The NEXT PC EVOLUTION Will Bring a Richer User Experience

摘要

As notebook computers seek to move toward a tablet user experience, thinner and lighter will be the name of the game. Although these are legacy mobile trends, they will accelerate aggressively in the near term to move forward hybrid (tabletotebook combo) designs. Expect the technology/feature compromises required to get to these aggressive thin and light form factors to be less over time. Enabling thinner systems will require thinner components throughout the system. The system chassis materials that were predominantly injection-molded plastics have moved to metal or improved plastic material formulations that can maintain the structural rigidity required with minimal wall thicknesses. Mass storage has been moving to SSD, flash memory or hybrid disk drives that are ultra-slim and more shock-resistant. Optical drives are phasing out and offered as externally connected devices instead of integrated. I/O connectors have moved to low profile. Expect that a common very small, low-profile high-speed connector standard will arise to replace almost all connectors on a PC. Keyboards are becoming ultra-thin but still retain enough thickness to provide the tactile keypress feedback that users desire, versus a keyboard on a touchscreen. High-res touchscreens are now commonplace for these new systems. Fans and heatsinks must be thinner but maintain or improve performance characteristics.