Why the Classic Clamshell Computer Design Remains Forever Popular

Key Takeaways

• The clamshell design is pinnacle in laptop evolution, surviving due to durability & practicality.
• Laptops have seen minor design variations, yet clamshell design remains adaptable and sturdy.
• The clamshell design is timeless and likely here to stay due to its inherent ergonomic and functional advantages.

There have been many attempts, past and present, at creating the ideal portable computer form-factor. However, in my mind, the perfect portable computers, at least those that want to measure up to desktop systems, is the classic clamshell design. You can refine it, or alter it, but there’s no escape from the inevitable.

The Clamshell Is at the Peak of Laptop Evolution

Before battery-powered clamshell laptops, portable computers were known as “luggables.” The Osborne 1 is a classic example of this style of computer. You lugged it around to the nearest outlet, and yes that’s a tiny CRT screen.

The National Media Museum, Bradford

For years computer makers struggled with the technology of the day, to figure out how to take what we have on the desktop, and make it practical to travel with and use anywhere. In the late 80s, we would see those efforts come to fruition, and throughout the 90s the clamshell laptop would be cemented as the de facto design for a mobile PC.

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I love how, in this classic episode of The Computer Chronicles, you can almost see the despair of the old “portable” computer makers as they see the future of laptops unveiled.

The Computer Chronicles

An understandable reaction when what you’re selling is this.

The Computer Chronicles

This was in 1989, and in all this time the fundamental design of laptops hasn’t changed. Anyone looking at this today would still recognize it as a laptop instantly.

Even the 90s aesthetic for laptops survives to this day in the form of the indomitable ThinkPad . A computer design that stirs a certain fandom into fervent loyalty that would make the average Mac evangelist seem mild in comparison. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

It’s Inherently Rugged

One of the key reasons the clamshell design has stuck around for so long is the fact that it inherently stands up to daily life. The sensitive parts of the system are tucked inside when it’s closed, almost like the computer equivalent of an armadillo.

Tablet PCs have been perhaps the closest form factor design equivalent to a competitor, but we end up putting them in cases that emulate the clamshell design in some ways, or at least to protect the screen! Even convertible laptops are just a way to stray from the clamshell for short bursts until you need it again.

The Clamshell Is Infinitely Adaptable

Despite the basic design of laptops still being the same, there have been many variations within those broad outlines. Dual-screen laptops and foldable laptops are two great examples of how the clamshell design can be adapted.

Image credit: HP UK

New technologies are being developed all the time, but instead of replacing the clamshell, they only seem to make it stronger.

The Clamshell Will Last 1000 Years

You might have heard that, for some reason, animals keep evolving into crabs . The crab-like body design is just so useful that it’s a solution found again and again by nature.

Likewise, I think the clamshell design is so fundamentally useful, and has so many inherent ergonomic and functional advantages, that there’s little reason to think it will ever go away. Until the day we abandon physical computers that are held in our flesh and blood hands, the clamshell will be relevant. If we all start using computers inside our brains, on the other hand, I reserve the right to amend this particular prediction!

Well, maybe 1000 years is a tad hyperbolic, but I have a feeling we’ll see the same reinvention of this particular wheel a few more times before we transcend the need for a hinged self-contained computer. Until then, I’ll enjoy the classic simplicity of the clamshell just a little longer.

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