Handheld Gaming PC Things (Split)

[vskid]

6.5" wide is still within the range of pocketability, not bad. The problem with the convertible UMPC is the thickness, since you pretty much have two cases (more casing material), the keyboard keys, and a gap between the top and bottom. I liked your old concepts better, having a handheld with just a screen and a few buttons on each side, with game controller and keyboard attachments. The unit itself would be smaller, and you wouldn't have to carry anything you didn't need. Plus, I'd like to have fullsize analogs instead of PSP style ones.

[bicostp]

The whole point of having a keyboard is to help justify the price and make the unit more practical. (My guess is it would theoretically be between $500 and $650, depending on the CPU.) It could actually be used as a functional computer and not get confiscated by teachers or laughed at by co-workers.

Dimensions compared to:

DS Phat: About 1.6" wider, .08" shorter, 1/3" thinner
Original PSP: .2" narrower, .35" taller, basically just as thick (and the screen's bigger)

If they keyboard is made flush (or the case is molded properly), it will be solid in both configurations.

There was one big problem with the old, 'snap-on' version: size. It's MASSIVE compared to this new one. The whole thing is 3.75 x 7.75 x 1", just to get the same size controls. It doesn't fit in a pocket. Plus the functional parts are all crammed inside the center part, further wasting space.

Plus, with this one it would be really cheap to make a "Serious Business" version with a wider screen and no controllers for the suit-types.

And if you want 'fullsize' analogs, we can throw pocketability out the window.

[XCVG]

Does the keyboard fold out? Wouldn't that make it hella thick?

[vskid]

Dimensions compared to:

DS Phat: About 1.6" wider, .08" shorter, 1/3" thinner
Original PSP: .2" narrower, .35" taller, basically just as thick (and the screen's bigger)

But thats just your concept design, we don't even know if we could fit the heatsinks and a decent battery in that amount of space. The "base" will probably be as thick as your keyboard-less designs, and then another quarter inch or more on top of that for the screen. Just look at the viliv S5, an existing product similar to what we want, and its about an inch thick without a keyboard. I just think we're getting too greedy.

And if you want 'fullsize' analogs, we can throw pocketability out the window.

I have two pockets, one for the UMPC itself, another for the two piece controls. And I'm sure I've seen mini GC controllers that had analogs smaller than normal.

[bicostp]

re: heat:

According to Tom's Hardware, Nvidia claims the TDP of the 9400m is 12w. Combined with the 4w Atom, that's only 16w. They also say Intel rates the 945GC (the 2 chip chipset they put in basically every netbook) at about 22w, or 26w with the Atom.

Judging by these numbers, the 9400m + ultra-low voltage C2D = 22 watts, or the same amount of heat the Intel chipset produces without a CPU. So in theory, the cooling solution wouldn't need to be as robust as the one in the Eee or MSI Wind. A good-size heatsink with a small fan and a clear shot from the bottom of the unit to the top should do the job.

Look at the Everun Note. It has a Turion 64 x2, with a massive 35 watt TDP. (Mind you that's JUST the CPU, not including the chipset.) And it's 7.8 x 4.6 x 1.1 inches. The S5 is 6.0 x 3.3 x .94"; pretty much the same size as the concept, but it uses a regular LCD. (Even though it uses Intel's System Controller Hub US15W chipset, which only has a 2.4w TDP. However it only has the crap GMA 500.)

So no, it's not the coolest-running thing in the world. However, it runs theoretically cooler than most netbooks, and significantly cooler than a real unit that's about the same size.

re: screen thickness:

Did you miss the letters "OLED"? They're really thin (no backlight or diffuser) and produce basically no heat. (Never mind its extremely low power requirement, helping the battery life.) It's basically the screen they would have put in the OQO 02+ (except 1024x600 instead of 800x480). But you're right, it would be 1/4" thick, at the most, to accommodate all the parts. (I wonder if a small webcam would fit in there...)

Remember, this isn't meant to be a homemade unit. We don't have to think in terms of "how can I build that?".

[vskid]

Remember, this isn't meant to be a homemade unit. We don't have to think in terms of "how can I build that?".

I realize that, but I still can't see how it will all fit.
screen - 1/8"
Keyboard - ~1/8"
total casing - ~1/8"
the top will have to be about 1/4" for the controls, speakers, screen and touchscreen, and case

I just can't think of how it could be assembled at all, unless you could use a 3d printer to print out the case and add the other components as the case is printed around them. Maybe I'm just thinking too primitively.

[bicostp]

If you kind of divide the case into thirds sideways and put the parts side by side instead of on top of each other, you can get a decent heatsink in. And if you face the CPU and chipset 'down' away from the keyboard, you can have a fan suck cool air in from the back/bottom of the case and blow it out the top.

Besides, it's not as though the heatsink on the little Ion demo units they had at CES were particularly massive:



And I believe this is with the dual-core, 8w Atom as well.

This configuration also allows for a larger battery, if the battery is part of the outside case like a lot of laptops.

Overall it would probably be about 1 1/4" thick at most. But you're right, the top half would probably have to be 1/4" thick. (I was looking at the wrong marks on my tape measure. Yay, not paying attention!

[jjhammerstein]

Would having a metal back that helped disperse heat be a bad idea?

[samjc3]

Would having a metal back that helped disperse heat be a bad idea?

Not a bad idea at all! The whole device should be metal. That way, it feels some much more proffesional.

[jjhammerstein]

I think the front should be plastic, in a variety of colors. The back should be brushed aluminum. WAIT, HOLD THAT THOUGHT. How great would brushed copper look?! why hasn't anyone done that? Maybe brass would be more resilient. You'd need some kind of coating to keep it from oxidizing, but it would still be sexcellent.

[samjc3]

I think the front should be plastic, in a variety of colors.

anodized aluminum.

[jjhammerstein]

I think the front should be plastic, in a variety of colors.

anodized aluminum.

Agreed.

[vskid]

Why not magnesium? Many laptops are made out of it, and it seems to do well when painted (so there can still be color selection). I have an old 10" LCD Toshiba with a magnesium case, and there is no doubt in my mind that I could club someone with it and it would still work.

[samjc3]

Why not magnesium? Many laptops are made out of it, and it seems to do well when painted (so there can still be color selection). I have an old 10" LCD Toshiba with a magnesium case, and there is no doubt in my mind that I could club someone with it and it would still work.

magnesium is incredibly expensive. 4x the cost of steel or aluminum. otherwise, its great stuff.

[jjhammerstein]

Magnesium is useful in a pinch if you need to start a fire. Take a knife to it and you get sparks upwards of 2,500 °F.

No, I like anodized aluminum better. holds up just as well, looks cool, weighs less, cheaper.