Some of the devices people come out with are truly odd and completely unpractical. But honestly, when someone comes up with an idea, no matter how funny or stupid it may sound – someone will be interested. In 2007, HP predicted six device designs that should be available to purchase in 2012. What are all good ideas, a few devices are actually in use.

One of the gadgets that was predicted to be developed is so popular, it makes me wonder – this wasn’t available five years ago? The ultra-thin laptop. It seems as though almost every computer company has come out with at least one laptop that is an inch or less thick and weighs less than all of the other competitors. But one of the specs HP made a point to mention is that these ultra-thin laptops would boast a virtual keyboard. While I’m sure this is in the development stages somewhere, virtual keyboards don’t seem to be very popular with laptops this year.

A second gadget that hit right on is the tablet computer. These devices are so common and really seemed to become extremely popular within the last year. Different companies are following this trend and trying to be the top dog with HD touch displays, large app markets and useful tools.

So two out of six isn’t horrible. Right? But, the other four are right on the horizon, I’m sure. One of the four is a device-charging shelf. Plug in the shelf and set all your battery operated devices on top to receive a charge – without the use of any wires. Pretty cool! But it seems to me that you can buy small mouse-pad-like versions of these in the store to charge some cell phones.

The last three may not be available yet, but some similar devices have been created and displayed at tech shows recently — a digital screen that can be rolled up like a poster and stored away, a watch that syncs all of your devices and keeps the data on your wrist and a pen that stores written words internally instead of using ink.

The three devices that aren’t really available yet don’t seem too far off. It seems like every day someone is coming up with new ideas and products that haven’t been thought of or seen yet. Maybe these last three will be created soon – and who knows what will come in the next five years!