The main difference between a
laptop and a
tablet is the existence of a physical keyboard. However, it seems now that future
laptops could very well come without a physical
laptop.
keywordApple already have the patent of a
virtual keyboard that works with haptics portends a future in which physical keys lose their advantage and presence.
The haptic display works by using tiny vibrating motors to trick fingers into thinking that they are actually touching a real, physical
keyboard . Yet, these are not just some future fantasy certain prototypes already exist such as the Immersion's TouchSense Technology.
A
laptop that has had the physical keyboard replaced with a virtual keyboard would resemble what is known in the industry as a folio computer. This simply means two
tablets connected together by a hinge.
Acer have already released a folio
computer with their Iconia dual-screen tablet.
The problem is though that without a sophisticated enough virtual keyboard they simply do not match a physical keyboard. However, one thing virtual
keyboards have got right so far is the ability to control modalities as easily as you switch desktop backgrounds. This perhaps could be the first step to cutomized interfaces basically replicating the real feel of switches, buttons etc.
It seems though that the existence of the physical keyboard is limited. This is especially prevalent when we understand that with the use of a virtual keyboard users will be able to swap between languages and
keyboard layouts without a problem. This is obviously something that cannot be done with a physical keyboard.