14 DAY TRIAL // Chromebooks are typically laptops that run Chrome OS out of the box, right? Well, not if you let the creative juices of some concept designer flow.
Aptly entitled the Chromebook Fusion, this device has been envisioned by Vishal Bhanushali in order to give us a glimpse at what future Chrome-OS notebooks might look like.
Today Chromebooks sport a pretty standard design, maybe with the exception of the colorful HP Chromebook 11, but the Fusion seems to be leaning towards the Ultrabook-segment.
The device arrives with an ultra-slim display and has an OLED mini screen that serves as a touchpad, in order to deliver the Android unlock pattern functionality.
So, Chrome and Android basically converge with the Chromebook Fusion. That is to say, an Android Runtime is built in this speculated version of Chrome OS to allow users to run native Android Apps on the Chrome device.
This is something that can be done at the moment, via emulators which are available for OSX, Windows and Blackberry.
What about the OLED touch screen trackpad? The creator of the concept says the trackpad is to be utilized for some key Android features, for example pattern unlock, swiping away to answer phone calls and for Google Now voice actions.
The second screen placed on the touchpad is probably the most interesting feature here and is said as not being distracting like it may seem at first.
We guess the trackpad can be configured in such a way as not to draw attention to itself so much. There’s no mention of battery of the device and it’s pretty interesting to consider how long such a device might last. Not that long, we could guess.
Overall, the mélange of Android and Chrome seems to be quite appealing with the Chromebook Fusion. Design-wise, Chromebook manufacturers certainly need some fresh ideas regarding this product category in order to revamp the interest of consumers.
This is as good a place as any to remind you of the latest news coming from the Chromebook category. A few weeks back at Computex 2014, the first Chrome OS laptop running on a Rockchip processor has been teased for a few lucky eyes.
The device came equipped with a 13.3-inch screen (1366 x 768 pixel resolution) and took advantage of a quad-core Rockchip RK3288 (Cortex A12) with Mali-T764.
The system was said to be reminiscent of a MacBook Air, being very thin, light and ultraportable. Is the UltraChromebook on its way?
