Mobile/Laptop Hybrid

uae

Desperately wants a tagline under his name
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So i've got an assignment at Uni where we are supposed to design a device that is a cross between a mobile and a laptop that is very portable. I was hoping to get a few ideas from you lads on here.

Firstly, with regards to looks. I was thinking something simple, perhaps similar to the iPad. Or do you reckon it should have a keyboard attached to it. I'm personally leaning towards just a screen, but with the capability of attaching a USB keyboard to it perhaps.

Secondly, the operating system. Is it worth going for a full fledged operating system like Windows or a Mac OS or is a mobile operating system enough? Basically, is multitasking vital for a device like this you think?

Thirdly, what sacrifices will have to be made with regards to specs? Hard disk size, RAM, graphics/sound cards, the microprocessor, fan, battery, things like these. Ideally i'd want the device to weigh less than 1kg, so what am i looking at here?

Any thoughts at all would be much appreciated. Cheers lads.
 
So basically your professor just wants you to design an iPad? :p

I'd say you will want the ability to multitask, otherwise you'd just use a mobile phone that could use the internet, like an iPhone or Blackberry.
 
Oh and what is it inside mobile phones that actually allow them to make calls?
 
I have an n97, which looks like a mobile/laptop hybrid.

nokia-n97-hands-002.jpg
 
WeasteDevil said:
How inventive can you get with this?
Click to expand...

What do you mean by inventive Weaste? We can't include any technology in it that doesn't exist, but we have pretty much free license to do anything else.
 
WeasteDevil said:
A specific transmitter/receiver and associated electronics basically.
Click to expand...

So if a laptop had this transmitter/receiver it could also make calls?

I was reading this article about a Vaio that was only 1.5lb. Sony debuts Vaio X; 'world's lightest laptop': 11.1", 14-hour battery | The Toybox | ZDNet.com
The specs sound pretty good. The way i figure is i'd aim the device at students mainly, who are mostly after high speed web browsing and multimedia capabilities ie watching tv + listening to music.
 
And is there a website where i can find the weight of individual components inside a laptop?
 
Weaste, any idea what sort of battery would be needed to power a device like this? A mobile battery would be too small wouldn't it?
 
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