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Laptops you'll never see

CNET takes a look at laptop prototypes and mock-ups from CES 2007.

Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Expertise I've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever. Credentials
  • Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
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Dan Ackerman

Some of the coolest products at CES are destined never to make it onto store shelves or into homes. They're prototypes and mock-ups, designed to test new features or solicit industry feedback.

Fujitsu had a series of mobile PC prototypes on the show floor, each highlighting some interesting technology that may eventually trickle into mainstream consumer products.

One prototype was called the Ultra Mobile 2007. It's about the size of Mac Mini and is a handheld touch screen UMPC. Fujitsu describes it as, "A futuristic interpretation of an ultraportable tablet PC, fully operable via touch screen, a stylus pen, and operation buttons. Like the Ultra Mobile 2005, this is designed to be almost the same size as a CD jacket."

A second item we saw was a folding UMPC with a full keyboard. It folds up into a small blue square, then you can flip up the screen and watch media files using a few media control buttons or flip the keyboard open for typing (as pictured).

Like flashy concept cars, these exact models will most likely never see the light of day, but the hope is that some features or design elements will make it into the next generation of mobile devices.