Every now and then someone will ask why netbooks don’t have folding keyboards that can be expanded like the old Butterfly keyboard on the IBM ThinkPad 701. That way you could give a 7 or 9 inch netbook a full 100% sized keyboard. Well, the folks behind the CrossFold DragonFly concept design will see your folding keyboard concept and do you one better, with a computer that can be folded in half to slide into your pocket.
Here’s how it works. You start with a small box that slides fits in your pocket or a small bag. If you unfold it, you get a cellphone-style device with a touchscreen display and keypad. But then you can also lift up the screen to reveal a second display and a full keyboard underneath.
Right now this is just a concept, and there’s no word on whether CrossFold will be turning it into a real device anytime soon, or how much it would cost. But it’s a pretty neat idea. The team behind the concept will be showing it off at a Consumer Electronics Association event in New York this week, so I’ll try to bring you some more details when I get a chance to see it in well… inaction.
In the meantime, you can check out a short video demo after the break.
Yippie! Something different. I think they could polish the concept a bit more, but looks cool.
I don’t know. Looks cool, but I doubt it will fly.