Google's 3-Part Mobile Laptop Concept

Google has a notebook device design that's different from any produced design already in production. This piece of work was first submitted by Google to the United States PTO in August of 2016, and was just revealed to the public this February. This three-part computing device has one keyboard portion, one display portion, and one base. At first glance, this piece of work looks a lot like a propeller.

The idea here is the creation of an all-in-one notebook computer that doesn't lack the ability to switch between a variety of modes. Some detachable laptop computers released over the past few years have had the ability to work as a display, a notebook, and a standard notebook. This computer can go one step beyond.

In one version of the design Google has on the books, this computer device "includes a first housing, a second housing, and a third housing. The first housing can include a touchscreen display, the second housing can include a processor, memory and a battery, and the third housing can include a keyboard disposed on a face of the third housing."

The real innovation here is in the connector. That barrel hinge is described as having a standard connection point through which several parts can be combined into one multi-part device. In this way, Google's re-invented the modular smartphone they never ended up producing. That was Project Ara, and it did not end up working out very well, sadly. So very sadly.

As such, we don't have a whole lot of hope for the future of this modular laptop. If they DID make it, it'd hopefully take off to a fine degree, somewhat like what Lenovo and Motorola have in the Moto Z. Have a peek at the Motorola Gamepad Moto Mod to see how it connects – and how it continues to work out pretty gosh darned well.