8 ms·

A Lighter and Smaller Laptop

42 points by kartickv 10y ago

tlholaday 10y ago
Half the battery?
- honkhonkpants 10y ago
  Actually the author has cut essentially 100% of the battery from the MacBook Air.
  - spyder 10y ago
    Not really: http://cdn2.macworld.co.uk/cmsdata/reviews/3595594/New-MacBook-2015-battery.jpg http://cdn2.macworld.co.uk/cmsdata/reviews/3595594/New-MacBo... From the photo it looks like the quarter or third of the battery is below the keyboard. But the smaller screen is probably not enough to compensate for the loss, so yea, probably it would have shorter battery life but not by 100%...
    - honkhonkpants 10y ago
      I don't think that's a MacBook Air.
    - kartickv 10y ago
      We could make the device a millimeter thicker so as to maintain the "up to 10 hours" battery life of the Macbook.
mcphage 10y ago
Replacing the great Apple trackpads with a trackpoint? No thank you.
- pyre 10y ago
  As much as you say that, I miss TrackPoint from my days sporting a ThinkPad. I know there are other people that agree. Once you get used to it, it's pretty nifty. You don't even need to take your hands too far away from your keyboard position to use it.
  - ghaff 10y ago
    I really loved TrackPoints back in the day and despised many of the touchpads of the time. Some of them I found an exercise in frustration to use at all. But I like modern trackpads and wouldn't really want to give them up. I have an Asus Flip Chromebook (10") and for me that's just about perfect while traveling. I don't really use the flip feature much but it's a nice size and weight. I actually think if you cut off the trackpad I'd find the typing position more awkward.
    - pyre 10y ago
      > I actually think if you cut off the trackpad I'd find the typing position more awkward. I guess you could picture the TrackPoint like this: http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/4796.jpg http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/4796.jpg
      - ghaff 10y ago
        Right. The OP was basically proposing cutting off all that space below the keyboard though. The typical Thinkpad design shown in that photo doesn't have a touchpad but it still has the area that people tend to use as a wrist rest.
  - mcphage 10y ago
    How would you the equivalent of 2-finger scrolling on a trackpoint?
    - bluedino 10y ago
      Middle click and scroll
okket 10y ago
The netbook is back.
- digi_owl 10y ago
  Yep, its called a Chromebook.
- kartickv 10y ago
  With a full-sized keyboard, and at at higher price, like $799.
beachstartup 10y ago
i've used laptops in that form factor and they're awful. the current 13" apple form factor is just fine. look at cell phones from the early 00's -- smaller is NOT the answer.
- kartickv 10y ago
  Did they have full-sized keyboards? Were they high-end devices, like $799, as opposed to crappy netbooks?
Foomandoonian 10y ago
As if the ergonomics of laptops weren't bad enough already. Makes my neck tense just looking at it.
afandian 10y ago
No need for a touchpoint. I've been waiting for years for a capacitive trackpad under the surface of the keyboard. Blackberry have done this on their Passport and it's great. I don't know why others haven't copied the idea.
- stepvhen 10y ago
  How does that work, you run your fingers across the keys lightly or something?
  - afandian 10y ago
    Yes. Two modes: default scroll, means you can scroll without obscuring the screen. Or double tap to get a cursor in a text box.
- logn 10y ago
  What about a touchpad on the spacebar. Which such a wide aspect ratio, it might actually work. Or, go back to the double-row enter key and that would be enough space.
yardie 10y ago
Sorry, I've already had to give up enough vertical screen space on laptops. I'm not giving another inch. And once you add menus, toolbars, startbars, and the hideous white space that is currently fashionable you have a less useable workspace than an early 00s era laptop. I do like the new Surfaces.
- gd2 10y ago
  Good point. I like to see some new method thrown at the UI controls when one switches to full screen / no toolbars. Possibly stealing swipe type methods from mobile.
- kartickv 10y ago
  As the blog post says, this device wouldn't have some of the visual overhead desktop OSs have: menu bars, dock, title bar, etc.
charlesism 10y ago
Apple would get more love if they brought back some larger machines. A 17" portable would be a nice start. It's not 2010 anymore, at this point making these devices smaller just hobbles them, and increases the chance the case will snap in two.
transfire 10y ago
Might be acceptable if you could pivot the screen 90 degrees for a nice long portrait mode.
- imtringued 10y ago
  It would be also great if they could somehow split the keyboard into two pieces for better ergonomics.
- kartickv 10y ago
  You could do that if the device has a 360-degree hinge. Then you can fold it and lean it against a stand.
oftenwrong 10y ago
I have wanted what this post is describing for a long time. I have used one of those small VAIOs, too. I mainly use the keyboard, anyway, so for me the trackpad on a laptop wastes a lot of space.
- bluedino 10y ago
  Don't those VAIOS only have 600px height screen? Ugh
bluejekyll 10y ago
> It would be more portable than the Macbook Really? So that what, it fits in a purse? I personally (nothing against men who do) don't carry a purse, but I do have a backpack. And I choose to carry a full 15" MacBook Pro, because it's powerful and is an ok trade off in terms of screen size. It's perfect for me. I know some people hate the weight, and they go for the Air, but for me the screen size is too small. This argues to make the screen size even smaller! No thank you! Get a keyboard for the iPad Mini.
mark-r 10y ago
A superwide aspect ratio is impractical for too many things. The audience for this device would be extremely limited. I still long for the days of the 4:3 aspect ratio.
- noisy_boy 10y ago
  Me too - my old and trusty HP nx6320 had it (retired not hurt). I am more interested in a detachable that would with work perfectly with Linux and allow me to run Android apps in a window (as long as we are dreaming :))
- zokier 10y ago
  It would not be too far from having two 4:3 monitors side-by-side, which is generally pretty nice configuration. For example if it were 1440x600 (which would make sense), then you'd have two 720x600 windows. Not exactly SVGA from olden 4:3 days, but pretty close. You could have for example two 90x50 character terminal windows with that relatively comfortably.
- MikusR 10y ago
  Surface Pro/Book is 3:2.
- Yetanfou 10y ago
  That should be achievable by adding another screen on top of the one on this machine, hinged at the top. In closed position the thing could work as a tablet, in open position the top screen would flip 180° to form the top part of a large 4:3 screen. The main body could be set on rails, to slide forwards from under the keyboard when the thing is used as a laptop (more or less the inverse of what slider phones did, here the keyboard stays in place while the body slides away from under it). Add a touchpad to the main body and you'd have a relatively normal laptop configuration.
- kartickv 10y ago
  As the blog post says, it would be practical if the apps / web apps / web sites are redesigned for it. Which may or may not happen, granted.
open-source-ux 10y ago
This is not a very practical mini computer. The design has been lopped off from a larger Mac rather than designed from scratch. The full-sized keyboard means it's still quite large - certainly not pocket-sized. A more practical approach would be to have a smaller, pocket computer as a companion to a larger laptop (or desktop computer) rather than try and make the smaller laptop the main computer. Almost 20 years ago (in 1997), a British tech company called Psion released a small handheld computer called the Psion Series 5. Some images here: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=psion+series+5&source=lnms&tbm=isch https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=psion+series+5&source=lnms... Suprisingly, no one has made something similar (that I know of). I imagine it could be made today with an e-ink screen for extra long battery life. A pocket computer like this would be perfectly capable for everyday tasks like email, wordprocessing and using spreadhseets (but not for video or graphics work).
- kartickv 10y ago
  I think that if a device has a physical keyboard, it should be a full-sized keyboard. If not, get rid of it and have a smaller, thinner, lighter device. Having a crappy keyboard is IMO the worst of both worlds — you get neither the productivity of a full-sized keyboard nor the thin-and-lightness of a keyboard-less device. Which is why I chose a full-sized keyboard for this device. Some reviews of iPad keyboards, for example, begin by suggesting you don't buy one, instead buying a full-sized keyboard: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-ipad-keyboard-case/#who-shouldnt-buy-this http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-ipad-keyboard-case...
babbeloski 10y ago
You could reduce the height of the number row by half, add that vertical space to the space bar, and turn the spacebar into 3 parts: regular buttons on the wings where your thumbs rest, and capacitive trackpad in the middle. Add cellular support and I'll gladly toss my smartphone, which I don't use anyway. I've always just needed a laptop, I'm terrible with touch screens, very painful to use. I would carry this around and have a smart watch for basic text / calling, gps
bane 10y ago
Not as crazy as it sounds. Just use your smartphone as a trackpad or mouse. Apps already exist for this. http://www.remotemouse.net http://www.remotemouse.net http://www.guidingtech.com/9586/use-android-as-touchpad-keyboard-remote-control-gpad/ http://www.guidingtech.com/9586/use-android-as-touchpad-keyb...
joebergeron 10y ago
I get that this would be desirable for a lot of people - but not for me. It's definitely cute, it's definitely portable, but if you can afford the difference between this and a regular MacBook or something with a similar form factor, why not just grab the latter? It's not as if you can fit this in a pocket or something - you'd still need a bag/backpack to carry this around comfortably, and then why not just use a full-fledged laptop with a larger screen, arguably easier-to-use pointer. I honestly cannot see myself being as productive on one of these as I am on my regular old laptop. Despite this article claiming that this device would have all the capabilities of a normal laptop, I think this fails in some of the same ways that smartbooks did in the past. Who -really- wants to do serious work on one of these instead of a laptop with a normal-sized screen? I can imagine potential strain on the eyes after a long time working on one of these - not to mention the seemingly awkward aspect ratio. To each their own, though.
- ido 10y ago
  I use a Dell xps13 (13" screen in an 11" laptop chassis, almost no bezel). The (very high DPI) monitor is just barley large enough for comfort. I wouldn't want to work on anything smaller. Although there's still a bunch to cut down in thickness & weight.
  - Brakenshire 10y ago
    Yes, in my opinion the magazine sizing they show in the picture is close to the limit most people would want. Cutting the sideways size doesn't give enough portability benefit to justify losing so much screen space. The manufacturers have got it right in the direction they have been going, to increase battery life, decrease the size of the bezel, decrease weight and thickness, and also improve robustness and waterproofing, so that it is no more of a hassle to carry around than a magazine, and so that you could read it like a magazine (or a tablet). We're not too far away from that. The Macbook, the Surface and the Chromebook Flip are all in the 0.9-1kg range, now it's incremental progress to reduce weight to 500-600g, improve fanless performance, and meet all the other goals above. We'll probably also see commodity pricing of fanless processors through ARM competition with Core-M, so that the prices of these devices end up closer to the Chromebook Flip than the Surface.
acd 10y ago
A similar form factor existed the Psion 5 back in the past. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion_Series_5 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion_Series_5
SamReidHughes 10y ago
> And smartbooks ran limited mobile software, not powerful PC software. They say this right below pictures of the Vaio P series, which ran Windows 7 on a 1600x768 screen. It was good for traveling, where you didn't want to use your computer but might need some desperate computer use, and it fit in a jeans pocket if your thighs aren't bloated.
TapamN 10y ago
These have been made (with the trackpoint replaced with a touchscreen + stylus), although you don't see them much nowadays. A examples would be the NEC MobilePro 900 (on the not-far-from-full-sized-keyboard end of the scale) and HP Jornada 6xx/7xx series (on the technically-pocket-sized-but-really-slightly-too-big scale). I regularly use a Jornada 690, with Linux installed, which I use to do some programming on when doing things like taking my mom to her doctors appointments. I don't keep mine in my pocket, but have a small bag, intended to be attached the front handlebars of a bicycle, that I attach to my belt, to keep it in.
andrey_utkin 10y ago
http://pyra-handheld.com/ http://pyra-handheld.com/ a coming-soon thing I'm waiting for.
brador 10y ago
We have reached human UI/UX limitations on many tech devices. Our eyes can only see so much detail, our hands need space to type accurately and comfortably. We need improvements in IO between human and machine to reach the next stage of technological evolution.
- kartickv 10y ago
  Interesting point of view. The full-sized keyboard on this proposed device is exactly in keeping with that. Smaller, and you can't type productively.
emptybits 10y ago
Since we're spitballing ... screen with portrait orientation and a split keyboard.
GuiA 10y ago
I have a Sony Vaio P, which as the author mentions is close to what he describes. I don't use it much anymore, but it was actually a fun device to own. I installed ArchLinux on it, with a heavily customized xmonad + plenty of customly setup apps for email/browsing/basic coding/etc to make it full keyboard driven (the trackpad/trackpoint was pretty bad on it). It'd fit in my jacket pocket, and was a nifty little machine to carry around. The keyboard was way too cramped for long term use, but it was fun to have around.
- digi_owl 10y ago
  Mah, he seems to conflate the Vaio P (unnamed, just used as a illustration) with "smartbooks". This while the Vaio P was a netbook (Windows, Intel Atom) rather than a smartbook (Android/Linux, ARM variants). Frankly the only thing that seems to hold the smartbook category together is the use of mobile tech (iirc, the Toshiba AC100 even had a notification light for texts etc). The blog posting seems like someone firmly hung up on Apple and wanting a smaller macbook, rather than a proper illustration of what the rest of the market has to offer.
digi_owl 10y ago
Silly of him to use the Sony Vaio P as a illustration for the smartbook segment. The Vaio P ran full Windows on an early Intel Atom. Anyways, it seems the author ignores that netbooks started out not running Windows, and just lumps them in with laptops because x86 (Atom) and Windows. Frankly the whole thing just reeks of someone who has developed severe Apple myopia...
equalarrow 10y ago
I have a 12" Macbook and an 11" Air and I think anything smaller than the Air is not really practical. I suppose if I rotate my 6s+ I could get something super tiny, then just attach a bluetooth keyboard.. But, I just don't see the point of going that small. The Macbook and Air are really light - I don't notice them much at all if I out them in my backpack (a 15" is definitely noticeable). Anyway, it just seems like a thought exercise.
- bluedino 10y ago
  When the original Air came out in 2009 or whatever, I was amazed that they got the machine so small. When the 11" came out with the same keyboard I was amazed again. And seeing the latest MacBook it amazed me again. Not sure what's coming next but I'm sure I'll be impressed
freddref 10y ago
I'd like one of these just for text with an E-Ink screen, no GUI, boot straight to Emacs. What to name it though? Emacs-book, text-book, clibook...
- digi_owl 10y ago
  If you could get a _nix to boot on a Freewrite, it would seem to offer what your after. https://getfreewrite.com/ https://getfreewrite.com/
  - freddref 10y ago
    I couldn't afford the required mustache wax.
bluedino 10y ago
>> The minibook's ultrawide aspect ratio also works better for movies, which have the same aspect ratio of 21:9 I usually watch movies while working on something else - I don't want the aspect ratio to match my screen. Stinks when it comes to utilizing the available screen space
pedalpete 10y ago
The original Surface had a similar aspect ratio and it was borderline unusable, even with windows 8 touchmode.

42 points by kartickv 10y ago

tlholaday 10y ago

Half the battery?

honkhonkpants 10y ago
Actually the author has cut essentially 100% of the battery from the MacBook Air.
- spyder 10y ago
  Not really: http://cdn2.macworld.co.uk/cmsdata/reviews/3595594/New-MacBook-2015-battery.jpg http://cdn2.macworld.co.uk/cmsdata/reviews/3595594/New-MacBo... From the photo it looks like the quarter or third of the battery is below the keyboard. But the smaller screen is probably not enough to compensate for the loss, so yea, probably it would have shorter battery life but not by 100%...
  - honkhonkpants 10y ago
    I don't think that's a MacBook Air.
  - kartickv 10y ago
    We could make the device a millimeter thicker so as to maintain the "up to 10 hours" battery life of the Macbook.

mcphage 10y ago

Replacing the great Apple trackpads with a trackpoint? No thank you.

pyre 10y ago
As much as you say that, I miss TrackPoint from my days sporting a ThinkPad. I know there are other people that agree. Once you get used to it, it's pretty nifty. You don't even need to take your hands too far away from your keyboard position to use it.
- ghaff 10y ago
  I really loved TrackPoints back in the day and despised many of the touchpads of the time. Some of them I found an exercise in frustration to use at all. But I like modern trackpads and wouldn't really want to give them up. I have an Asus Flip Chromebook (10") and for me that's just about perfect while traveling. I don't really use the flip feature much but it's a nice size and weight. I actually think if you cut off the trackpad I'd find the typing position more awkward.
  - pyre 10y ago
    > I actually think if you cut off the trackpad I'd find the typing position more awkward. I guess you could picture the TrackPoint like this: http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/4796.jpg http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/4796.jpg
    - ghaff 10y ago
      Right. The OP was basically proposing cutting off all that space below the keyboard though. The typical Thinkpad design shown in that photo doesn't have a touchpad but it still has the area that people tend to use as a wrist rest.
- mcphage 10y ago
  How would you the equivalent of 2-finger scrolling on a trackpoint?
  - bluedino 10y ago
    Middle click and scroll

okket 10y ago

The netbook is back.

digi_owl 10y ago
Yep, its called a Chromebook.
kartickv 10y ago
With a full-sized keyboard, and at at higher price, like $799.

beachstartup 10y ago

i've used laptops in that form factor and they're awful. the current 13" apple form factor is just fine. look at cell phones from the early 00's -- smaller is NOT the answer.

kartickv 10y ago
Did they have full-sized keyboards? Were they high-end devices, like $799, as opposed to crappy netbooks?

Foomandoonian 10y ago

As if the ergonomics of laptops weren't bad enough already. Makes my neck tense just looking at it.

afandian 10y ago

No need for a touchpoint. I've been waiting for years for a capacitive trackpad under the surface of the keyboard. Blackberry have done this on their Passport and it's great. I don't know why others haven't copied the idea.

stepvhen 10y ago
How does that work, you run your fingers across the keys lightly or something?
- afandian 10y ago
  Yes. Two modes: default scroll, means you can scroll without obscuring the screen. Or double tap to get a cursor in a text box.
logn 10y ago
What about a touchpad on the spacebar. Which such a wide aspect ratio, it might actually work. Or, go back to the double-row enter key and that would be enough space.

yardie 10y ago

Sorry, I've already had to give up enough vertical screen space on laptops. I'm not giving another inch. And once you add menus, toolbars, startbars, and the hideous white space that is currently fashionable you have a less useable workspace than an early 00s era laptop. I do like the new Surfaces.

gd2 10y ago
Good point. I like to see some new method thrown at the UI controls when one switches to full screen / no toolbars. Possibly stealing swipe type methods from mobile.
kartickv 10y ago
As the blog post says, this device wouldn't have some of the visual overhead desktop OSs have: menu bars, dock, title bar, etc.

charlesism 10y ago

Apple would get more love if they brought back some larger machines. A 17" portable would be a nice start. It's not 2010 anymore, at this point making these devices smaller just hobbles them, and increases the chance the case will snap in two.

transfire 10y ago

Might be acceptable if you could pivot the screen 90 degrees for a nice long portrait mode.

imtringued 10y ago
It would be also great if they could somehow split the keyboard into two pieces for better ergonomics.
kartickv 10y ago
You could do that if the device has a 360-degree hinge. Then you can fold it and lean it against a stand.

oftenwrong 10y ago

I have wanted what this post is describing for a long time. I have used one of those small VAIOs, too. I mainly use the keyboard, anyway, so for me the trackpad on a laptop wastes a lot of space.

bluedino 10y ago
Don't those VAIOS only have 600px height screen? Ugh

bluejekyll 10y ago

> It would be more portable than the Macbook Really? So that what, it fits in a purse? I personally (nothing against men who do) don't carry a purse, but I do have a backpack. And I choose to carry a full 15" MacBook Pro, because it's powerful and is an ok trade off in terms of screen size. It's perfect for me. I know some people hate the weight, and they go for the Air, but for me the screen size is too small. This argues to make the screen size even smaller! No thank you! Get a keyboard for the iPad Mini.

mark-r 10y ago

A superwide aspect ratio is impractical for too many things. The audience for this device would be extremely limited. I still long for the days of the 4:3 aspect ratio.

noisy_boy 10y ago
Me too - my old and trusty HP nx6320 had it (retired not hurt). I am more interested in a detachable that would with work perfectly with Linux and allow me to run Android apps in a window (as long as we are dreaming :))
zokier 10y ago
It would not be too far from having two 4:3 monitors side-by-side, which is generally pretty nice configuration. For example if it were 1440x600 (which would make sense), then you'd have two 720x600 windows. Not exactly SVGA from olden 4:3 days, but pretty close. You could have for example two 90x50 character terminal windows with that relatively comfortably.
MikusR 10y ago
Surface Pro/Book is 3:2.
Yetanfou 10y ago
That should be achievable by adding another screen on top of the one on this machine, hinged at the top. In closed position the thing could work as a tablet, in open position the top screen would flip 180° to form the top part of a large 4:3 screen. The main body could be set on rails, to slide forwards from under the keyboard when the thing is used as a laptop (more or less the inverse of what slider phones did, here the keyboard stays in place while the body slides away from under it). Add a touchpad to the main body and you'd have a relatively normal laptop configuration.
kartickv 10y ago
As the blog post says, it would be practical if the apps / web apps / web sites are redesigned for it. Which may or may not happen, granted.

open-source-ux 10y ago

This is not a very practical mini computer. The design has been lopped off from a larger Mac rather than designed from scratch. The full-sized keyboard means it's still quite large - certainly not pocket-sized. A more practical approach would be to have a smaller, pocket computer as a companion to a larger laptop (or desktop computer) rather than try and make the smaller laptop the main computer. Almost 20 years ago (in 1997), a British tech company called Psion released a small handheld computer called the Psion Series 5. Some images here: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=psion+series+5&source=lnms&tbm=isch https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=psion+series+5&source=lnms... Suprisingly, no one has made something similar (that I know of). I imagine it could be made today with an e-ink screen for extra long battery life. A pocket computer like this would be perfectly capable for everyday tasks like email, wordprocessing and using spreadhseets (but not for video or graphics work).

kartickv 10y ago
I think that if a device has a physical keyboard, it should be a full-sized keyboard. If not, get rid of it and have a smaller, thinner, lighter device. Having a crappy keyboard is IMO the worst of both worlds — you get neither the productivity of a full-sized keyboard nor the thin-and-lightness of a keyboard-less device. Which is why I chose a full-sized keyboard for this device. Some reviews of iPad keyboards, for example, begin by suggesting you don't buy one, instead buying a full-sized keyboard: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-ipad-keyboard-case/#who-shouldnt-buy-this http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-ipad-keyboard-case...

babbeloski 10y ago

You could reduce the height of the number row by half, add that vertical space to the space bar, and turn the spacebar into 3 parts: regular buttons on the wings where your thumbs rest, and capacitive trackpad in the middle. Add cellular support and I'll gladly toss my smartphone, which I don't use anyway. I've always just needed a laptop, I'm terrible with touch screens, very painful to use. I would carry this around and have a smart watch for basic text / calling, gps

bane 10y ago

Not as crazy as it sounds. Just use your smartphone as a trackpad or mouse. Apps already exist for this. http://www.remotemouse.net http://www.remotemouse.net http://www.guidingtech.com/9586/use-android-as-touchpad-keyboard-remote-control-gpad/ http://www.guidingtech.com/9586/use-android-as-touchpad-keyb...

joebergeron 10y ago

I get that this would be desirable for a lot of people - but not for me. It's definitely cute, it's definitely portable, but if you can afford the difference between this and a regular MacBook or something with a similar form factor, why not just grab the latter? It's not as if you can fit this in a pocket or something - you'd still need a bag/backpack to carry this around comfortably, and then why not just use a full-fledged laptop with a larger screen, arguably easier-to-use pointer. I honestly cannot see myself being as productive on one of these as I am on my regular old laptop. Despite this article claiming that this device would have all the capabilities of a normal laptop, I think this fails in some of the same ways that smartbooks did in the past. Who -really- wants to do serious work on one of these instead of a laptop with a normal-sized screen? I can imagine potential strain on the eyes after a long time working on one of these - not to mention the seemingly awkward aspect ratio. To each their own, though.

ido 10y ago
I use a Dell xps13 (13" screen in an 11" laptop chassis, almost no bezel). The (very high DPI) monitor is just barley large enough for comfort. I wouldn't want to work on anything smaller. Although there's still a bunch to cut down in thickness & weight.
- Brakenshire 10y ago
  Yes, in my opinion the magazine sizing they show in the picture is close to the limit most people would want. Cutting the sideways size doesn't give enough portability benefit to justify losing so much screen space. The manufacturers have got it right in the direction they have been going, to increase battery life, decrease the size of the bezel, decrease weight and thickness, and also improve robustness and waterproofing, so that it is no more of a hassle to carry around than a magazine, and so that you could read it like a magazine (or a tablet). We're not too far away from that. The Macbook, the Surface and the Chromebook Flip are all in the 0.9-1kg range, now it's incremental progress to reduce weight to 500-600g, improve fanless performance, and meet all the other goals above. We'll probably also see commodity pricing of fanless processors through ARM competition with Core-M, so that the prices of these devices end up closer to the Chromebook Flip than the Surface.

acd 10y ago

A similar form factor existed the Psion 5 back in the past. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion_Series_5 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion_Series_5

SamReidHughes 10y ago

> And smartbooks ran limited mobile software, not powerful PC software. They say this right below pictures of the Vaio P series, which ran Windows 7 on a 1600x768 screen. It was good for traveling, where you didn't want to use your computer but might need some desperate computer use, and it fit in a jeans pocket if your thighs aren't bloated.

TapamN 10y ago

These have been made (with the trackpoint replaced with a touchscreen + stylus), although you don't see them much nowadays. A examples would be the NEC MobilePro 900 (on the not-far-from-full-sized-keyboard end of the scale) and HP Jornada 6xx/7xx series (on the technically-pocket-sized-but-really-slightly-too-big scale). I regularly use a Jornada 690, with Linux installed, which I use to do some programming on when doing things like taking my mom to her doctors appointments. I don't keep mine in my pocket, but have a small bag, intended to be attached the front handlebars of a bicycle, that I attach to my belt, to keep it in.

andrey_utkin 10y ago

http://pyra-handheld.com/ http://pyra-handheld.com/ a coming-soon thing I'm waiting for.

brador 10y ago

We have reached human UI/UX limitations on many tech devices. Our eyes can only see so much detail, our hands need space to type accurately and comfortably. We need improvements in IO between human and machine to reach the next stage of technological evolution.

kartickv 10y ago
Interesting point of view. The full-sized keyboard on this proposed device is exactly in keeping with that. Smaller, and you can't type productively.

emptybits 10y ago

Since we're spitballing ... screen with portrait orientation and a split keyboard.

GuiA 10y ago

I have a Sony Vaio P, which as the author mentions is close to what he describes. I don't use it much anymore, but it was actually a fun device to own. I installed ArchLinux on it, with a heavily customized xmonad + plenty of customly setup apps for email/browsing/basic coding/etc to make it full keyboard driven (the trackpad/trackpoint was pretty bad on it). It'd fit in my jacket pocket, and was a nifty little machine to carry around. The keyboard was way too cramped for long term use, but it was fun to have around.

digi_owl 10y ago
Mah, he seems to conflate the Vaio P (unnamed, just used as a illustration) with "smartbooks". This while the Vaio P was a netbook (Windows, Intel Atom) rather than a smartbook (Android/Linux, ARM variants). Frankly the only thing that seems to hold the smartbook category together is the use of mobile tech (iirc, the Toshiba AC100 even had a notification light for texts etc). The blog posting seems like someone firmly hung up on Apple and wanting a smaller macbook, rather than a proper illustration of what the rest of the market has to offer.

digi_owl 10y ago

Silly of him to use the Sony Vaio P as a illustration for the smartbook segment. The Vaio P ran full Windows on an early Intel Atom. Anyways, it seems the author ignores that netbooks started out not running Windows, and just lumps them in with laptops because x86 (Atom) and Windows. Frankly the whole thing just reeks of someone who has developed severe Apple myopia...

equalarrow 10y ago

I have a 12" Macbook and an 11" Air and I think anything smaller than the Air is not really practical. I suppose if I rotate my 6s+ I could get something super tiny, then just attach a bluetooth keyboard.. But, I just don't see the point of going that small. The Macbook and Air are really light - I don't notice them much at all if I out them in my backpack (a 15" is definitely noticeable). Anyway, it just seems like a thought exercise.

bluedino 10y ago
When the original Air came out in 2009 or whatever, I was amazed that they got the machine so small. When the 11" came out with the same keyboard I was amazed again. And seeing the latest MacBook it amazed me again. Not sure what's coming next but I'm sure I'll be impressed

freddref 10y ago

I'd like one of these just for text with an E-Ink screen, no GUI, boot straight to Emacs. What to name it though? Emacs-book, text-book, clibook...

digi_owl 10y ago
If you could get a _nix to boot on a Freewrite, it would seem to offer what your after. https://getfreewrite.com/ https://getfreewrite.com/
- freddref 10y ago
  I couldn't afford the required mustache wax.

bluedino 10y ago

>> The minibook's ultrawide aspect ratio also works better for movies, which have the same aspect ratio of 21:9 I usually watch movies while working on something else - I don't want the aspect ratio to match my screen. Stinks when it comes to utilizing the available screen space

pedalpete 10y ago

The original Surface had a similar aspect ratio and it was borderline unusable, even with windows 8 touchmode.