Antec launches standardised laptop parts
Antec is dreaming of a world where the ability to offer customised laptops isn't restricted to tier-one OEMs like Dell.
According to ExtremeTech, the manufacturer is planning to launch a series of standardised components designed to be fitted together to make a laptop. Rather than requiring custom parts and expensive tooling, the idea is that purchasers will be able to pick and choose keyboards, batteries, webcams, internal Bluetooth modules, and different power adaptors according to need.
Launched at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco yesterday, the series of parts is built around Intel's Common Building Block platform which aims to have the major parts of a laptop computer – the disk drive, the removable media drive, display, battery, keyboards, and AC adaptors – built around a common standard so that they can be swapped out and customised at will.
The bad news is that the custom parts are, for the moment, aimed firmly at smaller OEMs looking to build laptop systems with as much variety and customisation as those offered by bigger fish such as Dell and Lenovo. David Forster, director of channel relations at Antec, is hopeful that the technology will spread to the home-build market but “when that phase will happen, I couldn't tell you.”
Tempted by the though of one day building your own totally custom laptop system, or is the modularity likely to impact on the size and portability compared to specially designed pre-built units? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyI've been waiting years for this kind of thing. I really hope it takes hold, it would be fantastic
Sam
somehow i doubt its gonna be cheaper... at least to start.
Personally I felt that theres been well enough stuff to make your own laptop for ages now. Just think of the pico-itx mobo, in the right case, with a keyboard/mouse you could make something that almost rivals the EEE PC's.
You can standardise the laptop components, but at the expense of physical laptop size. It's only going to work for the much larger and heavier types of laptops, can't see it working on any laptop thats smaller.
That said, if they could standardise things such as the AC adaptor, you make a LOT of laptop users very happy. :)
/rant.
I agree. It would be fantastic. Sadly tho, I fear it will go like this...
CompanyA: Hmm, that's a good standard, but it'd be better if we do this..
CompanyB: Hmm yes, but we think you shoudl add this...
CompanyC: Yep, but not that, that's too much.. we have a better way.. with this extra bit, you'll like *our* standard more...
...etc...
Until you eventually have various companies, all with their own "standards".. back to what we have today...
Im more and more liking the way Apple do their machines, never any driver issues on OSX or windows ... this would be something (drives that is) someone would have to be in charge of...
But having the whole lot standardised? Even better.
As Anakha said, MSI have barebones laptop kits available. But I can see Antec's new "standard" being different to MSI's, which isn't really standardising anything.
On a recent holiday, my family plus few relatives:
Devices that used a standard mini-usb charger:
4/5 mobile phones
2/2 sat navs
Still not perfect, but more standardised as a small device charger spec than anything i've seen in my lifetime :)
Building my own laptop as I did with my pc? w00t ;)