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Dell imagines the connected office of the future

Dell is preparing its CES 2022 by teasing some of its new concepts applied to the world of work. On the menu: versatility, flexibility and fluidity.

Our technology may progress at breakneck speed, some aspects of our daily lives are still surprisingly backward despite the fact that we have technologies quite capable of making our lives easier, and this is even truer at a time when telecommuting is very common. Dell has ideas for changing the way we work in the office, and has presented a few while we wait for CES 2022.

Concept Flow: when your office follows you everywhere

Professionals who need several workstations or who change them regularly know this only too well: restoring their workspace to keep their little habits intact can be quite laborious. Some brands owe part of their success to their efforts at this level; we think for example of Apple, whose ultra-connected ecosystem has already attracted many users, but many other brands have also made progress in this direction.

But to arrive at a true ultraconnected ecosystem as we sometimes see in science fiction, there are still several steps to be taken. This is precisely the raison d’être of Concept Flow, which wants to do away with everything that closely or remotely resembles a cable and automate all transitions. When you get to your workstation, you just need to put your laptop or smartphone there so that it adapts to the user.

In practice, this would make it possible to immediately take control of the entire workstation as soon as it is installed there, automatically and immediately. Applications and software would pivot directly to the profile associated with the user, devices would connect to the device, and so on. The promise of a transition without friction or frustration.

Concept Stanza: the notebook 2.0

Always with the same aim of revolutionizing the world of work, Dell also presented its Stanza concept. This is a funny device designed exclusively for note taking. At first glance, this is a fairly minimalist tablet; no webcam, no speakers, only a small 11-inch screen and a stylus.

The machine claims to combine the best of digital and analogue in the same product. It thus embeds some interesting tools; a simple press can convert handwriting into formatted text, for example, or a sketch into a real, clean diagram.

But when you look more closely, you notice a first clue that shows that it is not a standard tablet: the total absence of port. It is effectively a device that works completely wireless, from charging to connectivity. And it is this last aspect which is the most important: Stanza is a device which is intended to be as intuitive as a simple piece of paper, but which functions within a complete digital ecosystem.

In the blink of an eye, Stanza connects to the rest of your devices for all the flexibility of a touch surface in a professional environment. Paired devices can also search, use and share all content stored on the Stanza. Nothing overly innovative, but quite interesting in the end; It will be interesting to see if this design of note taking is revolutionary enough to justify the purchase of a dedicated device, at a time when smartphones are already fulfilling this role wonderfully.

Concept Bet: videoconferencing straight in the eyes

One of the concerns of videoconferencing is that when the user looks at the other person’s face on the screen, he obviously cannot look at his webcam, and vice versa. It is therefore quite difficult to reconstruct real eye contact, which can make meetings very impersonal. Dell believes it has the answer to this concern with its Concept Pari.

This is a fairly classic webcam, which even seems quite limited compared to current devices with its 1080p resolution. Where Pari stands out, however, is that it can be unclipped to attach … directly to the front of your screen. Yes, you read that correctly: not on the frame, not next to it, but directly in the middle of the forehead of your virtual interlocutor. In theory, this therefore makes it possible to reconstitute a form of visual contact.

A somewhat far-fetched idea for a niche product, especially since this system will necessarily require a compatible screen to function. So we have a little trouble seeing this system democratize in the immediate future, but the idea is in any case funny.

To find out more about these products or the rest of the brand’s new products, we look forward to seeing you at the opening of CES 2022, which will start on January 5.

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