15 Future-Laptop Concepts: The Fascinating and the Far-Fetched

What will laptops look like in five years? Ten? Predicting future tech trends is always tricky, but these notebook concepts from both PC makers and straight-up tech fans provide a few clues as to what could lie ahead.

Designer Hao Hua's radical redesign of the laptop replaces the conventional clamshell with a lightweight, foldable roll modeled after artists' storage tubes. The flexible OLED screen and arc-shaped keyboard fold into the tube when not in use, and the carrying strap features a few easy-to-access USB ports. How about naming it the Stag Beetle instead?

This effort from Orkin Design has much in common with the D-roll in that both designs fold into an easy-to-carry tube when not in use. But unlike the D-roll, the Rolltop also lies flat for tablet use. The tube packs the power supply, a Webcam, USB ports, speakers, and an extendable power cord. A flexible OLED display, a screen keyboard, and a stylus (for tablet writing) round out the feature set. See the Rolltop in action.

Why bother with a space-hogging keyboard and monitor when a humble pen would suffice? Researchers are developing projector PCs (for lack of a better term) capable of projecting a computer display and a touchscreen-like virtual keyboard on a smooth surface, such as your desk.

Your laptop, tablet, or e-reader may soon have a flexible display rather than a rigid glass screen that can break too easily. The Skiff Reader, a Kindle-like device designed for newspaper and magazine content, may be the first such model to debut. Its bendable "metal foil" e-paper display is built to last, as are similar monochrome prototypes from LG Display and other tech companies. HP and Arizona State University are developing a flexible color display, as well.