14 DAY TRIAL // Patents are a lofty realm for speculation especially when they come detailing wacky designs. You might remember that back in February the US Patent and Trademark Office published an application filed by Google, which showed the search giant might be working on an eBook reader with dual E-Ink Display & Camera.
Now, a new filling reveals Google might be planning to dive into laptop making some more. But it’s not considering an average laptop. The notebook good old Google might have in mind features a detachable cell-phone, but the two of them can work in concert to fulfill various functions, PatentBolt reports.
There’s no mention about Chromebooks or Android in the patent, but since the filing dates back from September 2012, it’s pretty sensible to assume the two might have been playing a part in the concept creation.
You might be wondering what you would be able to do with a smartphone attached to your laptop. Well, it appears the future users of the device will be able to borrow the handset’s wireless connection in order to gain some ad-hoc Internet access.
The smartphone will also be used as a speaker and a microphone for when adopters are involved in video or voice calls. The phone can take advantage of the laptop’s larger speaker and create an amplifying effect.
The presence of the smartphone might mean users would be able to choose to answer a call in laptop-mode, albeit this is a pretty odd scenario, we have to admit.
But unlike tablet/keyboard shells on Padfones, the hardware laptop portion can work independently from the phone.
Motorola also had a similar device a few years ago, in the form of the Atrix 4G and its laptop dock.
Nevertheless, the existence of the concept does prove a point: the convergence of the Android and Chrome OS platform is not so far. A new era of 2-in-1 devices might be upon us.