**Laptop Design 21**

Since most of on this website are already on the cusp of the newest latest upgrades and features, I thought it might be an interesting experiment to see what ideas the member here would like to see in the laptops of the future.

So lets have a go shall we. What are your innovative new ideas and thought for future laptops?



BTW, here's one of mine:

Power cord connection

If anyone has ever read my posts you would already know that my greatest hope is to see manufacturers institute a more modular designed into the future generation of laptops.

One especially important improvement should be to the power cord connection A flimsy and fragile design that really has no business still being the norm. Apple Mac had long since addressed and corrected this, but for some reason, PC seem to be reluctant to move forward.

That pin thing has no support and eventually gets so loose it loses connection. I was thinking a two or three prong cartridge that supports the weight of the cord so it doesn't pull directly down and bend the pin. At present, that's a major design flaw we really shouldn't have to deal with.

 

Good idea for a thread. I am studying Industrial Design myself and have many ideas, but have mostly kept them to myself... I might make some patents in the near future.

I think the only reason why many people enjoy Apple computers is they are able to charge head over heels for their computers and not be pressured by other PC manufacturers to lower their prices.

Although they are rare, the "luxury" non-Apple laptops that aren't economically competing with other laptop manufacturers are just as good, if not better, than Apple laptops. Case in point, the Sony Vaio Z. I would have gotten one if I didn't need more power for CAD and other Design programs which utilize the quad-core processor of my MacBook Pro.

I drool over unique laptops that don't force it. It takes a true artist to make a laptop that can do that. Example of the opposite of this: Alienware. They are surely unique, but not in a good way.

I would really like to see implemented a better and more convenient way to move the cursor rather than using a touchpad without implementing a touchscreen. I have had several ideas, the one I thought of was using the keyboard, but that is as far as I will go without giving my idea away before it is patented.

Great thread though, I am interested.

 

Apple is probably the most innovative of all the major manufactures. The only problem I have with them is that they "tell" the consumer what they want/need instead of giving them a choice.

Sony is the PC of Apple. I my view it can go head-to-head with anything Mac and cost as much.

Actually they occupy a niche all their own. Nevertheless, Dell needs to continue to work on the display.

 

Sometimes you have to tell the consumer what they want... If Henry Ford didn't do that we would still be riding horses.

And in actuality, a lot of Apple's design aspects/product ideas have come directly from Sony.

The Sony Vaio X505 was a MacBook Air 8 years ago, the Chiclet Keyboard was originally Sony's, Sony was one of the first .mp3 manufacturers, etc.

You probably have heard this a million times, but I really don't think Apple is innovative technology-wise. They are innovative business and industry-wise, if that makes sense. They take ideas from other companies, and implement them when it is feasible. That is how they are successful.

I also expect graphics cards to be niche products in laptops in the next 3-4 years. Built in integrated graphics cards have made gigantic strides the past 1-2 years and their speed growth is becoming exponential. Low-end and even middle class graphics cards are going to become non-existant. Only high end graphics cards will be available for gamers and professionals who work with CAD.

 

Someone mentioned the capacity to add an additional battery to a laptop. Since battery technology is the limiting factor in all forms of mobile computing this in an excellent idea.

To satisfy that, I propose a multi purpose bay. Something akin to the express card slot where the owner can pick and choose whatever component he wishes to adapt.

Imagine the ease of updating your current DVD drive for a blu-ray as easily as you change out a HD. Or simply sliding in an additional HD. What's holding these adaptations back? Weight? Cost? It's certainly not a technological limitation. I'm no saying they should be added to mainstream laptops, but surely they should at least be options on advanced models.

 

Please specify the nature of the medical emergency?

I'm not familiar with any computer with that configuration. Can you specify?

 

Its a relaitvely common thing (though, like said, it is most likely found in 'business models')

to name one, it seems a good number of Fujitsu;s have it (the current T731 and T901 I know for a fact have them, other ones may or may not), then there are a good number of other manufacturers that have had, or continue to impliment such things (the Toshiba Tecra M4 [from ~ 2004] I have has one such bay that takes a DVD/ CD drive, second HDD/ SSD, a second battery, or be empty/ have a 'space saver' [a piece of plastic to keep crud out of the empty port])

point is, they are out there, and it just takes a little looking to find


Also, almost any computer that hava a DVD/ CD drive can have said drive removed/ upgraded to a different drive (possibly Blu-ray if you find the right blu-ray drive), or a second HDD/ SSD with a third party adapter (I believe there is a long thread in the hardware section on this)


EDIT: there are also computers like my 2730p which can have a 'slice battery' (1/4" thick battery)or a 'slim dock' (1/4" DVD/ CD drive with extra ports on the back of it), though these do not have options for adding a second HDD/ SSD; but they have been around for a while (concerning the Elitebook tablet line, since the 2710p back in 2005-2006)

 

As current research has brought to light. However, the difficulty of it not being readily available can sometimes make it's existence next to meaningless.

For instance, if I wanted to buy an alcohol burning car I'd be unlikely to find it in any dealership showroom. Nevertheless, these cars have been in and around circulation for nearly 100 years.

I know this just from reading the many post here. However, I'm sure you will agree that there's a difference between changing a battery in your HP and changing one in you standard Macbook.

To design and manufacture a computer where the user can't even change something as simple as a batter in the 21 century is just ridiculous.

My ideas were meant to suggest viable paths, since I'm sure I could swap my gasoline engine with a turbine if I was so mechanically inclined.

Like when auto manufacturers stopped making convertibles so an aftermarket company came in and bought the cars then cut off the tops and retro fitted them with a rag top.

However, the object here was to encourage the manufactures to do all the work up front, and I would simply pay the money. That's progress

This one was findable and satisfied my above query although their current workstations don't seem to have that capacity. Now then, do you have any 21st design ideas?

 

About the whole modular bay idea...

Lenovo has Ultrabay on their T and W-series Thinkpads. This has been around for a really long time, though recent models have removed the capability for an Ultrabay battery. You can still stick in a hard drive though.

Dell currently has E-modular on their E6x20 Latitude line. You can swap out the optical drive for a hard drive, battery, or USB 3 ports.

My old Sony Vaio from 2003 also has this capability.


As for connectors, I'm pretty sure there's a mechanical way to get something similar to Magsafe working, without using a magnet (thus avoiding patent issues). You would use metal leaves, springs, and other retention devices.

 

Yes I know. As may have already said, it's come and gone. Still, I think it's a good idea that may have lost favor too soon, and can still be perfected. Don't you agree?

That's just it, it needs to be universal. In fact, it's pass time for all plug manufacturers to get on the bandwagon. The "stick out" plugs should have long been abandoned.

 

I personally want to see more of a soothing effect for those of us who are forced to stare at out lappys for longer then 4-5 hours for work. I really like what MSI has done regarding their wave style lighting effect on the keyboard. Id like something i could see out of the corner of my eye while staring at lines of code waiting to be debugged/corrected/ Ect... Maybee some soft lighting around the LCD screen that would alternate between some soft colors. My two cents.

 

it would be cool if laptop turned into holograms looks like jarvis - iron man.

HOTTOYS IRONMAN HUD TEST After Effects - YouTube

 

You mean like this:


Flashing keyboard backlight on the MSI GX 780 - YouTube

 

I'm a PC owner but I'm a fan of Apple's design on their Macbooks.
The uni body aluminum construction looks classy. The obvious drawback is replacing the battery and sacrificing modularity.
Their mag safe power connector are also a great idea imo.

What keeps me motivated to keep my PC is that fact that you can swap out parts with ease i.e. optical drive for a second hard drive etc, since Apple uses a slot loading drive.

 

Laptop makers should make all optical drive "ultrabays," that can add in a battery instead of the optical drive, also why even have optical drives, they should be stand alone units with some new type of connector, like esata or express card so that they work just as fast as if they were in the laptop. This way a person could use an optical drive that was fast, but have more battery capacity.

Why don't laptop makers "jump on the bandwagon" and maker things more modular, because they would lose money. If everything is standard then little companies can make cheaper modular parts because they are only making one small part and consumers would buy those in droves. It cost 130 for a 9 cell battery for my thinkpad e420 thats too much money, but I wont buy some no name battery because Lenovo has systems in place that may prevent that battery from working, because Lenovo wants to make money.

Apple is good at what they do, they market, strong marketing has allowed apple to sell the same PC based systems for higher prices. Look at the 13.3 MBP, 4 gb of ram, basic Intel processor, no high res screen, 1000 plus. The metal design is good, there screens are bright, that is what you pay for, not the best computing components, but good user interface.

I don't like the MBP it gets way to hot, unlike my Thinkpad which stays cool and quiet.

If we are looking at future design, they need to build a fold-able or expandable screen that stretches out seamlessly. Imagine having a nice compact 13 inch latop but the screen stretches to 15, 16, or 17 inches.

 

Or this:
Alienware M17x-R2 Using Winamp AlienFx Plugin - YouTube

 

TSE. Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Ease of Access Center\Make the mouse easier to use - I think M$ beat you to it.

 

Yeah and a trackpoint (rubber nipple Thinkpad style) is IMHO superior to a touchpad for normal tasks already (a bit hard to do multitouch stuff with it).
The Commodore Amiga line of computers supported cursor movement with keys and at least I have tested pressure sensitive keyboard keys which could be used for navigating (just a hobby project).

A multi-bay is something I think is underrated as it would be easy to include power (eg input from an extra battery or output for expansions), USB 3.0+ and PCI express (with 4-8 lanes) in a forwards compatible connector.
That would support at least:
Optical drive
Battery
Expansion module providing eSATAp, ExpressCard slot
Expansion module with MXM graphics card (cooling it could be a problem though )

 

Your design of everything being modular will make things larger and only worth it to people of a certain niche. Also, there is a reason companies have not already gotten on board with something similar, money, if someone can upgrade their system, then there is no need to buy a new one (barebones/platform) for a long time. Less money, less interest.

 

True, but that doesn't mean there's no market for it. After all, Dell has it's Alienware line (not to mention Xbox and PS), and gaming laptops are definitely a niche market.

Untrue; and it that were the case for laptops, it would be true of desktops as well. Their progression was largely a result of the ability to scale up.

Besides, there's just to much innovation in too many places to develop a machine that won't be out of date within 6 months. the ability to upgrade is the biggest incentive against that. And modular designs are the first step in how you get there.

In fact if they did it right, they can even increase profitability. Your car is a primary example of how that works.