3 ms·

I don't disagree with your desire for better quality, but as of this moment; I'm not aware of any competing products that allow your phone to transform into a l

I don't disagree with your desire for better quality, but as of this moment; I'm not aware of any competing products that allow your phone to transform into a laptop. The only one I was aware of is a Motorola product from 2-3 years back. If there is one, feel free to link to it. Your complaint sounds a lot like the complaints that people made when the iPhone first came out: nitpicking the specs and disregarding the paradigm shift that it brings to the table.

dpark 10y ago
This isn't a paradigm shift. This is dock for your phone. It's literally the same paradigm as a laptop dock. You plug in your device and get to use it with a bigger screen and keyboard. That's all. I've been proven wrong before, so it could certainly happen again, but I just cannot see this being a widely-desired product. How large is the set of people who want a tiny, low-powered laptop that is useless without a phone tethered to it? This is a geek fantasy, where we imagine that having a single computing device is better somehow, despite there being no meaningful scenarios that this enables.
- chaostheory 10y ago
  > This isn't a paradigm shift. This is dock for your phone. It's literally the same paradigm as a laptop dock. This is NOT a laptop dock. You speak as if there are already tons of other docks for phones. I'm not aware of any aside from that old Motorola dock. Am I wrong? You can say the same thing about the iPhone. "It's just a Blackberry without the keyboard... or a Palm without a pen." "The app store is not anything new that we haven't seen from the carriers" The list goes on. > How large is the set of people who want a tiny, low-powered laptop that is useless without a phone tethered to it? I don't know but I do know in Asia (and in places like Manhattan) there are a lot of people who live in tiny apartments and who primarily use their phones as their primary (or really their only) personal computer. This would be useful for them. It may not be this company that popularizes this design, but I predict it will be widespread in the coming years. > despite there being no meaningful scenarios that this enables ok this is already not true. Not having to carry something as big as a laptop is already a meaningful use case. > This is a geek fantasy, where we imagine that having a single computing device is better someho It's not a fantasy when 1. someone has already made it and 2. when you look beyond the suburbs and your own needs and taste. Not everyone needs a super powered laptop or for that matter can even afford one. Also not everyone knows how to sync their phone with their other computer
  - dpark 10y ago
    > You speak as if there are already tons of other docks for phones. I didn't speak that way at all. This isn't a new category of device or concept (given Motorola's device and Continuum from Microsoft), but that's not the point. A paradigm shift is not merely defined by the creation of a new product. "Hey, I taped a duck to a car. Everybody needs a duckcar. What a paradigm shift!" The point is that this isn't a useful product for the vast majority of people. Who wants to sit on the couch using their laptop with a phone awkwardly tethered to it? Who wants to have a laptop that they can't simply hand to someone else to use (without also handing them their phone, or having them install some app on their phone, which must also run Android). Who wants to invest $100 (more after the early bird kickstarter stuff is done) in a device that has a crummy screen and probably a crummy touchpad and keyboard when they could buy a better chromebook or similar device for $200, and end up with a laptop that doesn't have the same shortcomings? Who's needs are better filled by this than by a separate device? Again, I think this is a geek fantasy. We see two devices that are both computers and think "hey, we should merge these". But that doesn't provide any utility. It doesn't save much if any money. It doesn't enable new functionality. It does exactly what mikestew said: it gathers dust. This is very much like the Asus Padphone. It sounds interesting to merge a phone and a tablet like this, but it's not actually useful. You just end up with a tablet that's useless without the phone. It's not a better experience in any way.
    - chaostheory 10y ago
      > This isn't a new category of device or concep Neither was the iPhone or the iPad ("it's just a bigger iPhone") > The point is that this isn't a useful product for the vast majority of people. How do you know for sure? This isn't a device that's targeted for HN users. > But that doesn't provide any utility. It does and you still haven't disputed my point: Not having to carry a 12in laptop in the subway. There are also plenty of people who are too poor to afford a laptop. They can afford this. Also there are also a lot of people who can't afford cloud features and don't know how to sync a phone and laptop. > that has a crummy screen and probably a crummy touchpad There are many people who don't care about the specs in this world. Not everyone is a techie and not everyone wants the very best. > It doesn't enable new functionality. No it doesn't for us, but it does for people who don't own a separate desktop or laptop. You have to look beyond yourself, your own social circle, and the suburbs that you live in. > Who wants to have a laptop that they can't simply hand to someone else to use Similar to how a lot of smart phones really suck on battery life, I can imagine accessories being made for this - like a case with a clip or better yet a case with a slip cover that you can slide the phone into. Even then at this price point and given the demographic that they're targetting, this probably won't be a problem. > This is very much like the Asus Padphone. It sounds interesting to merge a phone and a tablet like this, but it's not actually useful. That's funny. Everyone, including myself, made fun of Samsung for doing the same thing with the Note. Phablets have been selling just fine for years now. Again just because it's not useful for you personally, it doesn't mean that there isn't a market or need for it. The only thing that the Asus Padphone proves is that ideas are cheap. Execution is where it counts.

dpark 10y ago

This isn't a paradigm shift. This is dock for your phone. It's literally the same paradigm as a laptop dock. You plug in your device and get to use it with a bigger screen and keyboard. That's all. I've been proven wrong before, so it could certainly happen again, but I just cannot see this being a widely-desired product. How large is the set of people who want a tiny, low-powered laptop that is useless without a phone tethered to it? This is a geek fantasy, where we imagine that having a single computing device is better somehow, despite there being no meaningful scenarios that this enables.

chaostheory 10y ago
> This isn't a paradigm shift. This is dock for your phone. It's literally the same paradigm as a laptop dock. This is NOT a laptop dock. You speak as if there are already tons of other docks for phones. I'm not aware of any aside from that old Motorola dock. Am I wrong? You can say the same thing about the iPhone. "It's just a Blackberry without the keyboard... or a Palm without a pen." "The app store is not anything new that we haven't seen from the carriers" The list goes on. > How large is the set of people who want a tiny, low-powered laptop that is useless without a phone tethered to it? I don't know but I do know in Asia (and in places like Manhattan) there are a lot of people who live in tiny apartments and who primarily use their phones as their primary (or really their only) personal computer. This would be useful for them. It may not be this company that popularizes this design, but I predict it will be widespread in the coming years. > despite there being no meaningful scenarios that this enables ok this is already not true. Not having to carry something as big as a laptop is already a meaningful use case. > This is a geek fantasy, where we imagine that having a single computing device is better someho It's not a fantasy when 1. someone has already made it and 2. when you look beyond the suburbs and your own needs and taste. Not everyone needs a super powered laptop or for that matter can even afford one. Also not everyone knows how to sync their phone with their other computer
- dpark 10y ago
  > You speak as if there are already tons of other docks for phones. I didn't speak that way at all. This isn't a new category of device or concept (given Motorola's device and Continuum from Microsoft), but that's not the point. A paradigm shift is not merely defined by the creation of a new product. "Hey, I taped a duck to a car. Everybody needs a duckcar. What a paradigm shift!" The point is that this isn't a useful product for the vast majority of people. Who wants to sit on the couch using their laptop with a phone awkwardly tethered to it? Who wants to have a laptop that they can't simply hand to someone else to use (without also handing them their phone, or having them install some app on their phone, which must also run Android). Who wants to invest $100 (more after the early bird kickstarter stuff is done) in a device that has a crummy screen and probably a crummy touchpad and keyboard when they could buy a better chromebook or similar device for $200, and end up with a laptop that doesn't have the same shortcomings? Who's needs are better filled by this than by a separate device? Again, I think this is a geek fantasy. We see two devices that are both computers and think "hey, we should merge these". But that doesn't provide any utility. It doesn't save much if any money. It doesn't enable new functionality. It does exactly what mikestew said: it gathers dust. This is very much like the Asus Padphone. It sounds interesting to merge a phone and a tablet like this, but it's not actually useful. You just end up with a tablet that's useless without the phone. It's not a better experience in any way.
  - chaostheory 10y ago
    > This isn't a new category of device or concep Neither was the iPhone or the iPad ("it's just a bigger iPhone") > The point is that this isn't a useful product for the vast majority of people. How do you know for sure? This isn't a device that's targeted for HN users. > But that doesn't provide any utility. It does and you still haven't disputed my point: Not having to carry a 12in laptop in the subway. There are also plenty of people who are too poor to afford a laptop. They can afford this. Also there are also a lot of people who can't afford cloud features and don't know how to sync a phone and laptop. > that has a crummy screen and probably a crummy touchpad There are many people who don't care about the specs in this world. Not everyone is a techie and not everyone wants the very best. > It doesn't enable new functionality. No it doesn't for us, but it does for people who don't own a separate desktop or laptop. You have to look beyond yourself, your own social circle, and the suburbs that you live in. > Who wants to have a laptop that they can't simply hand to someone else to use Similar to how a lot of smart phones really suck on battery life, I can imagine accessories being made for this - like a case with a clip or better yet a case with a slip cover that you can slide the phone into. Even then at this price point and given the demographic that they're targetting, this probably won't be a problem. > This is very much like the Asus Padphone. It sounds interesting to merge a phone and a tablet like this, but it's not actually useful. That's funny. Everyone, including myself, made fun of Samsung for doing the same thing with the Note. Phablets have been selling just fine for years now. Again just because it's not useful for you personally, it doesn't mean that there isn't a market or need for it. The only thing that the Asus Padphone proves is that ideas are cheap. Execution is where it counts.