In my last article I described my ideal tablet with the basic configuration (read here for complete specs):

• Detachable slate that’s ~2 lbs
• A battery on the base to serve as functional weight
• Reliable way to connect the slate to the base
• Extras such as nice keyboard, CD drive, and a possible hard drive on base also.

After that article, I had a goal to fabricate one of my own, in concept, that I wouldn’t have to wait a year for someone to make. I think I found a neat little solution that includes the following items: Motion LS800, Motion Mobile Dock, ThinkOutside bluetooth keyboard, the Electrovaya PowerPad, and some velcro. The LS800 I really like the idea of a small 8′-10″ screen to take notes on and carry with me all the time. It’s just darn convenient to have a powerful computer that is that small. But I still don’t want to sacrifice my keyboard. However, this concept would fix the keyboard problem, so I don’t see why I couldn’t give the small tablet a run for it’s money. Plus, as you’ll see, the accessories make this tablet work well with the concept.

Motion Mobile Dock The neat thing about the LS800 is it has this Mobile Dock that can either act as a dock with a kickstand or a complete desktop solution dock (there’s two components to it: the docking cradle and the desktop base). In this concept, only the docking cradle would be used. Like normal docks, it has the regular USB, power, headphone, etc. ports (which come in handy later).

The ThinkOutside Bluetooth Keyboard Thin and wire free, this would be a nice option to velcro on to our base. The footprint of this thing is as minimal as I think I want to go for a keyboard solution. It’s also a nice keyboard, I hear, and I could use it with my PDA phone as an added benefit. I would really like to find a keyboard that had a stick mouse in the middle, however…ideas?

Electrovaya PowerPad The PowerPad is neat because it’s available in several sizes, offering anywhere from 8-24 hours of extra computing time depending on what you’re willing to spend (between $250-$800) and carry around (from 1.5-6 lbs). I’d go for the PowerPad 120, offering up to 12 hours extra with only 2 lbs extra weight (pretty darn close to the original concept specs). The difference is this battery is flat and thin (3/8” thin, 8.75” x 11.75”), but that works since I’m just going to use the entire thing as the base. Since the LS800 is only 2.2 lbs with a lower center of gravity, centering the battery near the front of the keyboard isn’t really necessary.

Assembly From here it’s simple (in theory, not actually tested). Attach the dock to the keyboard with velcro so it’s removable but won’t slip off. I’m thinking one strip of velcro along the base of the dock, two 1″ wide rings of “positive velcro” around the kickstand, and then two strips perpendicular to the base so you can position the kickstand how you like it. Then attach the keyboard with velcro in front of the docking station. Plug in the battery to the docking station, hide the cord between the kickstand and the dock, and you should be set. Altogether, I have this weighing 4.7 lbs, plus the velcro and cord connecting the battery to the dock (not sure on what length you can get for weight). Not bad.

What’s missing? Well, I really wanted one with the exact same profile as a laptop so I could shut it an go, but this could work in the meantime. It also side-steps the hardest part of the design, the hinge. Also missing is a media bay and more powerful slate on top, however I think this would be a fine solution for a person with a desktop to do the heavy lifting.

Side Note: Technically, you could just velcro one of the PowerPads to the base of the LE1600 keyboard, but I’m still not sold. I think the top slate needs to be around 2 lbs for this to work well, and that on top of all the other things missing from the design would make it one step too far away from the original concept. The LE1600 keyboard also doesn’t have a docking solution on it.

Other posts that may interest you:

1. My Stroke of Genius: The Perfect Tablet Concept
2. Answering Common Tablet Questions
3. So, what do you do when you forget your tablet?
4. Tablet PC’s in the Highschool Classroom
5. I think Tablet PCs will be OK