Dell has shown off two new workplace experiments that envision a new future for hybrid offices: Concept Flow and Concept Stanza.
Let’s start with Concept Stanza, which is really just an extremely simple 11-inch tablet. It has no microphones, speakers, or even ports. Instead, the point of this tablet is to emphasize how such a device could wirelessly interact directly with a PC in a work setting.
The focus of Stanza is on handwriting on the screen using the stylus and demonstrating how useful a writing tablet could be in the context of an office. Dell didn’t go into the details about what this little tablet was running on, either in terms of its operating system or the internals.
But the software is all Dell. It’s a minimalistic application, combining note-taking with a to-do list and some simplified project management.
There’s nothing overly unique here, but Dell does have a few tricks up its sleeve. You can scratch out a note to erase it or double-tap to convert writing into text. The stylus even has a built-in microphone for audio transcription.
But the real magic is in how Concept Stanza interacts with a PC. Dell demonstrated how the tablet could quickly transfer documents or photos to a PC all wirelessly — or vice versa. Dell imagines workers calling Concept Stanza a “PC’s new best friend.”
More than that, Concept Stanza can also share its screen or mirror with a monitor. Dell demonstrated both of these features at a recent event, showing just how seamless that was. Again, this all fits into Dell’s vision of a completely wireless and digital workspace.
Concept Flow
Concept Flow is a bit more theoretical in nature, attempting to reimagine what going into an office with just your laptop could feel like. Combining a Wi-Fi 6E dock with a wireless Qi charger strapped to a desk, Dell has created a scenario where sitting down to work is as simple as placing your laptop down on the desk and wirelessly connecting to the monitor and webcam. No cables required — not even a power adapter.
Ideally, the webcam could also do things like automatically logging you in via Windows Hello and sensing your presence to wake up your machine.
All of that might sound like overkill — and it could be. But in the context of a hybrid office, where workers may be coming and going, and not necessarily locked down to a specific desk, it’s the kind of technology that makes the experience rather seamless. You might imagine an entire office filled with desks set up in this way.
As with the Concept Pari wireless webcam and other Dell experiments, these are both still just prototypes. They may end up being real products, or they may be developed into a technology fit for a different product.
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