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The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99

101 points by brahmwg 10y ago

leojg 10y ago
I find this project quite interesting. Do you think it could provide a good development environment? I was thinking that with something like Eclipse che this could be useful when traveling
- numbsafari 10y ago
  Assumes you have a reliable connection, no?
jasonlfunk 10y ago
I think this is the future. One device that works everywhere. Ubuntu tried it unsuccessfully. I doubt this one will succeed either. But eventually someone will.
- limeyy 10y ago
  Apple in 2 years
- 0x6c6f6c 10y ago
  Ubuntu still hasn't finished it. They showed demos in alpha but their newer phones actually do it now, although the entire Ubuntu Touch program is still beta.
- howeyc 10y ago
  problem is the Ubuntu one was trash, when you plugin to display it's still just Ubuntu Touch. Cant run normal X apps, cant apt install anything. Huge disappointment. Waiting for something useful. But it looks like Windows continuem is following same fate, not actually really full normal windows in desktop mode. Just runs phone apps on larger display.
projectramo 10y ago
Can anyone comment on the likelihood of being able to create this for the amount they propose? I have been burned by hardware devices on kickstarter, and I have heard my hardware friends say that it is much harder, and sometimes they can tell right away that they cannot deliver the product for the amount raised. I don't know if that is true here or not. Just wondering if someone knows if this can be done. (I know, keyboards and monitors already exist.)
- TkTech 10y ago
  I'm normally pretty skeptical as well, but this is simply a previous-generation commodity display, a charging circuit, battery, a basic logic board and a usb-C port. Component cost wise, it would probably be under $50 at any scale.
- gerbal 10y ago
  Given the parts look like they're off a bargain basement chrome book just without the expensive processor and ssd, the hardware will be low quality, but they can probably hit the $100 price point.
  - tmzt 10y ago
    Isn't that SSD on the ARM versions just an eMMC, so close in price to a MicroSD card.
- Qworg 10y ago
  I'd point at their part cost needing to be sub $33, but as others have said in quantity 1 we're already at $50, so likely yes.
- brad0 10y ago
  From the sounds of things it's four main components: - Keyboard - Screen - Battery - DisplayLink They're all components that exist already, it just needs to be packaged in a nice way. The biggest issue is how to scale this to the amount they need. As of writing this they need to make ~2600.
- 10y ago
buckbova 10y ago
Kind of like webtop. http://www.geek.com/mobile/motorola-webtop-3-0-brings-ics-to-big-screens-1480457/ http://www.geek.com/mobile/motorola-webtop-3-0-brings-ics-to... Not sure why the idea didn't pan out. Maybe lack of apps that translated to the bigger screen.
- ccozan 10y ago
  I still have the Atrix 4G and the Moto Lapdock. Amazing tech, ahead of the time. With the current smartphones, with multiple cores and 3-4Gb RAM, this would have worked like a charm. Webtop was nice, but lacked the processing power. This thing is cute, but Motorola may have some patents on the technology.
jsight 10y ago
What is the advantage of this over something like a Chromebook? It seems like throwing a phone-grade CPU in it and giving it a little more capability would be more worthwhile than being completely dependent upon a tethered phone.
- thecatspaw 10y ago
  you can use it as a normal smartphone as well. This is helpfull when you're in a tight space, or standing in the train. You also have the same data on both 'devices' (quoted since its technically 1 device + periphery)
  - jsight 10y ago
    I have that regardless of whether I have this separate keyboard/monitor thing. I don't really see where it is an advantage in that scenario?
- bigjimmyk3 10y ago
  It's also one less device to manage connectivity on (connect to wifi, pay for data plan, etc.).
  - jsight 10y ago
    Well, if that were the primary concern then USB tethering would work just fine as a solution.
- satysin 10y ago
  Anyone have any benchmarks of a phone CPU compared to a Chromebook CPU (Celeron or Atom I would guess?)
  - 0x6c6f6c 10y ago
    Don't forget ARM vs x86 program compatibility. Even with a chroot environment to run GNU/Linux distros on an Android phone, you won't have compatibility with some programs due to the architecture of the processor.
Qworg 10y ago
MSFT has the "phone becomes a computer" with Continuum already: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Continuum https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Continuum (but you need a Lumia... :| ) Having a laptop form factor is very interesting though - it brings in a lot of questions too. Is it a dumb peripheral? What does it need access to on the phone?
- 0x6c6f6c 10y ago
  It's one of the main points to Ubuntu Phones as well, convergence from phone/tablet to desktop. Plug it in and use it as a full scale desktop experience. It's only available on the newer models as the entire system is beta and under testing though.
  - Qworg 10y ago
    Very cool, thanks. There's definitely a marketing bridge to cross here - when Steve Jobs released the iPhone, it wasn't "your iPod as a phone!", it was "here's a magical device that does things you never imagined were possible". I've yet to hear a good pitch for any of these systems that appeals broadly outside of tech. =/
    - 0x6c6f6c 10y ago
      I don't find extremely compelling arguments, but there's points to be made. Having a phone that's also your computer is convenient, so having a desktop/laptop dock for your phone that would seemlessly interface would be an interesting take. Remove the $900 work laptop and instead purchase a smartphone capable of everything you need for your business. Most employers provide smartphones already, so if you can manage the ecosystem for the company standards, you could effectively cut your costs in half for every employee. Plus, licensing costs would also drop, having only one device rather than two. A phone that requires a license on top of the work computer is just doubling cost. A single device has a single license. Honestly, I see how it could be useful, but the arguments aren't exactly convincing. At a personal level, I could see how a strong smartphone could be beneficial to have as a simple docking solution whether I go to work or home, plus constantly having it charged would be nice- Those lapdocks have batteries that charge the phone while it operates, same for desktop dock solutions. All in all, I'd buy into it if I liked the ecosystem the phone offered at every level- but now you need to convince me on how the application offering is for Android/iOs/Windows/Ubuntu on likely ARM devices in terms of mobile applications, scaling up to desktop applications.
DigitalJack 10y ago
Motorola did this 5 years ago. Nobody cared. http://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/a-complete-guide-to-the-motorola-atrix-the-only-phone-laptop/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/a-complete-guide-... I think the main problem is who wants to carry around a laptop that you have to plug your phone in to use? That's a pretty big "Accessory." I mean, if you already are carrying something around as big as a laptop, why cripple it with phone hardware? I think a more compelling use-case would be a phone dock video and usb connections. But I don't know if even that is compelling enough to be successful.\ I've thought that a phone would make a great trackpad for a laptop. Maybe instead of the phone being the laptop, it just integrates nicely (app sync, etc...) and you socket in as a trackpad and secondary "info" display.
- deleted 10y ago
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- kajecounterhack 10y ago
  My buddy had an atrix and he got the laptop dock; it was actually OK, but since it was limited to that one phone it didn't work out long term (he switched phones about a year in). There are probably folks who don't do much more than word processing and email, in which case this (a screen + keyboard + battery for your phone) might actually be useful. I feel like this is the niche that tablets w/ keyboards fill -- this will have to compete directly with those. It has the benefit of the trackpad, which feels more like a full laptop.
  - fit2rule 10y ago
    I still have a Lapdock. I use mine as a handy workbench monitory/keyboard/battery setup for the plethora of small device I have that fit in its squid-like cable adapters: raspberry Pi's, beagleboards, and so on. If but for that stupid decision to make non-standard i/o ports, the Lapdock probably could have been a more useful general-purpose dock, already. That's really something to keep in mind. Superbook is one thing, but its really just a fixed Lapdock with a different ethos regarding interoperability.
- yial 10y ago
rsync 10y ago
I'm confused by this stretch goal: $1M - Option to upgrade to 1080p HD screen (w/ additional cost) ... which would suggest that the original screen spec is actually lower than "1080p" ? Obligatory: https://xkcd.com/732/ https://xkcd.com/732/
- leojg 10y ago
  In the specs says: 11.6" LCD display at 768p
- Roboprog 10y ago
  Re: 1080p. We lived with 480i in our most-used display for a very long time :-) (comment written on my aging MBP with a 700-something screen, rather than 1080/retina class display)
  - FussyZeus 10y ago
    We also lived in caves for a long time too, I don't see people lining up for that. LCD's are so damn cheap now there's really no excuse for anything under 1080p. I've seen chromebooks with 4K displays for $300.
    - Roboprog 10y ago
      Thank you (literally LOL). Point taken :-)
    - Roboprog 10y ago
      Forgot to mention: once you reach a certain pixel density, you really hit the point of diminishing returns. 4K x 2K on a small laptop screen is going to look much the same to my aging eyes as 2K x 1K on that size. Now, give me a nice 40 to 50 inch 4K on my desk, and that sounds pretty nice. I can sit back a ways, and not have to focus on something 2 feet away.
      - FussyZeus 10y ago
        I have a 28" 4K on my desk and the picture is absolutely stunning. I'd imagine any more dense than that I'd have a hard time appreciating, but I think it matters way more in terms of where the display is relative to your eyes. For example, my monitor is usually about 12" away from my face, whereas my TV is about 7 feet. A 1080p picture looks just fine compared to a 4K picture at those distances, I never feel like I'm missing anything.
figers 10y ago
I like the idea of one core device to use for Mobile and desktop modes, but if you have to carry around a laptop anyway, why not just get a Chromebook that has full chrome browser and can run Android apps OR really any laptop... I want my mobile device to have this experience when I connect a rollable or foldable screen, bluetooth foldable keyboard and mouse.
soared 10y ago
How many times do we have to watch this exact kickstarter project fail to deliver? There have been countless made for phones, raspberry pis, and tablets. Maybe they'll ship, but the ux is trash especially considering you can get a chromebook for $100 more. What is the actual benefit of this device? Instead of toting around a chromebook, you tote around the shell of a chromebook? My laptop is never 'out of sync' that problem was fixed years ago. IF I wanted laptop productivity I'd... use a laptop?
- kajecounterhack 10y ago
  Can you link? I'm interested in what previous attempts look like and don't follow kickstarter much. I imagine as phones get faster & better this setup continues to work, vs chromebook is forever slow. In the future if we could attach USB peripherals and if we could have a high-res (2k / retina) LCD it'd be awesome. I have a little $40 ipad retina LCD I use with a displayport driver chip and I power it via a $20 usb battery pack, but it's for use with full computers only, not android.
- aj7 10y ago
  Clearly you don't tote around anything. (But the phone.) What if your main cpu, os, and memory were always with you? An alter cocker like me is not going to shlep a laptop on a plane. And there are as many of me as you.
  - jszymborski 10y ago
    That's awfully bad security hygiene. I would never plug my phone into a public laptop shell w/o assuming I was being keylogged and MITM'd. Next we'll be using free wifi at airports w/o VPNs! Thick of the insanity.
- chaostheory 10y ago
  I'm not really sure why people keep thinking that you're supposed to lug this around. If I were to get this, I would only use it at home when a keyboard and bigger screen would be nice; or I would buy one for the office and the house. imo the whole point of this is so you wouldn't have to carry anything huge anymore.
thatfrenchguy 10y ago
"future proof" "768p screen". Yeah, sure.
- 0xmohit 10y ago
  See the queue for the future proof shell.
unwiredben 10y ago
This reminds me a lot of the Palm Foleo, a device I worked on ten years ago. It was mini-laptop sized, designed to be a phone companion, but it worked over Bluetooth and actually ran its own applications, just using the BT connection for continual data sync. This one has a much better chance of actually shipping, and the advance of computing power has made it a lot more viable. Good luck.
- tmzt 10y ago
  Yeah, you basically invented the netbook a few months too early, and marketed it as an accessory when it was a full-fledged computer hardware-wise. By the way, did the GPL code used on that ever get released, assuming the demo units counted as distribution?
  - rcarmo 10y ago
    I don't see the point of asking any of these questions in this fashion...
    - tmzt 10y ago
      No intention to offend or accuse here, just two points that stuck with me from that time and which I've been curious about. To my knowledge only a few developer units were released and remained property of Palm, hence my caveat in asking the question. As to the first point, I was personally excited to see a small ARM-based laptop, and dissapointed when it's capabilities and marketing as an accessory led to its denise. Not that the unclear direction of Palm's software at the time helped. It was the right call and yet disappointing.
- deleted 10y ago
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danr4 10y ago
This is something I think Apple should focus on. Well maybe after the car they are building. They already control both hardware and software aspects of their devices, so compared to other companies, they are in the best position to make it so that all their devices are basically the same device, only with a different interface and form factor. This doesn't mean they shouldn't work separately - if I'm playing a game on my computer, I still want to be able to text using my phone. But if I just arrived home and I was in the middle of a conversation, while reading an article, I want to be able to put both on my computer screen in a flick of a finger. It looked as though as it was going to happen a few years back, when several companies tried to do something like this (Asus, Motorola) but now it looks like the idea was abandoned.
- glhaynes 10y ago
  It sounds like maybe you want Apple's "Continuity" features, especially Handoff? It's not quite as simple as your scenario (you'd have to do two separate "handoffs", one for the article, and one for the conversation), but it's close. Here's a description of them today; their OS updates this fall will also add a universal clipboard. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204681 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204681
  - mikestew 10y ago
    The texting conversation would already be waiting in iMessage. The article is just a ⌘-Tab away. To me, it seems even easier than the original desire to swipe. Don't do anything, it's already waiting for you. :-)
xur17 10y ago
I'm curious how much removing the cpu and graphics chip from a laptop shaves off the price. Chromebooks all already near this price range, and they work as standalone devices, which is nice. I'm picturing myself at the airport awkwardly plugging my phone into my laptop, and trying to find a good place to sit it next to me.
0xmohit 10y ago
Seems grossly misleading to call it a laptop. 8 inch or so phones already exist which have a better resolution. Is there much point in having a bigger screen with lower resolution?
- duderific 10y ago
  Yes, the keyboard.
  - Zikes 10y ago
    http://www.walmart.com/c/kp/usb-otg-adapters http://www.walmart.com/c/kp/usb-otg-adapters Honestly the resolution is the one thing stopping me from ordering a Superbook. 768p may "technically" be HD, but you can't honestly market it as "upgrades with every new phone" when the display is so far behind the phone that drives it. I realize it has a big impact on cost and battery, but for me it's simply 1080p or bust.
ajiang 10y ago
Oh hey guys, this is us. Thanks for posting! I wasn't going to post our product in HN, since tech-specs wise this tends to be a high-end audience, but I wanted to share a little bit about what we're trying to accomplish and the reasoning behind the entry level specs. The Superbook is the attempt to prove that the concept of device convergence and the benefits of continuum are exciting enough to 1) get most people to not need a laptop and 2) to provide mobile-first economies to have an affordable option to do work without switching OS or need to buy another device. Is it going to replace the MBP in silicon valley? Not yet. Most of the time I require higher specs too. But for most of the world that uses their laptop primarily for browsing the internet, writing documents, and watching movies on a larger screen - it's enough. And it's also affordable enough that everyone can try the concept out. We're aiming to build both the hardware and software that makes this possible, with enough flexibility that you can run it on any Android phone and with no technical knowledge needed. What's probably my favorite use case: having come from a non-profit background (YC S14, Bayes Impact) it's really awesome to see tech impact the world. We are really really excited to be working with the Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom Education Project to provide Superbooks to kids in South Africa so they can learn without restraints. Even having the basic keyboard, mouse, and display will provide a great opportunity to better take in content and engage. Happy to pop back in [doing Kickstarter support for the next hour] and answer questions if folks on HN are curious. We're also in SF, so feel free to reach out and drop by to see the prototypes! (email in profile)
- larrik 10y ago
  Is there any way your hardware would support something like being the KVM for a headless server (or family member's computer that you are working on) or something?
  - apendleton 10y ago
    Seems unlikely, given that it lacks any kind of networking (it relies on the phone for that). Of course, with a phone plugged into it you could use an android VNC app.
    - 10y ago
schnevets 10y ago
I don't understand why these products are always pitched as a consumer product when this is an enterprise dream come true. People are fickle and refuse to change their personal habits, but using my phone as a thin client sounds a lot more appealing than having separate laptops for work & play.
- aj7 10y ago
  Agree 100%. Waiting for Apple to do this (for a long time now.)
- jszymborski 10y ago
  The problem I see with this is that, even if the phone is work property, it's still often used for play as well as work (because who carries around a work mobile as well as a personal). Blackberry tried to address this problem, but I think we all can agree that they were unable to address pretty much any problem at that point. A little OT but... I'd very much like to see a Qubes-like OS for my phone, so I can use one VM for e.g Work, another for Banking, another for Personal, so I don't have to worry about a messed up permission system or my Banking creds being leaked by some rando gobble-all-your-info app-of-the-month. Of course that's just a dream until battery life and ARM CPUs approach laptop performance.
  - jonknee 10y ago
    > The problem I see with this is that, even if the phone is work property, it's still often used for play as well as work (because who carries around a work mobile as well as a personal). A lot of people carry around two phones, specifically the same type of people who have two laptops.
    - jszymborski 10y ago
      > A lot of people Well, I'll push back on the phrase "a lot", but point taken.
      - 10y ago
nommm-nommm 10y ago
>. Any IDE built for Android can be accessed by your Superbook. Is there any semi decent Android IDEs? I can't imagine there's a lot of people who are interested in coding on their phones.
- solnyshok 10y ago
  do not forget about running any linux ide in chroot. Phones with 2gb can do. phones with 4gb of RAM are good at it. google e.g. "Linux Deploy" app on playstore
  - nommm-nommm 10y ago
    Interesting, thanks for the info.
- bergie 10y ago
  Termux gives you a decent Linux shell, including stuff like vim, git, and Node.js
jandrese 10y ago
It would probably be a bit fiddly given how every phone is a little different, but it would be cooler if you could slot your phone into the case instead of having it dangle from a cable. That said, I'm not sure there is much point to this when you could just carry around a netbook. The phone integration is almost guaranteed to be glitchy thanks to fragmentation on Android and trying to use apps outside of their expected environment.
- diadatp 10y ago
  They sell a "Universal Side Mount" as part of their "Superbook Special" bundle. That should solve the dangling from a cable issue and enable front facing camera use.
post_break 10y ago
I wish it could dock the phone behind the screen or something. I don't want to have my phone connected to this thing like some sort of tether through a USB cable.
- kajecounterhack 10y ago
  +1 even a velcro strap that feels really solid. The side phone-holder attachment is a little flimsy looking.
  - PieterH 10y ago
    Velcro strips that you cut to size are cheap and surprisingly useful as a way of anchoring your phone on e. g. your dashboard.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
surprised_dev 10y ago
Always when I see concepts like this I feel like it's a great idea but after few minutes I really can not think of a use-case for me. First I would like to have a phone with x86 cpu so I could run the same software as on my desktop, without real desktop cpu it will be hard to use device like that as laptop replacement. Secondly why would I like to carry something like that instead of normal laptop. I understand I can buy e.g. two devices one for work one for home but still why not just have a two laptops and sync stuff using cloud. I think it's not a future, the future is folding device that could work as phone and unfolded as laptop. We are not there yet to combine everything in one device that would be useful for every use-case.
- maxxxxx 10y ago
  I would like a docking station that has a fast CPU and lots of RAM. When the phone is plugged in, you can use the computing power of the docking station instead of the phone CPU. And it should run windows or OSX apps.
  - 0x6c6f6c 10y ago
    And it would.. what? Use the display of your phone? Otherwise you're literally describing a computer.
    - maxxxxx 10y ago
      Sorry, forgot the 27 inch screen, external mouse, keyboard and USB Hub. In short, my phone contains the OS and my data and it can be used on small screens or multi-monitor setups.
      - mikejmoffitt 10y ago
        You've described using a phone as a mass storage device.
        mikestew 10y ago
bryanlarsen 10y ago
The idea of using your phone as your main computer definitely seems like it could be the future. You can hook it up to something like this, or a USB-C monitor with a keyboard attached, or to a TV via MHL with a bluetooth keyboard, or whatever. And tablet software is close, but doesn't quite feel right. This sort of thing just needs to get popular enough that software makers respond with the needed tweaks. The problem is path to market. Normally power users are the early adopters. They're willing to try new stuff, to put up with bleeding edge hassles to get their needs met. But this isn't for power users, phones and mobile apps aren't powerful enough. Somebody just needs to find a willing early adopter and it should take off. Maybe an industry like logistics, maybe somewhere in the third world. Chromebooks had a similar problem, but they found a niche in education and now have sufficient volume to push into mainstream.
Wildgoose 10y ago
Isn't this essentially just a Chromebook? Why not just buy a chromebook, share your internet connection, charge from its USB port and use the same Google Drive (or Dropbox)?
roberdam 10y ago
http://maruos.com/ http://maruos.com/ Related, you can try it if you have a Nexus 5 today.
thejeremyweaver 10y ago
Dear Apple, Please make a similar "accessory" for iPhones. I'd gladly pay 5x or more, and I'm probably not alone.
- sneak 10y ago
  Give them another year or three to unify macOS and associated hardware onto ARM and you will absolutely get your wish.
- mikestew 10y ago
  They already make such an accessory: an iPad or MacBook, and the Continuity/Handoff features of the OS. At least that's my guess as to what their answer would be. And frankly, for my use, it is just as good. Probably better because in the MacBook case I have an awesome screen and decent keyboard.
optforfon 10y ago
You can get a cheap Chromebook (which, though inexpensive are actually quite nice quality wise), install crouton on the chromebook, install Lil'Debi on the phone and have an X-server connection over USB. It'd cost about the same and you'd get to have an extra usable device The way I see it, the only way I think it can really take off (as a niche product) is if the screen and keyboard are amazing (like a Pixel) and it's ultra thin (thinner than a Mac Air). Then I'm sure there is a crowd that wants to have their whole lives on their $700 super flagship cellphone and will have this very slick interface for when they want to access it with a bit more screen and keyboard. I didn't really read into the details, so maybe you guys are already doing this, but you could also have the whole setup work from any given computer with a keyboard and screen If you have something like that.. you could charge a LOT more. Very slick kickstarter btw. Wish you guys the best =)
- az0xff 10y ago
  All of those installation steps and disjoint applications make this comment sound like one of the early detractors of Dropbox commenting on its Show HN thread.
- deleted 10y ago
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zokier 10y ago
Statements like "incredibly powerful computer" describing a smart phone always ring false and bit silly to my ears. I'm not saying that phones haven't made great advances in the past years, but still that "incredibly powerful computer" is about as powerful as 10 year old PC.
- lrem 10y ago
  Haven't PCs stopped getting more powerful quite a few years ago? The only exceptions I see is swapping spinning disk with ssd and ever-growing gaming GPUs. If you're not gaming, in a couple years you might be hard pressed to spot the difference in performance.
  - zokier 10y ago
    The past couple of years (maybe since Haswell, or 3 years) have been slower progress, but on the other hand I'd say the low hanging fruit on mobile chips have been picked too by now and the progress there is also winding down. People have been chatting and surfing and whatnot just fine with their 200MHz Pentiums at the time, so its not that surprising that it might be bit difficult for many people to truly appreciate just the amount of power available these days. Of course Wirth's and Parkinson's laws do not help here either. Just for fun, here is a small comparison with 9 year old CPU and 3 year old CPU: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/55?vs=837 http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/55?vs=837
    - lrem 10y ago
      You're actually consistent with what I had in mind. A 3 year old quad core is 2-3 times faster than a 9 year old dual core, in most of the embarrassingly parallel benchmarks. I.e. despite all the process improvements, computing power per core stagnated. Personal computers mostly remain at two cores, four accessible at a premium. Personal computers are simply fast enough and the progress is better used by moving more pieces off the motherboard onto the CPU. If someone needs more power, then he's considered to be building a workstation or a server and charged way more than for personal stuff. I have no clue if you're right about arm progress saturating, I haven't been following that.
Artlav 10y ago
As cute as this is, it's missing the core issue - a phone lacks real OS and real software. It does not, usually, come with anything on it that is available on the regular desktop/laptop. This would take severe hacking to work around. Either (1) a software ecosystem should get evolved around the ARM/Android-like platform (that is, the project is a bit too early), or (2) there should be a virtual machine that is rather lightweight and transparent under Android to allow the PC software to run. Seeing that this is ARM, i don't expect the (2) to be a real option. (1) might work if you constrain yourself to open-source Linux environment and is good at coding/admin, but as soon as your work would need anything proprietary or anything from Windows things would collapse. TL;DR: The mobile and PC tech is converging, but we are not there yet.
- hyperpallium 10y ago
  http://termux.com http://termux.com
  - Artlav 10y ago
    Sure, Android is more or less Linux, so lots of the usual stuff would work. This is pretty much what i mean by (1).
spraak 10y ago
The creator posted in here that they didn't want to post this on HN because it's not the target audience. Clearly it's not with so many comments about why you wouldn't use it.. but I think it's a great thing for its intended audience (especially given the price) which seems to be much more casual computer users, or maybe even moreso, people who don't have a computer but have a smart phone.
turtlebits 10y ago
The resolution is a huge showstopper. I feel like the creators know this because the actual resolution isn't listed anywhere (11.6" HD display is all over the place) but 768p is at the very end of the page. And since the panel type isn't listed, I have a feeling its going to be a cheap TN panel.
- jseliger 10y ago
  And since the panel type isn't listed, I have a feeling its going to be a cheap TN panel. Er... it is $100. Lots of things are going to be compromised to hit that price point. I'm reminded of the various $200 laptops out there, like the HP Stream 11: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/01/review-hp-improves-its-200-laptop-a-lot-but-its-still-a-200-laptop/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/01/review-hp-improves-it.... They have many drawbacks. But their price is incredible. I've put a lot of $200 laptops in Department of Education programs not because they don't have drawbacks but because they're functional and still allow incredible bang for buck.
mark_l_watson 10y ago
I like the idea but the price seems to be $150, not $99. The price point seems critical. I paid $190 for an HP Stream 11 and it makes a great travelling Linux box. If the eventual price were < $80, and with the advantages of having your whole environment on your phone, then that sounds good. I tried to get an adapter for my Samsung Note 4 would use an external HDMI monitor, but did not find much joy. If a few phone manufacturers would standardize on a docking standard so being able to walk up to a Kiosk or a docking station when visiting other companies, travelling, etc., then that would serve a real need.
Rajneesh123 10y ago
Awesome laptop
Rajneesh123 10y ago
Awesome laptop
drusepth 10y ago
They really should have made this slightly thicker to let you store your phone in it when in use or travelling. Having a phone dangling off a short dongle all the time is incredibly inconvenient when using a laptop in most places. Forcing that tether to even use the laptop is even worse.

101 points by brahmwg 10y ago

leojg 10y ago

I find this project quite interesting. Do you think it could provide a good development environment? I was thinking that with something like Eclipse che this could be useful when traveling

numbsafari 10y ago
Assumes you have a reliable connection, no?

jasonlfunk 10y ago

I think this is the future. One device that works everywhere. Ubuntu tried it unsuccessfully. I doubt this one will succeed either. But eventually someone will.

limeyy 10y ago
Apple in 2 years
0x6c6f6c 10y ago
Ubuntu still hasn't finished it. They showed demos in alpha but their newer phones actually do it now, although the entire Ubuntu Touch program is still beta.
howeyc 10y ago
problem is the Ubuntu one was trash, when you plugin to display it's still just Ubuntu Touch. Cant run normal X apps, cant apt install anything. Huge disappointment. Waiting for something useful. But it looks like Windows continuem is following same fate, not actually really full normal windows in desktop mode. Just runs phone apps on larger display.

projectramo 10y ago

Can anyone comment on the likelihood of being able to create this for the amount they propose? I have been burned by hardware devices on kickstarter, and I have heard my hardware friends say that it is much harder, and sometimes they can tell right away that they cannot deliver the product for the amount raised. I don't know if that is true here or not. Just wondering if someone knows if this can be done. (I know, keyboards and monitors already exist.)

TkTech 10y ago
I'm normally pretty skeptical as well, but this is simply a previous-generation commodity display, a charging circuit, battery, a basic logic board and a usb-C port. Component cost wise, it would probably be under $50 at any scale.
gerbal 10y ago
Given the parts look like they're off a bargain basement chrome book just without the expensive processor and ssd, the hardware will be low quality, but they can probably hit the $100 price point.
- tmzt 10y ago
  Isn't that SSD on the ARM versions just an eMMC, so close in price to a MicroSD card.
Qworg 10y ago
I'd point at their part cost needing to be sub $33, but as others have said in quantity 1 we're already at $50, so likely yes.
brad0 10y ago
From the sounds of things it's four main components: - Keyboard - Screen - Battery - DisplayLink They're all components that exist already, it just needs to be packaged in a nice way. The biggest issue is how to scale this to the amount they need. As of writing this they need to make ~2600.
10y ago

buckbova 10y ago

Kind of like webtop. http://www.geek.com/mobile/motorola-webtop-3-0-brings-ics-to-big-screens-1480457/ http://www.geek.com/mobile/motorola-webtop-3-0-brings-ics-to... Not sure why the idea didn't pan out. Maybe lack of apps that translated to the bigger screen.

ccozan 10y ago
I still have the Atrix 4G and the Moto Lapdock. Amazing tech, ahead of the time. With the current smartphones, with multiple cores and 3-4Gb RAM, this would have worked like a charm. Webtop was nice, but lacked the processing power. This thing is cute, but Motorola may have some patents on the technology.

jsight 10y ago

What is the advantage of this over something like a Chromebook? It seems like throwing a phone-grade CPU in it and giving it a little more capability would be more worthwhile than being completely dependent upon a tethered phone.

thecatspaw 10y ago
you can use it as a normal smartphone as well. This is helpfull when you're in a tight space, or standing in the train. You also have the same data on both 'devices' (quoted since its technically 1 device + periphery)
- jsight 10y ago
  I have that regardless of whether I have this separate keyboard/monitor thing. I don't really see where it is an advantage in that scenario?
bigjimmyk3 10y ago
It's also one less device to manage connectivity on (connect to wifi, pay for data plan, etc.).
- jsight 10y ago
  Well, if that were the primary concern then USB tethering would work just fine as a solution.
satysin 10y ago
Anyone have any benchmarks of a phone CPU compared to a Chromebook CPU (Celeron or Atom I would guess?)
- 0x6c6f6c 10y ago
  Don't forget ARM vs x86 program compatibility. Even with a chroot environment to run GNU/Linux distros on an Android phone, you won't have compatibility with some programs due to the architecture of the processor.

Qworg 10y ago

MSFT has the "phone becomes a computer" with Continuum already: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Continuum https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Continuum (but you need a Lumia... :| ) Having a laptop form factor is very interesting though - it brings in a lot of questions too. Is it a dumb peripheral? What does it need access to on the phone?

0x6c6f6c 10y ago
It's one of the main points to Ubuntu Phones as well, convergence from phone/tablet to desktop. Plug it in and use it as a full scale desktop experience. It's only available on the newer models as the entire system is beta and under testing though.
- Qworg 10y ago
  Very cool, thanks. There's definitely a marketing bridge to cross here - when Steve Jobs released the iPhone, it wasn't "your iPod as a phone!", it was "here's a magical device that does things you never imagined were possible". I've yet to hear a good pitch for any of these systems that appeals broadly outside of tech. =/
  - 0x6c6f6c 10y ago
    I don't find extremely compelling arguments, but there's points to be made. Having a phone that's also your computer is convenient, so having a desktop/laptop dock for your phone that would seemlessly interface would be an interesting take. Remove the $900 work laptop and instead purchase a smartphone capable of everything you need for your business. Most employers provide smartphones already, so if you can manage the ecosystem for the company standards, you could effectively cut your costs in half for every employee. Plus, licensing costs would also drop, having only one device rather than two. A phone that requires a license on top of the work computer is just doubling cost. A single device has a single license. Honestly, I see how it could be useful, but the arguments aren't exactly convincing. At a personal level, I could see how a strong smartphone could be beneficial to have as a simple docking solution whether I go to work or home, plus constantly having it charged would be nice- Those lapdocks have batteries that charge the phone while it operates, same for desktop dock solutions. All in all, I'd buy into it if I liked the ecosystem the phone offered at every level- but now you need to convince me on how the application offering is for Android/iOs/Windows/Ubuntu on likely ARM devices in terms of mobile applications, scaling up to desktop applications.

DigitalJack 10y ago

Motorola did this 5 years ago. Nobody cared. http://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/a-complete-guide-to-the-motorola-atrix-the-only-phone-laptop/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/a-complete-guide-... I think the main problem is who wants to carry around a laptop that you have to plug your phone in to use? That's a pretty big "Accessory." I mean, if you already are carrying something around as big as a laptop, why cripple it with phone hardware? I think a more compelling use-case would be a phone dock video and usb connections. But I don't know if even that is compelling enough to be successful.\ I've thought that a phone would make a great trackpad for a laptop. Maybe instead of the phone being the laptop, it just integrates nicely (app sync, etc...) and you socket in as a trackpad and secondary "info" display.

deleted 10y ago
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kajecounterhack 10y ago
My buddy had an atrix and he got the laptop dock; it was actually OK, but since it was limited to that one phone it didn't work out long term (he switched phones about a year in). There are probably folks who don't do much more than word processing and email, in which case this (a screen + keyboard + battery for your phone) might actually be useful. I feel like this is the niche that tablets w/ keyboards fill -- this will have to compete directly with those. It has the benefit of the trackpad, which feels more like a full laptop.
- fit2rule 10y ago
  I still have a Lapdock. I use mine as a handy workbench monitory/keyboard/battery setup for the plethora of small device I have that fit in its squid-like cable adapters: raspberry Pi's, beagleboards, and so on. If but for that stupid decision to make non-standard i/o ports, the Lapdock probably could have been a more useful general-purpose dock, already. That's really something to keep in mind. Superbook is one thing, but its really just a fixed Lapdock with a different ethos regarding interoperability.
yial 10y ago

rsync 10y ago

I'm confused by this stretch goal: $1M - Option to upgrade to 1080p HD screen (w/ additional cost) ... which would suggest that the original screen spec is actually lower than "1080p" ? Obligatory: https://xkcd.com/732/ https://xkcd.com/732/

leojg 10y ago
In the specs says: 11.6" LCD display at 768p
Roboprog 10y ago
Re: 1080p. We lived with 480i in our most-used display for a very long time :-) (comment written on my aging MBP with a 700-something screen, rather than 1080/retina class display)
- FussyZeus 10y ago
  We also lived in caves for a long time too, I don't see people lining up for that. LCD's are so damn cheap now there's really no excuse for anything under 1080p. I've seen chromebooks with 4K displays for $300.
  - Roboprog 10y ago
    Thank you (literally LOL). Point taken :-)
  - Roboprog 10y ago
    Forgot to mention: once you reach a certain pixel density, you really hit the point of diminishing returns. 4K x 2K on a small laptop screen is going to look much the same to my aging eyes as 2K x 1K on that size. Now, give me a nice 40 to 50 inch 4K on my desk, and that sounds pretty nice. I can sit back a ways, and not have to focus on something 2 feet away.
    - FussyZeus 10y ago
      I have a 28" 4K on my desk and the picture is absolutely stunning. I'd imagine any more dense than that I'd have a hard time appreciating, but I think it matters way more in terms of where the display is relative to your eyes. For example, my monitor is usually about 12" away from my face, whereas my TV is about 7 feet. A 1080p picture looks just fine compared to a 4K picture at those distances, I never feel like I'm missing anything.

figers 10y ago

I like the idea of one core device to use for Mobile and desktop modes, but if you have to carry around a laptop anyway, why not just get a Chromebook that has full chrome browser and can run Android apps OR really any laptop... I want my mobile device to have this experience when I connect a rollable or foldable screen, bluetooth foldable keyboard and mouse.

soared 10y ago

How many times do we have to watch this exact kickstarter project fail to deliver? There have been countless made for phones, raspberry pis, and tablets. Maybe they'll ship, but the ux is trash especially considering you can get a chromebook for $100 more. What is the actual benefit of this device? Instead of toting around a chromebook, you tote around the shell of a chromebook? My laptop is never 'out of sync' that problem was fixed years ago. IF I wanted laptop productivity I'd... use a laptop?

kajecounterhack 10y ago
Can you link? I'm interested in what previous attempts look like and don't follow kickstarter much. I imagine as phones get faster & better this setup continues to work, vs chromebook is forever slow. In the future if we could attach USB peripherals and if we could have a high-res (2k / retina) LCD it'd be awesome. I have a little $40 ipad retina LCD I use with a displayport driver chip and I power it via a $20 usb battery pack, but it's for use with full computers only, not android.
aj7 10y ago
Clearly you don't tote around anything. (But the phone.) What if your main cpu, os, and memory were always with you? An alter cocker like me is not going to shlep a laptop on a plane. And there are as many of me as you.
- jszymborski 10y ago
  That's awfully bad security hygiene. I would never plug my phone into a public laptop shell w/o assuming I was being keylogged and MITM'd. Next we'll be using free wifi at airports w/o VPNs! Thick of the insanity.
chaostheory 10y ago
I'm not really sure why people keep thinking that you're supposed to lug this around. If I were to get this, I would only use it at home when a keyboard and bigger screen would be nice; or I would buy one for the office and the house. imo the whole point of this is so you wouldn't have to carry anything huge anymore.

thatfrenchguy 10y ago

"future proof" "768p screen". Yeah, sure.

0xmohit 10y ago
See the queue for the future proof shell.

unwiredben 10y ago

This reminds me a lot of the Palm Foleo, a device I worked on ten years ago. It was mini-laptop sized, designed to be a phone companion, but it worked over Bluetooth and actually ran its own applications, just using the BT connection for continual data sync. This one has a much better chance of actually shipping, and the advance of computing power has made it a lot more viable. Good luck.

tmzt 10y ago
Yeah, you basically invented the netbook a few months too early, and marketed it as an accessory when it was a full-fledged computer hardware-wise. By the way, did the GPL code used on that ever get released, assuming the demo units counted as distribution?
- rcarmo 10y ago
  I don't see the point of asking any of these questions in this fashion...
  - tmzt 10y ago
    No intention to offend or accuse here, just two points that stuck with me from that time and which I've been curious about. To my knowledge only a few developer units were released and remained property of Palm, hence my caveat in asking the question. As to the first point, I was personally excited to see a small ARM-based laptop, and dissapointed when it's capabilities and marketing as an accessory led to its denise. Not that the unclear direction of Palm's software at the time helped. It was the right call and yet disappointing.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

danr4 10y ago

This is something I think Apple should focus on. Well maybe after the car they are building. They already control both hardware and software aspects of their devices, so compared to other companies, they are in the best position to make it so that all their devices are basically the same device, only with a different interface and form factor. This doesn't mean they shouldn't work separately - if I'm playing a game on my computer, I still want to be able to text using my phone. But if I just arrived home and I was in the middle of a conversation, while reading an article, I want to be able to put both on my computer screen in a flick of a finger. It looked as though as it was going to happen a few years back, when several companies tried to do something like this (Asus, Motorola) but now it looks like the idea was abandoned.

glhaynes 10y ago
It sounds like maybe you want Apple's "Continuity" features, especially Handoff? It's not quite as simple as your scenario (you'd have to do two separate "handoffs", one for the article, and one for the conversation), but it's close. Here's a description of them today; their OS updates this fall will also add a universal clipboard. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204681 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204681
- mikestew 10y ago
  The texting conversation would already be waiting in iMessage. The article is just a ⌘-Tab away. To me, it seems even easier than the original desire to swipe. Don't do anything, it's already waiting for you. :-)

xur17 10y ago

I'm curious how much removing the cpu and graphics chip from a laptop shaves off the price. Chromebooks all already near this price range, and they work as standalone devices, which is nice. I'm picturing myself at the airport awkwardly plugging my phone into my laptop, and trying to find a good place to sit it next to me.

0xmohit 10y ago

Seems grossly misleading to call it a laptop. 8 inch or so phones already exist which have a better resolution. Is there much point in having a bigger screen with lower resolution?

duderific 10y ago
Yes, the keyboard.
- Zikes 10y ago
  http://www.walmart.com/c/kp/usb-otg-adapters http://www.walmart.com/c/kp/usb-otg-adapters Honestly the resolution is the one thing stopping me from ordering a Superbook. 768p may "technically" be HD, but you can't honestly market it as "upgrades with every new phone" when the display is so far behind the phone that drives it. I realize it has a big impact on cost and battery, but for me it's simply 1080p or bust.

ajiang 10y ago

Oh hey guys, this is us. Thanks for posting! I wasn't going to post our product in HN, since tech-specs wise this tends to be a high-end audience, but I wanted to share a little bit about what we're trying to accomplish and the reasoning behind the entry level specs. The Superbook is the attempt to prove that the concept of device convergence and the benefits of continuum are exciting enough to 1) get most people to not need a laptop and 2) to provide mobile-first economies to have an affordable option to do work without switching OS or need to buy another device. Is it going to replace the MBP in silicon valley? Not yet. Most of the time I require higher specs too. But for most of the world that uses their laptop primarily for browsing the internet, writing documents, and watching movies on a larger screen - it's enough. And it's also affordable enough that everyone can try the concept out. We're aiming to build both the hardware and software that makes this possible, with enough flexibility that you can run it on any Android phone and with no technical knowledge needed. What's probably my favorite use case: having come from a non-profit background (YC S14, Bayes Impact) it's really awesome to see tech impact the world. We are really really excited to be working with the Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom Education Project to provide Superbooks to kids in South Africa so they can learn without restraints. Even having the basic keyboard, mouse, and display will provide a great opportunity to better take in content and engage. Happy to pop back in [doing Kickstarter support for the next hour] and answer questions if folks on HN are curious. We're also in SF, so feel free to reach out and drop by to see the prototypes! (email in profile)

larrik 10y ago
Is there any way your hardware would support something like being the KVM for a headless server (or family member's computer that you are working on) or something?
- apendleton 10y ago
  Seems unlikely, given that it lacks any kind of networking (it relies on the phone for that). Of course, with a phone plugged into it you could use an android VNC app.
  - 10y ago

schnevets 10y ago

I don't understand why these products are always pitched as a consumer product when this is an enterprise dream come true. People are fickle and refuse to change their personal habits, but using my phone as a thin client sounds a lot more appealing than having separate laptops for work & play.

aj7 10y ago
Agree 100%. Waiting for Apple to do this (for a long time now.)
jszymborski 10y ago
The problem I see with this is that, even if the phone is work property, it's still often used for play as well as work (because who carries around a work mobile as well as a personal). Blackberry tried to address this problem, but I think we all can agree that they were unable to address pretty much any problem at that point. A little OT but... I'd very much like to see a Qubes-like OS for my phone, so I can use one VM for e.g Work, another for Banking, another for Personal, so I don't have to worry about a messed up permission system or my Banking creds being leaked by some rando gobble-all-your-info app-of-the-month. Of course that's just a dream until battery life and ARM CPUs approach laptop performance.
- jonknee 10y ago
  > The problem I see with this is that, even if the phone is work property, it's still often used for play as well as work (because who carries around a work mobile as well as a personal). A lot of people carry around two phones, specifically the same type of people who have two laptops.
  - jszymborski 10y ago
    > A lot of people Well, I'll push back on the phrase "a lot", but point taken.
    - 10y ago

nommm-nommm 10y ago

>. Any IDE built for Android can be accessed by your Superbook. Is there any semi decent Android IDEs? I can't imagine there's a lot of people who are interested in coding on their phones.

solnyshok 10y ago
do not forget about running any linux ide in chroot. Phones with 2gb can do. phones with 4gb of RAM are good at it. google e.g. "Linux Deploy" app on playstore
- nommm-nommm 10y ago
  Interesting, thanks for the info.
bergie 10y ago
Termux gives you a decent Linux shell, including stuff like vim, git, and Node.js

jandrese 10y ago

It would probably be a bit fiddly given how every phone is a little different, but it would be cooler if you could slot your phone into the case instead of having it dangle from a cable. That said, I'm not sure there is much point to this when you could just carry around a netbook. The phone integration is almost guaranteed to be glitchy thanks to fragmentation on Android and trying to use apps outside of their expected environment.

diadatp 10y ago
They sell a "Universal Side Mount" as part of their "Superbook Special" bundle. That should solve the dangling from a cable issue and enable front facing camera use.

post_break 10y ago

I wish it could dock the phone behind the screen or something. I don't want to have my phone connected to this thing like some sort of tether through a USB cable.

kajecounterhack 10y ago
+1 even a velcro strap that feels really solid. The side phone-holder attachment is a little flimsy looking.
- PieterH 10y ago
  Velcro strips that you cut to size are cheap and surprisingly useful as a way of anchoring your phone on e. g. your dashboard.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

surprised_dev 10y ago

Always when I see concepts like this I feel like it's a great idea but after few minutes I really can not think of a use-case for me. First I would like to have a phone with x86 cpu so I could run the same software as on my desktop, without real desktop cpu it will be hard to use device like that as laptop replacement. Secondly why would I like to carry something like that instead of normal laptop. I understand I can buy e.g. two devices one for work one for home but still why not just have a two laptops and sync stuff using cloud. I think it's not a future, the future is folding device that could work as phone and unfolded as laptop. We are not there yet to combine everything in one device that would be useful for every use-case.

maxxxxx 10y ago
I would like a docking station that has a fast CPU and lots of RAM. When the phone is plugged in, you can use the computing power of the docking station instead of the phone CPU. And it should run windows or OSX apps.
- 0x6c6f6c 10y ago
  And it would.. what? Use the display of your phone? Otherwise you're literally describing a computer.
  - maxxxxx 10y ago
    Sorry, forgot the 27 inch screen, external mouse, keyboard and USB Hub. In short, my phone contains the OS and my data and it can be used on small screens or multi-monitor setups.
    - mikejmoffitt 10y ago
      You've described using a phone as a mass storage device.
      - mikestew 10y ago

bryanlarsen 10y ago

The idea of using your phone as your main computer definitely seems like it could be the future. You can hook it up to something like this, or a USB-C monitor with a keyboard attached, or to a TV via MHL with a bluetooth keyboard, or whatever. And tablet software is close, but doesn't quite feel right. This sort of thing just needs to get popular enough that software makers respond with the needed tweaks. The problem is path to market. Normally power users are the early adopters. They're willing to try new stuff, to put up with bleeding edge hassles to get their needs met. But this isn't for power users, phones and mobile apps aren't powerful enough. Somebody just needs to find a willing early adopter and it should take off. Maybe an industry like logistics, maybe somewhere in the third world. Chromebooks had a similar problem, but they found a niche in education and now have sufficient volume to push into mainstream.

Wildgoose 10y ago

Isn't this essentially just a Chromebook? Why not just buy a chromebook, share your internet connection, charge from its USB port and use the same Google Drive (or Dropbox)?

roberdam 10y ago

http://maruos.com/ http://maruos.com/ Related, you can try it if you have a Nexus 5 today.

thejeremyweaver 10y ago

Dear Apple, Please make a similar "accessory" for iPhones. I'd gladly pay 5x or more, and I'm probably not alone.

sneak 10y ago
Give them another year or three to unify macOS and associated hardware onto ARM and you will absolutely get your wish.
mikestew 10y ago
They already make such an accessory: an iPad or MacBook, and the Continuity/Handoff features of the OS. At least that's my guess as to what their answer would be. And frankly, for my use, it is just as good. Probably better because in the MacBook case I have an awesome screen and decent keyboard.

optforfon 10y ago

You can get a cheap Chromebook (which, though inexpensive are actually quite nice quality wise), install crouton on the chromebook, install Lil'Debi on the phone and have an X-server connection over USB. It'd cost about the same and you'd get to have an extra usable device The way I see it, the only way I think it can really take off (as a niche product) is if the screen and keyboard are amazing (like a Pixel) and it's ultra thin (thinner than a Mac Air). Then I'm sure there is a crowd that wants to have their whole lives on their $700 super flagship cellphone and will have this very slick interface for when they want to access it with a bit more screen and keyboard. I didn't really read into the details, so maybe you guys are already doing this, but you could also have the whole setup work from any given computer with a keyboard and screen If you have something like that.. you could charge a LOT more. Very slick kickstarter btw. Wish you guys the best =)

az0xff 10y ago
All of those installation steps and disjoint applications make this comment sound like one of the early detractors of Dropbox commenting on its Show HN thread.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

zokier 10y ago

Statements like "incredibly powerful computer" describing a smart phone always ring false and bit silly to my ears. I'm not saying that phones haven't made great advances in the past years, but still that "incredibly powerful computer" is about as powerful as 10 year old PC.

lrem 10y ago
Haven't PCs stopped getting more powerful quite a few years ago? The only exceptions I see is swapping spinning disk with ssd and ever-growing gaming GPUs. If you're not gaming, in a couple years you might be hard pressed to spot the difference in performance.
- zokier 10y ago
  The past couple of years (maybe since Haswell, or 3 years) have been slower progress, but on the other hand I'd say the low hanging fruit on mobile chips have been picked too by now and the progress there is also winding down. People have been chatting and surfing and whatnot just fine with their 200MHz Pentiums at the time, so its not that surprising that it might be bit difficult for many people to truly appreciate just the amount of power available these days. Of course Wirth's and Parkinson's laws do not help here either. Just for fun, here is a small comparison with 9 year old CPU and 3 year old CPU: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/55?vs=837 http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/55?vs=837
  - lrem 10y ago
    You're actually consistent with what I had in mind. A 3 year old quad core is 2-3 times faster than a 9 year old dual core, in most of the embarrassingly parallel benchmarks. I.e. despite all the process improvements, computing power per core stagnated. Personal computers mostly remain at two cores, four accessible at a premium. Personal computers are simply fast enough and the progress is better used by moving more pieces off the motherboard onto the CPU. If someone needs more power, then he's considered to be building a workstation or a server and charged way more than for personal stuff. I have no clue if you're right about arm progress saturating, I haven't been following that.

Artlav 10y ago

As cute as this is, it's missing the core issue - a phone lacks real OS and real software. It does not, usually, come with anything on it that is available on the regular desktop/laptop. This would take severe hacking to work around. Either (1) a software ecosystem should get evolved around the ARM/Android-like platform (that is, the project is a bit too early), or (2) there should be a virtual machine that is rather lightweight and transparent under Android to allow the PC software to run. Seeing that this is ARM, i don't expect the (2) to be a real option. (1) might work if you constrain yourself to open-source Linux environment and is good at coding/admin, but as soon as your work would need anything proprietary or anything from Windows things would collapse. TL;DR: The mobile and PC tech is converging, but we are not there yet.

hyperpallium 10y ago
http://termux.com http://termux.com
- Artlav 10y ago
  Sure, Android is more or less Linux, so lots of the usual stuff would work. This is pretty much what i mean by (1).

spraak 10y ago

The creator posted in here that they didn't want to post this on HN because it's not the target audience. Clearly it's not with so many comments about why you wouldn't use it.. but I think it's a great thing for its intended audience (especially given the price) which seems to be much more casual computer users, or maybe even moreso, people who don't have a computer but have a smart phone.

turtlebits 10y ago

The resolution is a huge showstopper. I feel like the creators know this because the actual resolution isn't listed anywhere (11.6" HD display is all over the place) but 768p is at the very end of the page. And since the panel type isn't listed, I have a feeling its going to be a cheap TN panel.

jseliger 10y ago
And since the panel type isn't listed, I have a feeling its going to be a cheap TN panel. Er... it is $100. Lots of things are going to be compromised to hit that price point. I'm reminded of the various $200 laptops out there, like the HP Stream 11: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/01/review-hp-improves-its-200-laptop-a-lot-but-its-still-a-200-laptop/ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/01/review-hp-improves-it.... They have many drawbacks. But their price is incredible. I've put a lot of $200 laptops in Department of Education programs not because they don't have drawbacks but because they're functional and still allow incredible bang for buck.

mark_l_watson 10y ago

I like the idea but the price seems to be $150, not $99. The price point seems critical. I paid $190 for an HP Stream 11 and it makes a great travelling Linux box. If the eventual price were < $80, and with the advantages of having your whole environment on your phone, then that sounds good. I tried to get an adapter for my Samsung Note 4 would use an external HDMI monitor, but did not find much joy. If a few phone manufacturers would standardize on a docking standard so being able to walk up to a Kiosk or a docking station when visiting other companies, travelling, etc., then that would serve a real need.

Rajneesh123 10y ago

Awesome laptop

Rajneesh123 10y ago

Awesome laptop

drusepth 10y ago

They really should have made this slightly thicker to let you store your phone in it when in use or travelling. Having a phone dangling off a short dongle all the time is incredibly inconvenient when using a laptop in most places. Forcing that tether to even use the laptop is even worse.