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Asus Fold/Unfold Concept Will See Commercial Release
Asus Will Actually Produce their Best Concepts

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CaptainFantastic
03/22/09

In reply to Asus Fold/Unfold Concept Will See Commercial Release
I think the most innovative part of the design is that the cooling system look like it will work while sitting on a soft surface (e.g., down comforter or sweat pant covered legs).
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
03/22/09

In reply to Asus Fold/Unfold Concept Will See Commercial Release
Forget putting your MacBook Air into a manila envelope.

This computer is the envelope..
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darknecross
03/21/09

In reply to Asus Fold/Unfold Concept Will See Commercial Release
I wish more developers would include integrated click buttons in the trackpad like the MacBooks have, assuming Apple doesn't have a stranglehold on the patent for the technology. It's the most ergonomical addition to laptop design save screen advancements.
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weatherman
03/22/09

@darknecross: I never really saw the point of that. I've always just set my trackpad to "click on tap" - I don't need an actual physical button to press.
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Ed_Becerra
03/21/09

In reply to Asus Fold/Unfold Concept Will See Commercial Release
Hmm - apply that sliding keyboard concept to something that's already small, say, about the size of an HP Mini-note, and you get a netbook small enough to fit in your pocket without the insane price-for-looking-stylish cost of a Vaio P.

This rather reminds me of IBM's old butterfly keyboard ThinkPad - another design that should be reconsidered and updated.
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Theophilus P. Wildebeeste
03/21/09

@Ed_Becerra: You mean something like the Psion Series 5 [en.wikipedia.org] ?
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weatherman
03/22/09

@Theophilus P. Wildebeeste: I remember the Series 5. It always seemed to me that there wasn't really that much of a point to the sliding mechanism. It didn't provide additional space - it was intended to provide great stability while pressing the touchscreen, but at the expense of the stability while using the keyboard. Overcomplicated and pointless.

The butterfly keyboard from IBM on the other hand solved a very particular problem; keyboards are always much wider than they are deep, but 4:3 screens are much more square, so there's a lot of extra space inherent in any laptop with that size screen - either around the screen, or more typically around the keyboard (large palm rests). That may be good for ergonomics but it's not good for efficient use of space. Of course, nowadays most screens are 16:9 and this is much less of a problem.
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kernow
03/21/09

In reply to Asus Fold/Unfold Concept Will See Commercial Release
The photo is of a diffrent concept to the one mentioned in the text.
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weatherman
03/22/09

@leotris: I think you're right. Asus had three "folding" PC concepts, and from the video the one they announced would seem to be the third, while the one pictured by Gizmodo looks to be the second (how that one "folds" escapes me).

The correct picture, which very few sites seem to get right, is this one:

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fuchikoma
03/09/09

In reply to Asus Will Actually Produce their Best Concepts
So OLPC still has what it takes to drive innovation in the netbook market then? I wonder if theirs will be any good though... my XO-1 is... somewhat functional. (The screen rocks though!)
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TheLostVikings R.O.A.C.H.
03/09/09

In reply to Asus Will Actually Produce their Best Concepts
That origami laptop looks like something straight out of a sci fi movie... we're finally living in the future!
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N@tedog
03/09/09

@TheLostVikings: We're not in the future just yet...
NOW we're in the future.

Oop, sorry, now we're in the past again.
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slovoflud
03/09/09

In reply to Asus Will Actually Produce their Best Concepts
my god... it's 2010 soon... just think about it...
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bosskev
03/09/09

@slovoflud: It's full of stars?
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