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Tired of carrying a smartphone, tablet, and notebook around? While Asus is trying to simplify things with products like the Asus Padfone that let your phone act as the brains of a tablet, a group called idealfuture has another idea.

They’re trying to raise $100,000 through crowdfunding site Indiegogo to build a device called the if convertible which can function as a dual-screen laptop computer with a detachable screen which you can use as a phone or tablet.

if convertible

It’s a neat idea, but hardware specs haven’t been finalized and there are no pictures of an actual product, just rendered images. So it’s probably best to treat it like a neat concept rather than a real device at this point — but if you really want to help make the if convertible real, you can reserve a unit for a pledge of $999.

It won’t ship until June, 2014 at the earliest though.

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19 replies on “Lilbits (10-24-2013): if convertible wants to be your phone, tablet, laptop”

  1. We will be posting some videos in the near future of the device in action. Keep watching our indiegogo campaign for more updates! Thanks to everyone for thinking and talking about us.

    1. sarcasm and innovation seem to go hand in hand on the web these days. Thank you for at least taking the time to take a look at our product.

  2. Just come out with Linux friendly UMPC like the OQO but with Bay Trail and I’ll buy/crowd fund it.

      1. Thank you very much for your interest. We are all about making the device people need at the price they can afford. Unfortunately we can’t hit that price point yet, but with enough volume we will endeavor to make a device that fits all relevant price levels.

    1. In time, maybe we will come out with this and perhaps we could use that version to hit a lower price point like buzz86us is talking about below.

  3. if it was kickstarter, I would probably get one, but flexible funding is an automatic NO from me.

  4. Uh oh, this ‘if convertible’ reeks of vaporware.

    I find it humorous that 3 million dollars of research results in a crowdfunded device.

    They are ‘ready for manufacturing’ (without a working prototype on display) but want to hear ideas and feedback from you, the sponsor.

    This reminded me of another vaporware device in basically the same form, sans removable screens: the x-fold.

    https://www.ctd-inc.com/X-foldMainPage.html

    And Brad, I think you’ve covered this prototype before!

    1. even if it were manufactured, would anyone really want it? I totally fail to see the point of this device.

      1. I carry around a tablet a laptop and a phone if this could handle the job of all 3 it’d be sweet! Just have an Android phone, a windows tablet, along with a keyboard would be nice! The phone portion could function as a separate monitor and I could be using photoshop and all the tools could be on the phone..

        1. Thank you for your words of encouragement and support. It is funny if you take a look at the very first Apple products. I am pretty sure that it was made out of plywood, so innovation has to start somewhere.

          Thank you for being the kind of visionary that the world needs to embrace and adopt the quantum steps that move technology forward.

      2. Yeah your right, carrying and buying three separate and disconnected devices is always better than one ultimate, transforming platform. That is why we all still have a separate fax machine, copier and printer.

    2. Hi, thanks for your comments on our device. First that Dragonfly thing is a direct violation of our patents and has nothing to do with our company. Also, we are far from vaporware, we are hard at work bringing our technology to the world but we can appreciate your skepticism. I guess at least we are trying to bring an alternative to the world of mobile computing, instead of just another iPad or Nexus tablet. Keep watching and see how we prove those who believe in us right and transform those who doubt us into believers. Cheers!

      1. I would absolutely love to see a product like this come to market. I would fund it in a heartbeat, under the correct circumstances. These are not the correct circumstances. I’ll be frank, this looks like a design student’s senior project turned indiegogo scam.

        From the indiegogo site:
        “This game changing new platform has been in development for years and we have spent millions on research in development, engineering, prototypes, patents and design to date to bring the if to the world in 2014.”

        Idealfuture has referred to patents in multiple places. What patent numbers are these?

        A company that has spent “millions” on “research in development, engineering, prototypes, patents and design” would have more than some renders and a spec(wish)list of features. A company that says “manufacturing will begin soon” would have a working prototype on display, even in some form significantly larger than the ‘final manufactured version’.

        A company that has spent “millions” would not need to crowdfund $100k for production.

        The idealfuture if convertible claims the following on their indiegogo, in a device that essentially winds up being the footprint of roughly two ‘phablet’ sized phones:
        – Two 7″ 1920×1080 displays
        – Two batteries: 3000ma phone battery, and undisclosed (presumed larger) battery in the base
        – Dual LTE antennae (or a single antenna, depending on model)
        – Dual operating systems (Android and Windows
        – 256gb combined storage (128 in phone, 128 in base)
        – 4gb RAM in phone, 4gb RAM in base
        – Slingshot ™ processor and multicore x86 base processor
        – 41 mpix camera (or 13mpix?)

        For a device that makes so many hard to swallow claims, a working prototype is a necessity.

        1. Hi Seano,

          Thank you for your detailed response. Please check the updates section of the indiegogo page to see a new video (that shows an early proto of the if), that we posted in direct response to your comments. We can assure you that the if is very real as are we. Like many startups, we are operating in stealth mode and have been working tirelessly under a veil of secrecy to bring the if to the world.

          With respect to the decision to use indiegogo, we are utilizing the power of the crowd to build awareness for our device and create a tech company that for once listens to people instead of arrogantly telling you what you need.

          As for the spec, the beauty of our device is that unlike other mobile engineering programs where the prime directive is to fit more power in a smaller rectangle, we have double the space in the hinged base section of the chassis to house the powerful components, not to mention their are two screens to house the additional electronics.

          Again thank you for your response and we guarantee that the if will ship in Q2 of next year as promised.

      2. idealfuture, and COO Bridget Hogan claim to be based in California

        (Bridget Hogan, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/bridget-hogan/80/a14/8b1)

        https://kepler.sos.ca.gov/ – California government business search shows no record of idealfuture, LLC.

        https://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=login&p_lang=english&p_d=trmk – US Patent and Trademark Office shows no record of idealfuture being listed as a brand or trademark.

        Just food for thought for an organization with millions in funding, but no recognizable brand, trademark or business registration.

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