4 ms·

I thought (and still think) the phone as single computing device is going to replace desktops and laptops via some kind of dock of some sort. There's been a few

by bane 9y ago

I thought (and still think) the phone as single computing device is going to replace desktops and laptops via some kind of dock of some sort. There's been a few attempts at it by Dell and Microsoft and a few others, but none really satisfactory. I think the most successful to date is the Nintendo Switch.

robodale 9y ago
I thought this as well. I'd love to plug my phone into a laptop-looking-thingy...and instantly have a keyboard, screen, and maybe a battery (to keep the phone charged up).
- eatplayrove 9y ago
  What about the Intel compute stick and similar?
  - bpicolo 9y ago
    Can't use it as a phone. The all-purpose compute device is the shtick they want
- ezconnect 9y ago
  Samsung is advertising that usage when promoting the current Galaxy phones
  - bane 9y ago
    You're right, here it is. https://www.samsung.com/us/explore/dex/ https://www.samsung.com/us/explore/dex/
- dpcx 9y ago
  There actually was an Android based device that did this years ago. 2011/2012, I think; you could connect the phone to an external device that gave you a mouse, keyboard, and screen. The only problem was that the external device was something like $300 on top of the phone. Edit: https://www.amazon.com/AT-Laptop-Dock-Motorola-ATRIX/dp/B004M17D62 https://www.amazon.com/AT-Laptop-Dock-Motorola-ATRIX/dp/B004... - Motorola Atrix Lapdock
deegles 9y ago
I bought into the Kickstarter for the Ubuntu phone and was honestly kind of relieved it didn’t go through.
ifdefdebug 9y ago
I don't think the desktop is going anywhere - only the use case will shift around. Because at the time when smartphones will be able to beat today's desktops in performance, desktops will have evolved as well - it's always possible to pack more performance into a desktop case than into a smartphone case, with the technology available in any given moment.
- bane 9y ago
  Sure, but pretty much any modern phone can provide enough horsepower for most users, even games. The problem really comes down to the UI and IO modes. The Switch works because it limits the options to just games. But for general purpose computing, even my slightly older Android phone can open dozens of tabs, play games, video, drive a high-res display, and so on. If it had a dock that immediately connected it to some monitors a mouse and keyboard and the UI changed a hair I'd be a perfectly happy computing user and I get to carry around my primary device with me. In fact, it has similar specs and a better GPU than many low-end laptops that millions of people are reasonably content to use on a daily basis.
  - hyperpallium 9y ago
    If part of your reasoning is it follows the pattern of computers getting smaller (as in The Innovator's Dilemma), in a way, this kinda sorta has happened, in the form of Chromebooks that use smartphone hardware, firmware and software. Of course, it doesn't imclude the crucial "dock" part (except in the sense you can plug in a fullsize keyboard and monitor as you can for a laptop). Not sure of the situation recently, but at one time they were topping amazon lists.

by bane 9y ago

robodale 9y ago

I thought this as well. I'd love to plug my phone into a laptop-looking-thingy...and instantly have a keyboard, screen, and maybe a battery (to keep the phone charged up).

eatplayrove 9y ago
What about the Intel compute stick and similar?
- bpicolo 9y ago
  Can't use it as a phone. The all-purpose compute device is the shtick they want
ezconnect 9y ago
Samsung is advertising that usage when promoting the current Galaxy phones
- bane 9y ago
  You're right, here it is. https://www.samsung.com/us/explore/dex/ https://www.samsung.com/us/explore/dex/
dpcx 9y ago
There actually was an Android based device that did this years ago. 2011/2012, I think; you could connect the phone to an external device that gave you a mouse, keyboard, and screen. The only problem was that the external device was something like $300 on top of the phone. Edit: https://www.amazon.com/AT-Laptop-Dock-Motorola-ATRIX/dp/B004M17D62 https://www.amazon.com/AT-Laptop-Dock-Motorola-ATRIX/dp/B004... - Motorola Atrix Lapdock

deegles 9y ago

I bought into the Kickstarter for the Ubuntu phone and was honestly kind of relieved it didn’t go through.

ifdefdebug 9y ago

I don't think the desktop is going anywhere - only the use case will shift around. Because at the time when smartphones will be able to beat today's desktops in performance, desktops will have evolved as well - it's always possible to pack more performance into a desktop case than into a smartphone case, with the technology available in any given moment.

bane 9y ago
Sure, but pretty much any modern phone can provide enough horsepower for most users, even games. The problem really comes down to the UI and IO modes. The Switch works because it limits the options to just games. But for general purpose computing, even my slightly older Android phone can open dozens of tabs, play games, video, drive a high-res display, and so on. If it had a dock that immediately connected it to some monitors a mouse and keyboard and the UI changed a hair I'd be a perfectly happy computing user and I get to carry around my primary device with me. In fact, it has similar specs and a better GPU than many low-end laptops that millions of people are reasonably content to use on a daily basis.
- hyperpallium 9y ago
  If part of your reasoning is it follows the pattern of computers getting smaller (as in The Innovator's Dilemma), in a way, this kinda sorta has happened, in the form of Chromebooks that use smartphone hardware, firmware and software. Of course, it doesn't imclude the crucial "dock" part (except in the sense you can plug in a fullsize keyboard and monitor as you can for a laptop). Not sure of the situation recently, but at one time they were topping amazon lists.