Laptops, netbooks, mobile Internet devices (MIDs), e-books... These mobile devices have become a bright spot in the consumer electronics industry as buyers look for new and value-for-money products. In many cases, the price of high-end leading products such as the iPhone and Kindle is still strong. But the lower-cost alternatives and the features offered by these new platforms are catching people's appetite. These new favorites also open the door to different markets and opportunities.
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What really makes people worry is a big name that identifies these products. For example: Is the netbook the same as Dell's 2.28-pound Mini 9 laptop (Figure 1)? Is the mini-notebook like Samsung's ultra-thin NC20 with a 12.1-inch screen really a netbook (see Figure 2)? Mobile PC (UMPC) is another form of netbooking or just a netbook? Is a netbook an e-book? Can an e-book be used only for reading books? Are all mobile Internet devices (MIDs) the same as Archos' Internet Media Tablets? (Figure 3)? In addition, can these delicate little things supplement, strengthen or replace mobile phones, telephones or Internet phones?
Here, I will not pay attention to the confusion caused by these names, but will try to explain the technology and options available for these devices. This is a very exciting time, just as the PC came out, because designers and users have to use these techniques and tools to the point where they never "think".
A variety of design choices are significant. When designing notebooks, netbooks, MIDs, etc., designers can choose either flash or hard drive, or both. In addition, the choice of processors abounds; the choice of display is also more and more; the choice of input method is even more important.
Finger size challenges on the keyboard and touch screen
What are the more interesting trends when these products are on the market? Keyboard size is one of them. Numerous netbooks, MIDs, and other mobile devices have introduced miniature versions of standard-size keyboards, although they are not very successful for products designed to replace laptops. This is one of the reasons why netbooks have turned into small laptops with a minimum 10-inch screen and a standard keyboard.
This requirement for the general size of an adult finger affects not only the keyboard but also the touch screen. Apple's iPhone highlights this situation. One of the challenges faced by UMPC vendors is that styluses are often used to select small menus on PC applications. For any normal-sized finger, the function that can be achieved with the stylus is completely impractical.
This actually involves both hardware and software issues. A multitouch feature, such as multiple fingers that can simultaneously touch the screen, deals with hardware issues. The iPhone's interface shows how it can be an advantage, not a problem, but it requires a lot of effort on the software side.
Novelty input method brought by accelerometer
Another key input parameter comes from the accelerometer. Accelerometers have been the exclusive technology of high-end devices and are now rapidly entering low-end and mid-range devices. Price declines, performance gains, and the emergence of more digital implementations like Freescale's MMA7660FC 3D accelerometer, make alternative input methods such as shaking, tapping or swinging a common method for mobile devices (Figure 4).
As before, the software must pay for this feature. The challenge is how to implement these features in a standard framework where application developers don't have to integrate code written for a specific device.
This is not to say that a keypad or even a keyboard on the screen is not a viable alternative. Rather, the main application of the device must not rely too much on keyboard manipulation. For example, on a small or on-screen touch keyboard, a short response to an email is manageable. Word processing requires a lot of manipulation of the keyboard, while editing and annotations are not required. The solution is often not the keyboard form used in some tablets or mobile phones, but the ingenuity to figure out how to use alternative designs to provide alternatives.
Foldable, curled flexible display
The keyboard also has an effect on the shape of the product. Simply remove the keyboard and display of the Always Innovating Touch Pad (an OMAP3530-based netbook) and reveal the touch screen (see Figure 5). For most laptops and netbooks, the processing and memory sections are hidden under the keyboard. Always Innovating breaks the routine and puts them on the back of the display.
This design change does present some interesting implications. For example, a power supply and peripheral connections such as USB are placed around the display. The full functionality of the system can still be achieved with a touch screen.
E-Ink's display makes e-books possible, and its curlable nature makes designers no longer bound by the past. Polymer Vision's Readius allows the display to be rolled into a very compact package of mobile phone size instead of a typical e-book or compact tablet (Figure 6). Its expanded plastic frame makes the display hard and firm when in use.
Unlike an absolutely rigid LCD, the E-Ink display is rolled into a roll, so it is not difficult to imagine a larger size of the rollable display. Products such as Amazon's Kindle DX and Sony's PRS-700 have adopted larger displays. These products display newspaper and textbook content.
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