A lot has changed in the 20 years since the first laptop computers appeared, including gigahertz processors, color screens and wireless data, but none are as profound as the change on the drawing boards at the world's leading technology designers.

"Between now and 2015, we expect to see a series of big changes that will redefine what a notebook is and what it looks like," said Mike Trainor, Intel Corp.'s evangelist for mobile products in an interview with IDGs Computerworld.

Here are some of the more seminal changes coming our way of laptops of the future: