Arc unveils curved Nalu laptop concept design

The laptop of the future could soon be a reality. Washington based start-up Arc showed off their curved Nalu concept laptop this week in a series of short videos posted on YouTube.

The Nalu 3D notebook features a radical curved design over the entire chassis, including the OLED display. The screen pivots on a single, centrally-positioned hinge to allow flush closure.

David Prokop, creator of the Nalu, believes that the curved design makes sense from an ergonomic standpoint. The keyboard is both curved and split, allowing users to position their hands more naturally while typing, helping to prevent repetitive-use injuries.

An ergonomic keyboard is not the only benefit of the Nalu. The notebook’s unique curved OLED display is also supposed to be more “natural” for viewing than traditional flat screens, reducing eye strain, according to the designers.  The raised center of the chassis would also provide better ventilation than a standard laptop to keep internal components cooler.

If you like the funky design of the Nalu, you’ll likely have to wait quite a while before the design reaches the market, as Arc is still in the early stages of developing the device. An Executive Summary from Arc reveals that they are currently, “[seeking] to partner with interested parties to build and/or license the technology with the goal of bringing new products to market.”

From a manufacturing standpoint, I would think that the Nalu would be an incredibly expensive venture considering that none of the laptop parts currently manufactured would be conducive to the curved chassis. Producing a motherboard to host the internal components within the casing would definitely be a challenge. The cost of the finished product would likely be too high to make the product realistically viable. The fact that it wouldn’t fit comfortably into most laptop bags on the market would be the least of Arc’s worries, in my opinion. That said, I’d still love to get my hands on one if given the opportunity.