LG, Samsung and ASUS have all developed hardware for Windows Phone 7, but none tickle my fancy quite as much as this WP7 tablet concept, which has a kickstand that folds into a keypad, and joystick controls on the back.
It's the work of designer Umang Dokey, who dreamt up the 8-inch tablet with two webcams and the aforementioned hardware niceties. The two joysticks would be ideal for gaming, acting like shoulder buttons—they could even be handy when scrolling through documents or the web. A kickstand that folds in front to become a keypad is a terrific idea—especially when it's implemented into the actual device, unlike the iPad's keyboard kickstand. [Umang Dokey via Recombu]
Tablet Concept - running Windows Phone 7 Series from umang on Vimeo.
DISCUSSION
It's a shiny concept but has some niggling design faults. For a start that keyboard/kickstand thing. Doesn't look like it'd provide enough stability in either configuration. That hinge would also have to lock or it'd be annoying to use while deployed given that you'd be pushing against the hinge. Probably needs an extra support to provide some rigidity between the top of the screen and the surface.
Secondly the keyboard itself, either its not going to be tactile in which case it's fairly superfluous or the keys are going to be constantly exposed on the back of the unit. Not to mention squashed against whatever you're sitting it on when it's used as a kickstand. Doesn't strike me as that great.
What would be interesting though is if it slid out from the kickstand part. Sort of like this rough ASCII diagram _/_ where the forward slash is the screen.
At any rate it's not the Microsoft concept I want to see.