It seems fair to say the design of the laptop hasn't changed a great deal over the last few decades. The clamshell (or notebook) design is ubiquitous, and for good reason – it just makes sense. But LG might have just created the first serious challenger to the age-old design.
The company has already tried to turn a monitor into a briefcase, with mixed results (it just looks a bit weird). But the new 'Illusion Screen' laptop looks seriously chic. It's essentially a portable monitor with a clamshell design that can house a bluetooth keyboard. Closed, it looks like a laptop (with the monitor facing outwards), but it opens into a more traditional monitor-and-keyboard setup.
The design was created by JiHoon Park, Sherry Ahn, Dahyeon Kim as part of the Korea Design Membership Plus (KDM+), which is partnered with LG as part of its new Industry-Academic Cooperation Project.
On the Illusion Screen's Behance page, it is described as "an illusion screen laptop project that reinterprets the role of the display that disappeared during clamshell mode, allowing users to experience various digital contents depending on the angle both on the display and physically, and providing digital continuity and new
usability. We seamlessly propose the usability of laptops and desktops, which were previously separate, into one usage scene."
With its separate parts that form a unified workspace, it's a little reminiscent of Logitech's Casa pop-up desk. The 'illusion' aspect here seems to refer to a series of beautiful patterned wallpapers that display on the outer screen.
We've heard rumours for a while that Apple is planning some kind of MacBook-iPad hybrid (although as with all Apple patents, whether it will ever see the light of day remains to be seen). But if it looked anything like this concept, I'd be happy. From the sleek metallic finish to the retro utilitarian design, it's the most stylish laptop design I've seen for a while.
