk drive and Pentium II 233 MMX processor with 64 MB of main memory. Very nice display, too. 2 PCMCIA slots, one USB 1.1 port, but no network interface. Excellent support under Linux including sleep and hibernation modes. To achieve such a slim form factor, the keyboard was chicklet-style (not unlike the HP calculators) which really didn't appeal to the power user. It was marketed to executives with the even-then astronomical pricetag of USD 6k. I bought my first one used at USD 1.5k (they were really bad at holding their value); currently you see them on eBay for under USD 200.
These are really, really thin. With full-sized keyboards and 12.1 inch displays. Slimmer than many padfolios. I never understood why that part of the design space wasn't more fully populated, as it's such an obvious (to me) win to have a really light, really thin, computer with a full-sized display and keyboard. Perhaps we're coming back to it.
Put my fist through my alarm clock with its ding-dong death inside my ear. - The Blackjacks.
I have a laptop. It has speakers. The speakers have magnets in them and they are INSIDE the case. I'm not too worried.
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