筆記本電腦、上網(wǎng)本(netbook)、智能手機、平板裝置…還會有哪些新種類的裝置或是混合了現(xiàn)有裝置的新產(chǎn)品等著被發(fā)現(xiàn)？
以上的問題是一年前華碩推出“PadFone”── 那是一款可以藏進配備平板裝置大小屏幕基座里的智能手機產(chǎn)品──時所衍生出的問題；該產(chǎn)品的目標是要給予使用者更多東西，因為該種配備基座的產(chǎn)品能透過 軟件進行同步，而且電池壽命也比兩種分開的系統(tǒng)來得長。對于華碩的實驗精神、以及試圖尋求一種具創(chuàng)造力的方式在行動世界發(fā)揮其筆記本電腦專長，筆者深感佩 服，但還無法確定這種特別的實驗是否會成功。
蘋果(Apple) CEO庫克(Tim Cook)斷然表示，裝置之間的“混血”趨勢不會很顯著，但我并不這么認為；早在很久以前，Palm創(chuàng)辦人Jeff Hawkins就創(chuàng)造出可做為平板/筆記本電腦兩用的裝置，而且其設(shè)計概念還早于號稱史上唯一成功的PDA產(chǎn)品Palm Pilot。從那個時候開始，工程師們就一直汲汲于設(shè)計“混血”產(chǎn)品。
華碩的PadFone 到目前為止最大的問題是無法取得足夠的高通(Qualcomm) Snapdragon處理器芯片；不過到今年秋天，該款處理器就會因為高通取得更多28nm制程來源而可大量供應(yīng)，屆時像是華碩這樣的新客戶就能繼續(xù)進行那樣的“混血”產(chǎn)品實驗。
華碩在2011年Computex 期間推出結(jié)合平板裝置與智能手機的“PadFone”
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實際上，臺灣的筆記本電腦工程師仍然在持續(xù)挖掘很早就開始使用的ARM架構(gòu)處理器、以及Android與Windows 8 RT操作系統(tǒng)之價值，我相信他們的實驗會有一些創(chuàng)新成果。蘋果也有很多很棒的想法，當然還有全球其它各地的工程師也是一樣。
不知道工程師朋友們對于PadFone這樣的產(chǎn)品有什么樣的看法？像這樣的“混血”產(chǎn)品設(shè)計概念是否已經(jīng)越來越普遍了呢？大家一起來討論吧！
本文授權(quán)編譯自EE Times，版權(quán)所有，謝絕轉(zhuǎn)載
編譯：Judith Cheng
本文下一頁：參考英文原文：Is there a mobile hybrid in our future?，by Rick Merritt
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Is there a mobile hybrid in our future?
Rick Merritt
SAN JOSE – Notebooks, netbooks, smartphones, tablets…what other sorts of systems or combinations of existing systems are out there to be discovered?
That’s the question Asustek posed about a year ago with its PadFone, a smartphone that docks into a tablet-sized screen. It aims to give users something more because the docked device is completely synched in software and has more battery life than two separate systems.
I give Asus kudos for experimenting, trying to find creative ways to leverage its notebook expertise into the new mobile world. But it’s not clear how successful this particular experiment will be.
Apple’s Tim Cook flatly says hybrids will not be significant, but I am not so sure. Engineers have been tinkering with hybrids since the days when Palm founder Jeff Hawkins created the convertible tablet/notebook. The convertible design predates Hawkins’ development of the Palm Pilot, arguably the only successful PDA.
The big problem for the Asus PadFone to date is that the company can’t get its hands on enough Qualcomm Snapdragon chips. Come this fall those chip should start to flow as Qualcomm brings on more 28 nm sources, so new customers like Asus can continue these kinds of experiments.
Indeed, Taiwan’s notebook engineers are still cutting their teeth on a wealth of ARM-based SoCs, the deep details of Android and Windows 8 RT. I believe something novel will come from their experiments. Apple has a lot of great ideas, but so do other engineers all around the world.
Engadget just posted an amazingly comprehensive review of the PadFone. I’d love to hear what smart mobile engineers think of their review and of the concept of hybrids in general. So please chime in.
責編：Quentin
