Laptops → Intel RAZR -Thin Metro Laptop

The chip maker has pulled out all the stops for its proposed laptop, which was built in conjunction with Ziba Design of Portland, Oregon. Flash memory instead of a hard drive makes it thinner and lighter (2.25 pounds), and boosts battery life to up to 14 hours. It's compatible with Wi-Fi, WiMax (wireless broadband over large areas) and high-speed cellular data networks, meaning it's always connected to the Web no matter where it is.

The Metro also features a number of small, built-in microphones, which drown out background noise when the notebook is used for voice chatting or making Internet calls over Skype. On the security front, there's an integrated thumbprint reader and a remote control that can kill the hard drive if the Metro falls into the wrong hands.

On the outside, there's a secondary exterior display built on E Ink technology –- a kind of digital ink that makes the screen appear more like the soothing page of a book or newspaper than a bright monitor. Users will be able to customize the look of the Metro with folder-like covers, which will be available in a variety of colors. If they want, users can attach a strap to allow the Metro to be carried as a purse.

Though the Metro is only a concept intended to show off what's possible when several bleeding edge technologies come together in one device, people familiar with the project believe some variation of the laptop could be on store shelves sometime this year -- at the cost of approximately one arm and one leg, no doubt.

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