If a prototype tablet PC that debuted at this month's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas ever gets produced in volume and becomes the next big thing in portable consumer computing, we'll be back to laying out sheets of paper on a desk. Except a lot of data will be stored in each sheet, and the sheets will be communicating with one another.
The PaperTab flexible tablet splits a tablet's windows into separate sheets of electronic paper. Developed at the Human Media Lab of Canada's Queen's University in collaboration with Plastic Logic and Intel Labs, the conceptual device should probably be called PaperWindow, since each sheet serves as an app window.
The device runs on the Intel Core i5 processor and is based on flexible plastic transistor technology and 10.7-inch display touchscreen technology developed by Plastic Logic, a company known for its research in plastic transistors and flexible displays. (We've discussed this company before.)
The PaperTab flexible tablet PC splits a tablet's windows into separate sheets of user-editable electronic paper that store a lot of data and communicate with one another. (Source: Human Media Lab, Queen's University)
Instead of cramming separate windows on to a single small display, the PaperTab system spreads them out on a physical desk. In a video demonstrating the conceptual device, the displays appear to plug into a box under the desk. Users can have 10 or more "interactive displays," or one per app in active use, that communicate with each other and transmit data through an undefined medium. The idea is to make it easier to work with multiple documents and multiple apps.
The process is similar to opening a window on a regular tablet or notebook PC. When the user picks up a PaperTab, it switches to a full-screen page view. Moving it farther away makes it revert to a thumbnail overview of a document, and when it's beyond reaching distance, it displays icons. Users can navigate through multiple pages within a single PaperTab document by bending one side of the display: one side for forward, the other for backward. Users can also place two or more PaperTabs next to each other to form a larger drawing or display surface, edit its contents, or enter data.
The video shows someone using two PaperTab: one blank and one showing PDF icons. The user hits an icon on one PaperTab with the blank PaperTab to open a particular document. To open an email, the user hits the email inbox on one PaperTab with an empty PaperTab, which is then bent to open a reply window. The user writes on the reply window with a touchscreen keyboard. The user can also create a larger view of a drawing by placing two PaperTabs side by side and then dragging an image from one to the other.
Good point, Scott. The mouse itself was a huge step in the direction of making computers accessible to non-engineers, as well as widening their use for everyone. This could be seen as another paradigm breaker in user interfaces.
bobjengr, glad you enjoyed seeing this. I totally agree about moving items from one tab to another being the coolest part--and the hardest to explain. So far, this is described as a concept and a prototype, and neither the company--or Queen's U--has indicated that they intend to develop it commercially. But I hope they do.
This does seem like a cool step in this technology. It certainly employs a unique interface for common tasks. I'm reminded of all the developments that have evolved from keyboard, to mouse, to touch-screen for "conventional" computers. This form factor has created a whole new level of potential user interactions which will likely develop as the technology does. Very interesting - thanks for the article and the video.
Ann--this is definitely the coolest technology I have seen this month. I did go to the web site to take a look at the video. The most remarkable feature, in my opinion, is the ability to drag and drop from one tab to another. Another great feature is touching a document or picture to create an attachment. I did not see any indication from the text in the web site as to when the product might become commercially available but I would suspect it will be a hit when launched. Great post
Wireless makes sense for this kind of product, but I wonder how it would be packaged to fit into the product concept. One more problem for the design engineers on this project.
I'm sure it's just a prototype to show the possibilities with a finished product being wireless. I really love interfaces that mimic the way we currently work, but doing it with new technology and this is an excellent example.
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