Dell Brings Vision of Future of PC Experiences to CES

This week, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, we’ll be doing something a little different for Dell Technologies. We want to give you a glimpse into our thoughts on what could become the future of the personal computer and will share some concept devices.

In previous posts, I’ve talked about how innovation happens on a continuum, enhancements and refinements on a concept driven over time. PCs will continue to play a key role in our daily lives in the coming decade, making it possible for us to act on data, to create, innovate, collaborate and play. They are one of our most important portals into the artificial intelligence engines that will live at the edge and in the cloud, driving millions of inferences per second on our behalf.

PCs will become more intelligent, self-aware, and user-aware. Form factors may change to enable new usage models; and as technology continues to evolve, so will the ways in which we experience it. Within our Dell Technologies Experience Innovation Group, we are constantly developing and testing solutions to help us work faster, play harder, stay connected and be more productive, working closely with our partners to explore how we can deliver the best experiences together.

Allow me to first introduce Concept UFO.

Devices shown are illustrative of concept designs and are not currently available for purchase

Alienware’s primary mission is to deliver the most immersive PC gaming experiences possible, and our goal is to create a gaming PC worthy of the Alienware brand, in a handheld form factor that gamers could use to play their favorite AAA PC titles, wherever they are.

Concept UFO features an 8” screen with 1900×1200 resolution. It also includes detachable controllers, so you can game in a range of modes: as one unit, with controllers attached to the screen; separating the controllers and using the kickstand on a surface to game or stream your favorite show (for example, a table, or a tray on an airplane or train); or connect it to an external display and play using the detached controller, or use a mouse and keyboard as you would any other PC.

With anything you’re going to hold in your hands while you play, it must feel “right” as soon as you pick it up. Our teams have invested hundreds – if not thousands – of hours on the controller design features and ergonomics. And we’ve spent the last few months testing and enhancing the buttons, the weight, all to strike a perfect balance between performance, ultra-mobility and battery life. Using 10th Generation Intel® Core™ processors along with WiFi, Bluetooth, and Thunderbolt for high performance gaming, networking and connectivity, Concept UFO offers uncompromised on-the-go performance.

Concept Duet and Concept Ori shouldn’t be too much of a surprise for those who read my last blog post in which I wrote about Dell’s exploration of multi-screen devices over the past decade.

Concept Duet is a dual screen device with two stunning 13.4-inch displays that adapt to the way you work and play. While it may look like an ordinary notebook, Concept Duet would allow you to take a pen and touch-enabled second screen experience with you wherever you are. Innovative features have been incorporated to create intuitive interactions with the device and enhance the user experience. Devices like this will help customers to multitask more efficiently. Consider the productivity benefits of being able to compare and edit images, scenes or documents on each display. With the extra screen real estate, users will also be able to easily host conference calls, check emails and take notes simultaneously on-the-go.

Concept Ori is a foldable device which gives you a familiar-sized, 13” screen that folds into something you can easily carry around. It offers similar experiences and benefits to dual screens, but with the added advantage of no seams. This “seamless” experience is perfect for reading articles in vertical mode and scrolling down the page, watching movies and more. You could switch between the single screen experience with stunning visuals, your favorite apps, and great pen experience; or a dual screen experience that opens new avenues for multitasking and notetaking – and everything in between.

So, what do you think?

Each concept we are showcasing has been developed with spectacular user experiences as our primary focus. We’ll keep enhancing these experiences as the concepts advance. While some concepts may never be commercially available, we use the learnings and apply them to other products in the future.

I’m excited about our new approach this year at CES, and we hope you enjoy this glimpse into our labs. This is only a small fraction of the ideas, experiences, hardware and software our teams are constantly developing. Who knows, if response is positive, you may see more of our early work in the future.

As these are concept devices, we are not sharing availability or roadmap information, pricing or specs right now. However, you will have the opportunity to see these devices up close, see demos (based on currently available software and technologies), and talk to our lead designers and engineers to learn more.

We’ll kick off activities tomorrow, Jan. 7, at the #DellExperience LIVE event at 10AM PT, before doors open at the #Dell Experience at The Sugarcane. Hope to see you at CES!

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About the Author: Glen Robson

Glen Robson is the CTO for Dell Technologies’ Client Solutions Group, where he leads the Experience Innovation Group comprised of Design, Architecture, Technology and Strategy teams. He returned to Dell after serving for three years as EVP, Global Head of Solutions at Verifone. Prior to joining Verifone, Glen spent the previous 10 years at Dell working in both Austin, Texas and Taipei, Taiwan and successfully led the transformation of our SMB and Consumer Notebooks divisions. In addition to leading Engineering and Product organizations for both Dell and Sun Microsystems, he was also part of a successful start-up in the UK developing fault-tolerant computer systems. A native of Scotland, Glen holds a Master of Science in Computer Science from the University of Kent at Canterbury, England.