Engineers at IBM Research have created a versatile new computer the size of a stack of index cards that easily converts from a desktop computer to a notebook to a handheld, or any number of other configurations.

"We've separated the core of the computer from the form of the computer," says Ken Ocheltree, manager for next-generation mobile at IBM Research. "Now, a laptop becomes an accessory." The prototype, codenamed Meta Pad, weighs 9 ounces and is 5 inches long, 3 inches wide, and about three-quarters of an inch thick. It contains an 800-MHz processor running Windows XP, a 10-Gbyte hard drive, and 128 Mbytes of RAM, but no power supply, display, or input device.

The idea, Ocheltree says, is that users can carry the brains of their computers--and all their data--wherever they need them, plugging the core into a desktop docking station at home, a handheld display while traveling, or a wearable harness and head-mounted display for hands-free use. "It's limited by your imagination," he says. "You could plug it into your airplane seat and work, or have an adapter in your car and listen to your MP3s while driving."

The Meta Pad prototype will be unveiled Monday at the Demo technology forum in Phoenix. IBM has already built a prototype Meta Pad core, a compatible handheld shell with a touch-screen display, and a cradle for desktop use, Ocheltree says. The company isn't planning to manufacture or market the Meta Pad commercially, but it is in talks with original equipment manufacturers to license the technologies. A consumer version could be available within a few years and would be comparable in price to a low-end laptop computer.