LG debuts "ebook" concept laptop with OLED screen, liquid fuel

As much as we like to write about the play-by-play of gadgetry innovation, it's a sad truth that some devices, like laptops, really haven't changed much since their debut in the 1980s. LCDs, a mainstay of all laptops since that period, are one of the most delicate and expensive pieces of hardware in the whole design. But what if you could replace LCDs with OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes), which apparently don't need a bezel, and consume less electricity? LG has just built such a concept machine, calling it the "ebook" (apparently no one told them about other eBooks?), which is powered by an awesome bubbly blue methyl alcohol fuel instead of a regular (read: boring) lithium-ion battery. The ebook has just won a "best of the best" Red Dot Award, a German prize for industrial design, and we're already drooling over its astonishing look and potentially awesome capabilities -- we want one, like, yesterday. Ok, LG, if you can't debut this product within a year, at least see if you can strike a deal to get some product placement in the next James Bond film, so we can see it in action, dig?

[Via Laptoping]

[tina @ Jan 15th 2009 3:57PM]

it is the best camputer ever i yous it all the time

[John Doe @ Dec 2nd 2006 5:37PM]

Dude, where do I sell my soul to get one of these?

[John M @ Dec 3rd 2006 12:06AM]

right here :D

http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/02/princetons-psychic-usb-stick-isnt-very-convincing/

[Mark @ Dec 2nd 2006 5:37PM]

Yowza.

[Victor @ Dec 2nd 2006 5:39PM]

I want one, wow. That's freakin sweet. I'd like to see that pass TSA regulations tho...sorry sir, this bottle of methyl alcohol is for my laptop....

[John Doe @ Dec 2nd 2006 5:40PM]

apparently don't...doesn't. Sorry. Normally I'm not a grammar Nazi, but things like this bug me.

[Bill Hancock @ Dec 2nd 2006 9:31PM]

"Don't" is correct, "don't" is referring to the plural "LEDs"

[Juaquin @ Dec 2nd 2006 5:49PM]

That looks like an awful lot of fuel to be carrying around. I hope it's in some stable form, maybe more of a gel?

The TSA isn't going to like this.

[Ian @ Dec 11th 2006 12:45PM]

Imagine trying to take such a "liquid fuel" device into a secure building or onto a plane!

[Eh @ Dec 2nd 2006 6:07PM]

See, if laptop makers can actually take concepts like this and turn them into real products then Apple would be in big trouble. I dont think Apple is the best at industrial design, they just have the balls to stay true to concept unlike everyone else looking to cut costs in material once the suits get their hands on it. PC makers manage to ass beautiful concepts up BAD when its time to manufacture. While this concept is completely unrealistic since the mainboard is way too thin and theres no trackpad, the actual design of it can easily be made into a real world laptop but I'll bet a million bucks that the final version of this laptop will barely resemble the picture above.

[Carlos @ Dec 2nd 2006 6:08PM]

That looks so awesome.

I don't even care what it does; I want one.

[elliot @ Dec 2nd 2006 6:09PM]

What nobody mentioned is that the keyboard is an OLED as well, similar to that on LG chocolate phones.. http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/biz/200611/kt2006112319353111870.htm

[Scott Neary @ Dec 2nd 2006 7:05PM]

I'm seeing that keyboard as the real deal that the Optimus 103 keyboard SHOULD have been! And all that in a laptop no less...outstanding! GIMME GIMME GIMME

[m00n3r @ Dec 2nd 2006 7:23PM]

John Doe:

"But what if you could replace LCDs with OLEDs, which apparently don't need a bezel, and consume less electricity?"

"LCDs" and "OLEDS" are both plural, so "doesn't" would be incorrect.

[John Doe @ Dec 3rd 2006 12:29PM]

Yah I missed the plural part of that, since OLEDs aren't singular. Yah I'm a schmuck.

[dude @ Dec 2nd 2006 6:43PM]

lol i think that would blow up tho if u dropped it..

[Lou @ Dec 2nd 2006 6:50PM]

I would seriously buy it tomorrow, but we all know it will end up looking just like every other pc.

The screen will be downgraded to an LCD, it will get a normal keyboard, and the battery will revert to Li-Ion. But look, it's silver and kind of has a handle.

[ORLY @ Dec 2nd 2006 7:51PM]

its not really that thin, i have an old portege 2000 lying around that is almost identical in thickness, maybe a touch fatter (2-3mm?) and has no huge ass fuel cell on the end.

the portege 2000 was released in 2002?

the only real advances are the fuel cell (yet to be approved) and the OLED displays, both major changes for sure. I'm also assuming it will use solid state internal space. Atleast it's not a step back i guess.

[JRA219psu @ Dec 2nd 2006 8:18PM]

that is one sick laptop. nice work LG. those guys almost never fail to impress. sick.

[Alex @ Dec 2nd 2006 8:41PM]

Nice. Except I would absolutely hate typing on an OLED keyboard. The big, chunky, full-size that came with my Dell M2010 suits me just fine.

[spil @ Dec 2nd 2006 9:03PM]

How ironic, the very product that previously had a bezel may have a very very slim chance of maybe possibly not having a bezel anymore.

[wraith808 @ Dec 3rd 2006 3:31AM]

Actually, it's referring to OLEDs, but yes, "don't" is correct.

[greg3d @ Dec 2nd 2006 9:49PM]

They keyboard not having any tactile feedback will be horrible to use. Imagine, a keyboard like their Chocolate phone touch sensitive controls...just laying your fingers on it will produce text. Yowza, not a touch typists friend.

[cjrenaud @ Dec 2nd 2006 10:57PM]

I agree that I wouldn't want a nontactile keyboard for day-to-day use, but if that panel was completely customisable, that would be sweet. It'd be a step up from the Optimus, in my opinion, because you wouldn't be bound by a fixed key layout.

So if that OLED keyboard panel had open APIs and people designed templates for things like Photoshop, sign me up. I'd live with having to carry around a small USB keyboard--plenty out there that are tiny enough.

[Sam @ Dec 2nd 2006 10:14PM]

Sorry but Apple is the best at industrial design. I simply don't understand your statement about them not being the leader, you have no facts and nothing to go off of. It is not the stunning multi-million dollar concept that makes the best industrial design, anyone can do that. It is the company who can take those cutting edge ideas and implement them into their present products that makes a leader. Everyone else dreams. Apple makes it reality.

[mike240se @ Dec 3rd 2006 12:50AM]

I think the biggest news here is the fuel cell! That def. looks smaller than samsungs world smallest shown the other day, otherwise it would not fit in that laptop. Amazing.

[Brian @ Dec 3rd 2006 1:34AM]

Looks like a great design, and as for the fuel; if it was to explode, it would explode in style.

hmm, I should get Engadget to post my college papers, perfect grammar by the end of the day :p

[Murc @ Dec 3rd 2006 3:20AM]

I clicked on the link, and then the link in the link (the korean times one), and it appears that the bottom screen...is well, a screen. Its a touch sensitive OLED screen...so it could show a keyboard...or perhaps a seperate video (?).

I've always wondered what the DS Lite would look like supersized & powered by booze...now I know.

[igotnotime @ Dec 3rd 2006 7:31AM]

Aside from all the punctuation issues mentioned I think many are missing the concept itself. I don't think this is a laptop, though because of it's design many are already dubbing it as one. OLED does not have a fast enough response time to be used as a laptop display. That is the whole reason that the 123 > 113 > 103 keyboard mentioned above is not using OLED anymore like they had planned. OLED can only offer 3 FPS according to them.

There may be more of a reason it was given the name "e-book". LG is mega-huge and I don't think they would be offer a name like that unless there were a reason for it. The slow response time of OLED could certainly justify my reply and theory as to what it is I think.

As far as the Apple Fanboys and there constant digs, to say that LG, Samsung, and many other leading companies can not make cutting edge technology a reality is simply dead wrong. Apple is cool in their own world, they do have some serious style. But really have they ever put their focus beyond MP3 and computers? The above companies have and have done so with great success. I know the iPhone is supposed to be coming, but LG has some off the hottest phones on the market, so they have made a reality out of what merely been Apple gossip for 5 years. I like Apple but it is just not polite to be ignorant of the accomplishments that others have made.

[Gobba @ Dec 3rd 2006 8:11AM]

"OLED can only offer 3 FPS according to them."

3 FPS response time for OLED? You havin' a laugh? I'd find out where those facts came from and poke whoever wrote them in the eye.

All companies can come out with great concept products - unfortunately, the crap they churn out doesn't tally up with these concepts. You only have to look at car manufacturers for proof of this and as for LG . . .

. . . well, they've produced one nice looking phone so far (which in operation is a pain to use with that touch sensitive pad - give me real tactile buttons any day) - I could show you a ton of LG phones that look just like my ass like the one I currently have. Same with Motorola - produce one decent looking phone (RAZR) and now they al look the same. Remember what the rest of their phones look like or looked like.

The laptop looks sweet but it's a concept - a concept that relies on new forms of media for storage cos there's no way you're fitting CD/DVD/Blu Ray/HD DVD on that thing. In use, it's probably a dog with it's touch sensitive screen. It's all about the usability. It might look a million bucks but it's like being married to the worlds most beautiful women only to find she's packing no man space down below.

[spil @ Dec 3rd 2006 10:21AM]

Do you mean 3ms response/ refresh times?

or should I say "Does you mean 3ms response/ refresh times?

[JustinB @ Dec 3rd 2006 12:28PM]

I'd love for apple, lg or any other company to show up in a new Bond film, but if the trend continues with Columbia Pictures working on them...

(Columbia is owned by Sony) Anyone do a count on the number of Sony products in that flick? I was suprised they didn't include a PS3, though there was a blue-ray player :D

[Woody @ Dec 3rd 2006 12:54PM]

Repeat until calm: "Desire is the root of all suffering... Desire is the root of all suffering... Desire is the root of all suffering."

Aw, screw it. As Scott says "GIMME GIMME GIMME!"

[JLRMD2000 @ Dec 3rd 2006 2:09PM]

This is really the way some laptop companys should go regarding their designs. Very futuristic

[arjnav @ Dec 3rd 2006 8:13PM]

wow!

looks great with my nokia aeon..

[Lea Hernandez @ Dec 3rd 2006 10:07PM]

Oohhhh, if you could switch that OLED keyboard back and forth from typing to pressure-sensistive tablet...drool.

[Nelg @ Dec 4th 2006 1:58AM]

I'm pretty sure this will generate as much hype as the Optimus, and it's going to go through the same downgrades. Oleds are too expensive/unpractical, the fuel cell is too expensive/unreliable..
At least LG is more reliable than a company who produces only hype, but I don't think we'll see a 15" oled-display anytime soon. Still, I would also sell my soul just to get half of this. There is hardly anything that is sexier than this.

[igotnotime @ Dec 4th 2006 7:31AM]

Yes and no. The OLED keyboard "the fantasy dream keyboard" (I think it was the Optimus 113) initially was going to have 123 keys, then they cut it down to 113 and just the past month or so announced it would be reduced to the standard 103 keys and the that the keys would not be OLED anymore as they were not fast enough in response time.

However the 3 key OLED system that is already out by the group offers only 3 frames per second at the max according to the link below. That I assume is a main reason they are dropping the OLED from the optimus. I did not mean response time, I meant an FPS of 3.

In either case this is merely a concept at this point, though I agree it is a sexy one.

http://www.getdigital.de/index/0x125

[jdc760 @ Dec 4th 2006 7:56AM]

The design is reminiscent of the first design for the OLPC $100 laptop. Alcohol fuel is way cooler than a hand crank, though.

http://news.com.com/2300-1044_3-5884639-2.html?tag=ne.gall.pg

[DrunkenCP @ Dec 8th 2006 1:47PM]

An alcohol fuel cell would not "explode" just for the record. Ethanol is a good fuel because it does not burn like petrolium products. It burns slowly and is easy to put out with water. I'd rather have an ethanol fuel cell than a hydrogen because it's safer. The keyboard would be a problem for me, but honestly I can't imagine doing much typing an a keyboard anyway. The tradgedy is that this thing will, of course, cost $2,000+ so it will not be an option for me.

[matt jackson @ Dec 4th 2006 8:38PM]

I want! I want! These things would sell hotter than ipods or PS3's.

[Steve Skinner @ Dec 5th 2006 1:09AM]

There's no way in hell any airline is going to let this thing on the plane, which will be a bummer, but I could live with that. They'd have know way of knowing if the blue liquid was methyl alcohol or nitro glycerin...

[Geoffrey @ Dec 5th 2006 2:04AM]

Firstly, do not think of this as a replacement for your current Windows or Mac laptops. The LG team chose the name 'ebook' well, because with today's current technology -- coupled with the fact that OLED is incredibly slow (the 3 updates per second is correct) -- it will not be possible to put anything resembling today's computing power into that design.

Think of it as a very clever electronic book. Both upper and lower panels are full-plate OLED displays, with one (or possibly both) sides being touch sensitive. The fuel cell puts out very little power, so there wouldn't be a modern CPU, or a hard drive, or much in the way of RAM either. MRAM or Flash memory for storage.

Sorry, but the fuel cell's meagre power output and the OLED display's lethargic refresh rate means you can forget games, forget movies, forget Windows/OSX. It would be fast enough for Word or textual imput, and that's about it.

Still, as a super-PDA that I could download a big library of full books to (complete with photos, colour illustrations and even simple animations), it would rock profoundly my boat. The idea of two facing 'pages' in that form factor, coupled with the touch interface, is the big win.

This is the closest we've come yet to Knowledge Navigator.

[masa @ Dec 5th 2006 5:27PM]

I'd like to see Apple create something like that, or LG ship that thing with tight HWLinux integration. Currently I have nothing but bad experiences from LG products, don't know about their laptops though.

Alcohol? Is that like racing methanol; drop your laptop or keep it in the sun too long and everybody's down on the ground bleeding :D

Cool looking concept, but still I think it's Ford-like [concept]; production models have mirrors [video cams], regular doors [opposite direction wings] and boring looks [smooth sci-fi], the only things that made it to the streets we're colours, rims and tailpipes???. Is Microsoft making cars?

If I had an extra million, I would buy an Aero X or hire someone steal it for me. :D

I hope I'm wrong about the Ford-like concept.

[roeland @ Jan 7th 2007 8:42AM]

OLED display is a self-luminous display that does not require a back-light, offering high contrast ratio, a quick response time and wide viewing angle-all in a package slimmer than current LCD modules

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press_Archive/200409/04-048E/

[Marco @ Feb 1st 2007 1:06PM]

why do you people dont want a tactile keyboard?! r u 50 years old or something?! a normal keyboard would be just a step backwards!

[D.E. Lloyd @ Mar 1st 2007 11:44PM]

I find it amusing how many people in message boards such as this simply react quickly (possibly tojust be first) to designs such as this, not doing any research, and then jumping to some rather wild conclusions.

First of all, this model is PURELY a concept, not at all anything that will ever be sold. If you understand anything about the world of Industrial Design, you know how this works. Look at how many crazy, will-never-be-produced concept cars there have been over the years.

Second, anyone who thinks that OLEDS have a response time of 3fps is just not aware of the facts, and should try using the Internet to research things before you just blurt them out willy-nilly. No offense, but it's just SO easy to do, and only the AmazinglyLazy wouldn't take advantage of the Net. So, OLEDS have roughly a 0.01ms response time. MUCH faster than anything else on the market, and that includes CRT. Suffice it to say, they are capable of producing amazing pictures. And AMOLEDS are probably even better.

OLEDs are still at a place where production is relatively expensive, but some new printing methods are making them rediculously cheap to produce. We'll ALL have them in our homes soon enough. Just about the time those are in place, Flexible OLEDs will be coming out, changing the scene once again. OLEDs are the way to go. They can be printed on many different surfaces and substrates, including treated walls and fabrics.

Thirdly, the touch-screen. Yeah, it's hard to say exactly what will ever become of touch-screen typing; Perhaps it'll take off, perhaps not. The idea of trying to sucessfully touch-type makes it difficult to implement, at best. A computer would have a difficult time guessing when you're typing and when you're just sitting there. I'm sure it can be done, but it probably requires a large amount of resources. Just a guess.

Now, what if you made it so the plastic surface of the keyboard had ridges, so you could feel the keys somewhat? What if the OLED panel would last 5-6 times longer than a mechanical keyboard? Would you be more likely to use it then? There's also a cue from Star Trek: The Next Generation that could be looked at, and that is to add a layer of a kind of "transducer grid" to the touch screen. This would be able to vibrate in different ways at any point on the screen, fooling your fingers into thinking they're touching something they're not. I'm not sure how feasible this is, but it's something to look into. It could help.

Fourth, the battery. Of course, TSA would never allow this; that's a really, really obvious given. The only real option here would be to come up with a standard battery in the same shape, or perhaps, by the time a product like this went into production, this kind of battery would be deemed just as safe as anything out there. I actually doubt it'd be clear, but it does look spiffy.

Fifth, the mainboard would definately have to be some sort of solid-state affair, with amazing heatsink technology, and a solid-state drive. I'm guessing that the bottom part would need to be thicker than this concept shows, but not too much.

Oh, and picking on someone's Grammar on the Internet is really just sad. It's a sign of someone who feels that they have little to no control over their own life, much less the lives of anyone else, and they become little Fascists (Nazi isn't quite the right word, but everyone seems to use it) over tiny little errors in someone elses' spelling. Who cares? You're not changing anyone's habits, and you're certainly not saving the world. Try looking at MySpace pages for excellent examples of horrid, wretched spelling and grammar usage. Now THAT is gut-wrenching stuff.

That's all.

[sunny @ Aug 3rd 2007 11:35PM]

hi
this is gorgeous thing for me when will it launched in the market plz reply me on my E-mail id :[e-mail] plz ASAP.
i knew this tme that lg has launched oled screen and plz tell its features of this screen.