4 ms·

Smartphones are already more powerful than the desktop computers of, say, a few years ago and are already capable of comfortably running a browser and an office

by neotek 9y ago

Smartphones are already more powerful than the desktop computers of, say, a few years ago and are already capable of comfortably running a browser and an office suite without any performance problems. So it isn't a question of computing power, it's a question of utility: who actually needs this? What benefit does it provide over and above just having a cheap PC to do PC things and a smartphone to do smartphone things and syncing documents between the two? It's not cheaper, it's not more convenient, it's not more productive, it's not more powerful, so what's the point?

oblio 9y ago
Right now? There's no point cause you skipped part of my comment. It should be trivial for me to turn my phone into a computer. I should need only a $20 USB hub in order to power my phone and connect it to a keyboard, mouse, one or even several screens. Or even connect them wirelessly. Then, the OS should trivially handle this case and offer me access to high quality desktop apps. I don't think either condition is true now. When this point is reached I'm pretty sure half of the laptop sales will evaporate within a short time.
- SyneRyder 9y ago
  User DennisAleynikov in this thread says he has it working with a $20 USB-C to HDMI cable, without even needing to buy the official Samsung DeX connector. Once plugged in, the phone lets you run desktop Android apps straight away. Check the Samsung DeX page to see how it looks. The use case you've described is already here.
  - oblio 9y ago
    Cool. Still, availability, word of mouth, marketing, etc. It's one thing when a random person (no offense, Dennis Aleynikov) does it, another one when you have 6 big companies competing for this segment. And I'm not sure the software part is here. At least not in a polished way. The closest solutions that come to mind are Microsoft UWP (but Microsoft doesn't seem to be gaining traction due to various reasons, not least because they're Microsoft and few people trust them these days...) and Ubuntu Unity (I think they've abandoned the concept?). From what I've read Android tablet and desktop apps are not really up-to-par, at least today.

by neotek 9y ago

oblio 9y ago

Right now? There's no point cause you skipped part of my comment. It should be trivial for me to turn my phone into a computer. I should need only a $20 USB hub in order to power my phone and connect it to a keyboard, mouse, one or even several screens. Or even connect them wirelessly. Then, the OS should trivially handle this case and offer me access to high quality desktop apps. I don't think either condition is true now. When this point is reached I'm pretty sure half of the laptop sales will evaporate within a short time.

SyneRyder 9y ago
User DennisAleynikov in this thread says he has it working with a $20 USB-C to HDMI cable, without even needing to buy the official Samsung DeX connector. Once plugged in, the phone lets you run desktop Android apps straight away. Check the Samsung DeX page to see how it looks. The use case you've described is already here.
- oblio 9y ago
  Cool. Still, availability, word of mouth, marketing, etc. It's one thing when a random person (no offense, Dennis Aleynikov) does it, another one when you have 6 big companies competing for this segment. And I'm not sure the software part is here. At least not in a polished way. The closest solutions that come to mind are Microsoft UWP (but Microsoft doesn't seem to be gaining traction due to various reasons, not least because they're Microsoft and few people trust them these days...) and Ubuntu Unity (I think they've abandoned the concept?). From what I've read Android tablet and desktop apps are not really up-to-par, at least today.