Plenty of companies have laptops that transform into tablets. But Compal’s DuoFlip is something a little… different.
At first glance it looks like a normal notebook, and you can use it like one by lifting the lid the way you would on any other laptop PC. Push the screen back 360 degrees and you can also use the computer in tablet mode.
But there’s also a special hinge that also allows you to flip the screen sideways, so the computer opens like a book — with the keyboard on the left and the display on the right side.
In this mode you can use the touchscreen display or a stylus to write or draw on the screen with one hand, while continuing to use the keyboard for shortcuts or text input.
To switch between modes, just close the lid and adjust the locking mechanism on the top left corner of the computer. In one position it will allow you to open the system and use it as a notebook. In the other, it’ll let you open it sideways and use it in… whatever the heck you call that position.
It’s unclear if Compal plans to mass produce computers based on this design, but the Taiwanese manufacturer submitted drawings of the concept for consideration in an annual awards competition run by the IF Design Guide.
That’s where we also spotted the company’s Dual Cylindrical 360 laptop concept devices as well as images of the ZTE Axon V and Axon S smartphones this week.
Sucks for left handed people
Just use the laptop backwards! That’s what the marketing will say, right?
What a sinister thing to say…
;P
I had a Verizon flip phone circa 2008ish that opened similar. Flip it open hinging at the top and it would have a full keyboard oriented to use a section of it like a regular dial pad. Flip it open hinging on the right edge and turn it to a landscape layout and it would have the full keyboard to use regularly. Not the best phone, but certainly different.
Nice concept but I’d worry about that hinge. Simpler would be a tablet type design with a detachable keyboard that could attach two ways.
Might be nice using this for digital art and design. Whenever I’m using Photoshop or the like, I’ve pretty much always got one hand on the keyboard while I draw with the other. Having the screen and keyboard side by side would put both hands in more natural positions. What an interesting idea to come up with.