> eg ChromeOS already gives you most of that, and a bit of software could get you all the way there.
I don't understand what you mean here. If you're talking about some kind of easy sync between devices software, people have been trying to make that work for decades, but they not haven't succeeded but haven't even really made any progress.
> There are mechanical limits to shrinking a keyboard, and still preserve comfort.
Maybe, but those limits are plenty big enough for a tablet - particularly with the size of phones these days, a tablet smaller than say 10" is pointless, and the keyboards on 11" laptops are fine. Now making a device that can work as both a phone and a laptop-with-keyboard will probably require some mechanical innovation, yes, but that's the sort of thing that I suspect will be figured out sooner or later, e.g. we're already seeing various types of folding phones going through the development process.
11" laptops are not fine to type on all day unless you give them huge bezels (even the 11" macbook which did have those huge bezels was space-constrained on the less important keys). Ergonomics is really important.
Sure it's fine to get by for an hour or two but spending 8 hours 5 days a week on one is a really bad idea and will provide a great path to crippling RSI. In fact using any laptop that much is a bad idea, due to the bad posture it provides (with the screen attached to the keyboard). This is why docking stations are still so important.
> 11" laptops are not fine to type on all day unless you give them huge bezels (even the 11" macbook which did have those huge bezels was space-constrained on the less important keys). Ergonomics is really important.
Well, it depends on personal preferences.
I usually go for at least 15" in my laptops, but I can believe that other people would be fine with 11" for what they are doing.
The laptop / tablet hybrid is a valid form factor, and these systems are reasonably successful in the market.
Of course, that doesn't mean that they are the right device for everyone.
I don't understand what you mean here. If you're talking about some kind of easy sync between devices software, people have been trying to make that work for decades, but they not haven't succeeded but haven't even really made any progress.
> There are mechanical limits to shrinking a keyboard, and still preserve comfort.
Maybe, but those limits are plenty big enough for a tablet - particularly with the size of phones these days, a tablet smaller than say 10" is pointless, and the keyboards on 11" laptops are fine. Now making a device that can work as both a phone and a laptop-with-keyboard will probably require some mechanical innovation, yes, but that's the sort of thing that I suspect will be figured out sooner or later, e.g. we're already seeing various types of folding phones going through the development process.