CES 2017 | GraalPhone 4-in-1 concept gives a taste of a possible future of computing

French startup GraalPhone is showing off an interesting 4-in-1 (smartphone/tablet/notebook/3d camera) concept this week at CES 2017. Only a mock-up was present, as the company noted a fully functional model was not quite ready in time.

The GraalPhone system consists of a small (7-inch) Windows laptop with a flippable screen that allows it to double as a tablet, and an Android smartphone which can be inserted into the body of the laptop. Unlike similiar phone docks, such as HP's X3 Elite or the Mirabook, the GraalPhone device uniquely tries to interface the Windows PC and Android phone together. Discretely, the notebook runs Windows and the smartphone runs Android. When inserted into the notebook portion, the GraalPhone will run as an Android tablet using the notebook's display. Pictures and other storage data are supposed to be shareable between the operating systems. Lastly, the 3d camera function utilizes the smartphone and the notebook's cameras together produce 3d images.

GraalPhone says it is currently in talks with interested companies at the same time the system is in development, so it is possible that the technology could be licensed out instead of sold as a complete package by GraalPhone. Still, it's an interesting take on the idea of an ultimate device—a trend that may perhaps intensify this year once Snapdragon 835 phones running Windows 10 release.