7 ms·

Device turns Android phone into computer. A reason to make HTML 5 apps?

146 points by scriptproof 14y ago

mtgx 14y ago
Why is it not a reason to make Android apps?
- redthrowaway 14y ago
  I'm far more interested in this. If I could have full productivity features with Android, I'd take a serious look at making it my only device. As it is, tablets simply can't bring enough to the table to convince me to ditch the laptop.
  - mtgx 14y ago
    Same here. I've just bought a new Windows laptop, and I'm planning on getting a new "machine" around 2015 or so. The hardware should be "good enough" by then (quad core 2.5-3.0 Ghz Cortex A20 - or whatever they are calling the next-gen 64 bit chip after A15), and I'm hoping Android will be mature enough as an OS by then with a lot of productivity apps, that I can just use an Android machine (like a Transformer device) for everything. I'm also on the lookout for a Windows alternative in the future, as I'm not liking the direction Microsoft is taking with Metro at all. But Google needs to become a lot more serious about tablet (and desktop) apps by then. So far I've not seen that, but maybe things will change when they launch their own Android tablet at I/O, unless they will keep pretending phone apps are good enough for larger screens.
vignesh_vs_in 14y ago
omg even the site design screems apple :O
- DeepDuh 14y ago
  yep. "How close to an Apple keyboard can you really get" seems to be one of the questions they have asked themselves. About the idea - it's kinda neat but I think it's 2-3 years too early. Graphics, ram and networking are ok in today's smartphones and may be able to power a netbook - the CPU however isn't. As an example, HD flash videos is something today's users expect in an ultrabook sized device and this will disappoint them. And if this is thought to be an additional device to your notebook then I have to ask - why? You're still much better off with an ARM tablet and a keyboard dock.
  - meric 14y ago
    I concur, also I wonder what the battery life would be. The clambook looks too thin to be holding a battery, does that mean it will rely on the smartphone's own power supply? A smart phone might last longer than a laptop but that's only because it doesn't have a big 13" screen... until now.
    - vidarh 14y ago
      According to the page: "With MHL® technology, your smartphone charges while it’s connected to ClamBook. Enjoy full length movies, edit documents, and browse the web without worrying about draining your battery." So clearly there's a battery in it.
  - vidarh 14y ago
    > As an example, HD flash videos is something today's users expect in an ultrabook sized device and this will disappoint them. There are Android phones out there that can display video at 2160p to an external display, so I'm not sure why this should be a problem. But I really don't think people who want to play flash videos are the target market for this device today. Rather people like me for whom having a netbook for very basic stuff is very useful, but who really have no need for it to be an extra computer. I have everything I need in order to manage the servers I'm responsible for on my phone, for example, but I'm hampered by a small screen, no keyboard (ssh via on screen keyboard on my 4.3" phone is somewhat painful) and short battery life, so today I already carry around spare batteries and a large battery pack in my back, and really should have a keyboard with me too. That still leaves the screen. And cables. Getting it all in one sleek case would be great. > And if this is thought to be an additional device to your notebook then I have to ask - why? You're still much better off with an ARM tablet and a keyboard dock. My laptop is a 17.3" "desktop replacement" that never leaves the house. I don't usually need a laptop when I'm out and about, but as mentioned above there are cases where some limited capabilities beyond what my phone offers would be great. You're right that a tablet + keyboard could meet it, but I'd prefer a 7" tablet I can easily hold in one hand during commuting, while I'd prefer a larger screen if I need to have extra stuff to be able to do work anyway. There's room for a lot of different form factors and types of devices - people have different usage patterns.
andybak 14y ago
Even a ballpark indication of price would be helpful. I have a bad feeling that it will price itself too high to be useful (especially considering I'm in the UK and tech seems to use bizarro $1=£1 exchange rate).
- coob 14y ago
  Prices in the US don't include sales tax (VAT). In the UK they do. Take the new iPad for example. $499, add 20% UK VAT ~$599 which at today's rate is ~£385. The UK price for the same iPad is £399. Yes there is a discrepancy, but you're not being ripped off as much as you think you are. Unless you buy an Apple TV, that is.
  - papalalu 14y ago
    thanks! this makes a lot more sense now..
  - mibbitier 14y ago
    Could also be due to licensing regulations etc etc. There seem to be a million and one EU directives regarding different levies placed on tech. For example if something can record more than 30 seconds of video I believe it's classed in a separate category and carries with it hefty levies.
    - dan85 14y ago
      Also, if I remember right, in Europe, electronic devices must come with at least 2 year warranty, compared to 1 year in the US.
  - goatforce5 14y ago
    Higher operating expenses too: staff, store rental, etc.
  - juliano_q 14y ago
    It seems wonderful compared to Brazil, where $599 is "converted" to R$1.549,00 ($766), even if there is a Foxconn factory here now. It makes no sense at all.
alex1422 14y ago
It looks fake..
- bbeaudoin 14y ago
  I agree. Maybe a digital mockup for market testing purposes.
  - linker3000 14y ago
    Probably - look at the shot of the racing game; the speed and timing on the ClamBook display do not match those on the phone. It's a nice idea and I could use it to replace most of my desktop functionality - but then I sometimes have to burn a few DVDs, run some in-house developed apps, read/write USB sticks and use a (USB) Yubikey (OTP generator) to access some of our systems so it would be very hard to switch 100% to a ClamBook, and there's no way I'd want to keep alternating between two sets of kit - kinda defeats the purpose - but some may be able to cope.
angerman 14y ago
Interesting, they just say "Smartphone", and have an iPhone (am I mistaken?!) lurking behind the Android device. Similarly, on the part where they had their marketing department create a "Gaming" sample, the device used as controller looks very much like an iPhone, even the connector does.
- notatoad 14y ago
  the page title is "Clambook iPhone and Android Laptop Dock". The whole page makes it seem very android-specific though, and i have a hard time understanding how anything like this would be even possible on iOS.
  - angerman 14y ago
    Well, as of now, you can actually do connect your phone to the apple tv[1]. And you can connect a BT Keyboard as well. And I think I've also seen games utilizing the second screen for a different purpose then simply for mirroring. I'm not so sure about the touchpad though. Still I find that page a little bogus. [1]: http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/airplay.html http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/airplay.html
- dan1234 14y ago
  In the small print: "Some of the ClamBook features highlighted may use modified software. It is important to note, most manufacturers strongly caution against installing any software that modifies the original device software (this process is often referred to as “jailbreaking” or “rooting”)." There are iOS AirPlay APIs for video mirroring on later devices[1] (you can even have different content on the external screen and phone's screen), though I'm not sure how they'd manage to connect a keyboard or trackpad. This strikes me as more of a design mockup than a viable product. The company does have existing products[2] but they're not nearly as polished. [1]http://www.apple.com/airplay/ http://www.apple.com/airplay/ [2]http://clamcase.com/ipad-3-keyboard-case-black.html http://clamcase.com/ipad-3-keyboard-case-black.html
  - angerman 14y ago
rex64 14y ago
"Don’t have your chestnuts roasting on an open fire" lol
quarterto 14y ago
This thing is just begging for Ubuntu for Android. http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android
- mtgx 14y ago
  Not exactly the same solution. Ubuntu for Android lets you run Ubuntu on the desktop, and no Android apps I think. This seems to work more like Asus' Padfone, so when the phone is docked, you get ICS on the larger screen, and get to use all Android apps.
  - danieldk 14y ago
    From what I heard, it's possible to run Android apps on Ubuntu for Android: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/02/ubuntu-for-android-announced http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/02/ubuntu-for-android-announ... The fact that they run in a special window suggests that the applications actually run in Android, but that they are composited in/on the Linux desktop.
bbeaudoin 14y ago
This won't do me any good until Samsung releases Ice Cream Sandwich for my Infuse.
franzus 14y ago
That's certainly a cool direction computing could take. Instead of having a PC and a smartphone you will only have one device.
- m_for_monkey 14y ago
  You still have two, only you don't have to synchronize your data between them.
  - mbreese 14y ago
    Well, you have one smart device, and one or more headless devices that require you to dock your smart device. But, the big idea is that these dumb devices could be anywhere... the office, your home, your car, the coffee shop, etc... Many locations, one device - no syncing. With each dock conveniently adapted to it's locale. So, the desktop at work has a big screen and extra storage, the laptop at home is small with a larger battery, and the dock in your car simply charges the device as you drive. It's a great vision, if someone could just standardize on a docking mechanism.
mistircek 14y ago
It took me a while to understand what actually the product is. Is it just a dock? A MacBook Air like laptop? Only then I understood it was a laptop that "connects your phone to laptop" (I'm still not sure if I got it right, so correct me if I'm wrong). I'd probably won't buy it but good luck to them. It's funny that now every laptop is looking like Apple's MacBook Air.
- sneak 14y ago
  It's not a laptop, it's an all-in-one external display, keyboard, and battery for an Android phone. For 90%+ of computer users on Earth, it's way better than a laptop. This smells like the future.
  - jasongullickson 14y ago
    Citation please.
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
    - sneak 14y ago
      From TFA: > MHL Technology simultaneously delivers digital video to ClamBook and power to your Smartphone > Standard Laptops can run uncomfortably hot in your lap. ClamBook's processing happens on your Smartphone, so it runs cool as cucumber. > With MHL® technology, your smartphone charges while it’s connected to ClamBook. > ClamBook's slim and sleek aluminum design features a widescreen display, full-sized keyboard and multi-touch trackpad. Add style and functionality while transforming your Smartphone into the ultimate connected device. > Impossibly thin, Incredibly light Apparently it has speakers too.
      - jopt 14y ago
        Those are advantages of this product. The citation (I think) should look more like the source of that 90% figure.
MehdiEG 14y ago
No. Isn't it ironic how just a few hours after somebody posted the wikipedia article on Betteridge's Law of Headlines (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4092880 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4092880), two of such headlines make the top 2 of HN :) More on topic, this looks like Palm Foleo re-invented (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Foleo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Foleo). I always found the Foleo concept great so I wouldn't mind seeing another attempt. That said, the success of iPad and other tablets is going to make this device even more niche than the Foleo would have been. It'll be a tough sell.
- acc00 14y ago
  Foleo had great hardware design and wasn't trying to mimic a popular cheap consumer laptop.
  - MehdiEG 14y ago
    To be honest, who cares about the hardware design here? This is very obviously a fake (or a cheap Chinese ripoff). Outside of China, nobody in their right mind would release something that's such an obviously MacBook Air clone. What's interesting here isn't the actual hardware (which either doesn't exist or is cheap crap), it's the concept.
- Digit-Al 14y ago
  >That said, the success of iPad and other tablets is going to make this device even more niche than the Foleo would have been. It'll be a tough sell. You are probably right - but not necessarily. This, after all, fills a different niche to a tablet. You can't put a tablet in your pocket and tablets are expensive because of having their own processor, memory, etc. This way you can use all the facilities of your highly portable phone on a laptop sized device that should, in theory, be a lot cheaper than a laptop or tablet.
  - bryanlarsen 14y ago
    Tablets are expensive because of their screen, touch screen, battery and mechanicals. Everything else is cheap in comparison. http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/Pages/New-iPad-32-GB-4G-Carries-364-35-Bill-of-Materials.aspx http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/Pages/New-iPad-32-GB-4... Devices like this still have a screen and battery and mechanicals. Instead of $20 of CPU and $10 of RAM they have a $10 CPU that includes RAM. That's pretty much the only savings available. On the other hand, tablets sell in huge volumes; this is a niche market. So it's quite probable that tablets and/or notebooks without a CPU will be more expensive than ones with a CPU.
joelhaasnoot 14y ago
Wait, where have I heard this before? Oh wait it's Palm Foleo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Foleo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Foleo) all over again
- vidarh 14y ago
  Except the Palm Foleo contained a computer. This is a "dumb" box. It's much closer to the Motorola Atrix laptop dock.
- bjornsteffanson 14y ago
  True, but we weren't knee-deep in the cloud in 2007 like we are today. SSH, Vim, Google Documents on 1GHz machines? You could get some actual work done now with a dock.
parkrrr 14y ago
Considering Apple patented the clamshell design from the Macbook Air recently, I expect this design to shift radically.
chj 14y ago
Now it makes more sense for those quad core android phones.
- mtgx 14y ago
  And 2 GB of RAM. I'd prefer dual core 2 Ghz Cortex A15 CPU's vs quad core 1.5 Ghz Cortex A9, though.
jcromartie 14y ago
I see a lawsuit from Apple coming: http://lghttp.5654.nexcesscdn.net/8041F9/mage/skin/frontend/pro/cc/images/cbgallery/clambook_laptop_dock_02.jpg http://lghttp.5654.nexcesscdn.net/8041F9/mage/skin/frontend/...
- swalsh 14y ago
  It's more rectangular then it is wedge shaped.
  - joeblau 14y ago
    I don't think that argument is really going to hold up against Apples legal team.
Casc 14y ago
Getting closer... I really think a smartphone docking into stations is the future. "Mannequin" Laptops, desktops etc that are activated once a smartphone is plugged in. You can now use a keyboard, external monitors, your OS slightly adapts... iOS becomes Snow Leopard (not exactly, you just have more functionality) Once docked, a smartphone can unlock additional cores that would otherwise consume too much power, activate a more powerful GPU, possibly one even housed in the docking station itself... I really think smart phones will become the magical little chip you place inside a cyborg to operate a larger, more powerful creature. Imagine working at home off your docked smartphone computer (fully functioning OS), undocking and using your simple apps on the train to work (mobile OS, not much different than current experience), getting to work, docking into your station and you're right back at it (full OS)... portability with a familiar ui/ux feel... seamless experience. Or gaming at home, undocking and going to a LAN party with your friends, not having to worry about whether or not the games / apps are installed, the docks are generic... plug and play. (Ignoring the whole home to work aspect and security issues / work policies, of course) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3902051 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3902051
- cageface 14y ago
  Apple's newfound fortune was built on the understanding that mobile computing is fundamentally different than desktop/laptop computing. That understanding is the reason they were able to break touch screen interfaces into the mainstream. Steve Jobs is laughing in his grave at stuff like this.
  - alttab 14y ago
    Form factor is just the topping. Using web apps and cloud storage is so far the most accessible way to have a seamless computing environment (versus experience, which must be different like Jobs knew). Apple or anyone else could side step those entire industries by making powerful portable smart phones that acted as a driver or data storage for other operating environments.
    - Casc 14y ago
lohn 14y ago
Here's my question. What if you could purchase a small black cube that served as a micro-kernel with large computing capability and some type of wireless connectivity. From there, we could have multiple slave devices such as this laptop or a smart phone that then could turn connect to your computer box? That would be pretty cool?
glogla 14y ago
I love the power consumption charts with no numbers, not units and basically not information whatsoever. Gem of marketing, really. Also, I don't really think this is a good idea. Phones have different power and thermal envelopes, so even with Moore's Law, dedicated desktop is always going to be more powerful than laptop, and laptop is going to be more powerful than this. Same goes for storage, memory, graphics and everything. And one more thing, after playing one of the games in lastest Humble Bundle that was originally released for iOS, I am of the opinion that touch and mouse/trackpad interfaces are incompatible in both ways, that using mouse or trackpad with touch apps is as impractical as using touch interface with traditional desktop apps.
- mtgx 14y ago
  But eventually the new technology becomes "good enough", and that's what matters to most people. That's why laptops have already surpassed PC sales years ago, and that's why people are buying more and more tablets, while being satisfied with their performance. So the "X will always be better than Y" argument is almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, when it comes to the mass market.
- neya 14y ago
  Do you believe in statistics? Honestly, its not so difficult to make one. Lets appreciate them for not coming up with bogus stats, like many other do. Actually if you think about it, its not really a marketing gem, when compared to what Apple does for its technically inferior Mac book Air line-ups. (Hint: Google for Mac vs Pc on Youtube)
  - rfrey 14y ago
    Do you believe in statistics? Yes. Statistics is the collection and analysis of numerical data. Science is nothing without statistics. Don't you believe in statistics? I know the HN community is diverse and getting more so, but this is a surprising question here nonetheless.
    - neya 14y ago
arturadib 14y ago
Interesting bet. While most are betting on having all your data and apps in the cloud so you can live device-agnostic (eg iCloud, GDrive, Chrome OS, etc), these folks are basically proposing a mobile-centered world. The only advantage I see of this model over the existing cloud model is possibly cost, as presumably the device is much cheaper than a laptop. But that comes with a UX price tag - as already pointed out here, app interfaces built for touch can be frustrating to operate with a mouse/trackpad cursor. If they can pull off an attractive price point AND an elegant solution to the UX problem, this could be a serious sales machine.
rbn 14y ago
I love how they are saying less processing power is better. If netbooks taught us anything is that sacrificing too much processing power for battery life ends up with frustrated users. Why not just use a Ultrabook? Everything is in the cloud already.
- mtgx 14y ago
  It's not the same thing. Netbooks were forced to use a 20 GB OS with much more bloated apps compared to the lean mobile alternatives, and on a single core processor. Use Office on a netbook, and then use an "Office" app on iPad. See which is faster. The thing about netbooks is that everything from the OS itself to the applications written for Windows were made with powerful processors in mind, and as processors became more powerful, those apps became more resource intensive as well. Then you took all that and crammed it into a very low-performance netbook. Mobile operating systems and apps were designed from the ground up to use very little resources and be lean so they don't use a lot of battery life, either. So yeah, the comparison is not the same. The most "advanced" app on a dual core tablet will probably feel just as fast as the "most advanced" program on a high-end PC, if not faster.
  - rbn 14y ago
    mmm.. yes that is true. It will be interesting to see which paradigm wins or we might have all of them exist side by side. Apple is betting on separation of mobile and full size computers. Windows and Ubuntu are betting on the same OS on all screens.
    - mtgx 14y ago
      I think either Apple's method or going bottom-up with Android, but they have to fix the problem of making "mobile apps" work well in desktop environments, too. Plus, they probably need an improved Android UI for desktops as well, although the current tablet ICS one comes pretty close to a desktop interface. But they need to enable a more "desktop-like multi-tasking" and so on.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
pragmatic 14y ago
I can do this with my current phone with this device: http://www.motorola.com/us/consumers/Motorola-Lapdock-100/73945,en_US,pd.html http://www.motorola.com/us/consumers/Motorola-Lapdock-100/73... The clam case is much sexier. But, even at $250, I can't find a compelling reason to use my phone in laptop environment. The apps just aren't there. Also, $250 gets you a fully funtional (and more powerful) Windows/Linux laptop. Spend some more and you get a machine you can write code on and game with. I wish them all the best, but this is going to tank.
- dave1010uk 14y ago
  I bought a Motorola Lapdock for my Atrix for £50 (about $80) in a sale. It seems really cool but hardly gets any use as I have a real laptop with a proper desktop OS.
netcan 14y ago
Headline I'd like to see: "Google Turns Android Into A Computer" I almost suspect that the chromebook project is down Google's attempt to make a new kind of laptop.
phate 14y ago
Hasn't this already been done with the Redfly Mobile Companion (http://www.celiocorp.com/companion http://www.celiocorp.com/companion) and the Palm Foleo and failed miserably both times?
- token78 14y ago
  One glance at Redfly is enough to tell you why it wasn't embraced! And by your logic, the iPad was destined for failure too, no? I'm not sure if this will fly, but I suspect execution and design will be major factors.
smoyer 14y ago
No The reason to make HTML5 apps is that they'll run on anything with a modern browser. Some applications are related to the underlying device hardware and need to be written in the appropriate SDK, but many programs could be done just as well in HTML5 and would be inherently cross-platform.
metaedge 14y ago
The new Palm Foleo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Foleo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Foleo
chubbard 14y ago
Now it looks like producing apps that are tablet + phone capable is important for this to succeed. Think if you have an app running on your phone, and you dock it now you just got more space so you're app should change to tablet style interface. Android's architecture might shine because apps are capable of single binary with all of the goodies included for phone vs tablet. So plugging in your phone just causes the Android App to run onCreate() again on your activity and now you're in tablet layout vs. phone layout. iPhone is a universal binary, but it's two different executables in one package so you'd have to start the app over. The over arching point is form factors like this require app developers do certain things to make their apps behave well in these environments.
jopt 14y ago
To me this, if anything, looks like a trade dress infringement (MacBook line). Can someone help me understand why it isn't? I don't support IP whatsoever; I'm vehemently against all these laws. I'm just curious how they're planning to get away with it.
- JackC 14y ago
  I'm by no means an expert on trade dress, but look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dress http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dress , especially the law itself (which is pretty straightforward) and the section on distinctiveness. The key point is that to win a trade dress suit, you must prove that consumers are actually confused about who made the product. Now look at me. Now look at the clambook pictures. See how it prominently says "clambook" when it's open, and prominently shows the clambook logo on the back? I suspect that it would be hard to find a meaningful group of people who would answer the question "who made this" with "Apple." If you know enough to associate that design with Apple, you know it's not going to have a picture of a mollusk where the Apple logo's supposed to be. No customer confusion == no trade dress problem. (This isn't a hypothetical -- they literally do this kind of survey in trademark cases.) Incidentally, not all IP law is the same, and trademark/trade dress law in particular is a Good Thing. You don't want to buy a knockoff Apple power charger thinking you're getting the real thing. You don't want to pay French champagne prices for California bubbly, or Coke prices for store-brand soda. The basic question in trademark law is "how often does this product succeed in tricking someone into buying one thing when they meant to buy something else?" Obviously courts will get the answer wrong sometimes, and there might be areas where the line should be drawn a little differently, but for the most part this is an area of IP law you should vehemently support. I'm on a horse.
UTHorsey 14y ago
Interesting concept. I'm not sure it will totally catch on though, I use my smartphone when on the go. I have a PC at home that vastly outperforms any smartphone.
- vidarh 14y ago
  PC manufacturers other than Apple despair because people overwhelmingly opt for the low end, low margin devices, since most laptops are now "fast enough" for people to use them as their primary computers. It's not that long ago that using a laptop as your primary computer was inconceivable. And even shorter ago since the thought of using a phone as replacement for a laptop would've been considered science fiction. In other words: Your phone will catch up to where it is fast enough for enough uses for enough people that there will be a substantial market for taking advantage of the enhanced mobility and flexibility. Power users will still want more, but power users are a small niche.
matmann2001 14y ago
Motorola will be filing for patent infringement shortly....
ktizo 14y ago
Laptops are ergonomically horrible. If we have removed the technological restrictions that tied us to that form factor, are there not better ways to modularise this kind of functionality than to just make a dumb terminal in the shape of a laptop. For this kind of product, if the keyboard can't unclip from the screen, then you are doing it wrong.
- MisterBastahrd 14y ago
  Nothing says ergonomics like typing on a hard glass screen. Not that they're doing it right either. I don't want to have to carry around a dongle in addition to a fake laptop. Better to sync my data to the cloud securely and have my device of choice (for actual work) automatically pull down the relevant data.
  - ktizo 14y ago
    Nothing says ergonomics like typing on a hard glass screen. I agree. Tablets are ergonomically stupid as well. Don't even get me started on the general problem of having your fingers blocking what you are trying to see, let alone the lack of any kind of nice tactile feedback. The current minimalist design principles for personal computing devices are mirroring the worst of the architectural ones. Clean, sleek, beautiful, refined, and fairly useless for most people. Today's computing devices are fragile toys that look the part, and do more things, but are functionally worse at doing the tasks of the objects they are supposed to replace. The fact is I am very close to binning my smart phone and finding an old nokia 3210, purely because I could use that without looking at it most of the time, it was much quicker to make a call, it crashed a lot less, booted up quicker and the batteries lasted longer.
reason 14y ago
Something about this just doesn't seem legitimate. Also, in the fine print at the bottom: "The images on this website are examples only. Actual products may not contain the same design or functionality as featured on this website. "
JVIDEL 14y ago
I'm getting a sort of deja-vu feeling, this thing reminds me of all those desktop docks for laptops that appeared during the '90s when I was a kid. I remember it seemed really cool, but in practice it was a pain in the ass.
hosh 14y ago
It would be far more interesting to see this technology on wallboards (TVs), car devices (de-coupling of interface devices with processing devices such as GPSs), and supplemental processing units.
mark_l_watson 14y ago
I read "Dive into HTMZl 5" 18 months ago when we were in Japan an China. I was pretty much convinced that this was the future but when I got home other stuff required attention. Today I bought 2 more HTML 5 books, and I am trying to take breaks from consulting to master HTML 5 based apps. Something is wrong in the world if HTML 5 apps don't replace a majority of platform specific apps because in is in just about everyone's interest to have a portable UI platform across devices.
jmitcheson 14y ago
Client side form factor detection: nightmare mode

146 points by scriptproof 14y ago

mtgx 14y ago

Why is it not a reason to make Android apps?

redthrowaway 14y ago
I'm far more interested in this. If I could have full productivity features with Android, I'd take a serious look at making it my only device. As it is, tablets simply can't bring enough to the table to convince me to ditch the laptop.
- mtgx 14y ago
  Same here. I've just bought a new Windows laptop, and I'm planning on getting a new "machine" around 2015 or so. The hardware should be "good enough" by then (quad core 2.5-3.0 Ghz Cortex A20 - or whatever they are calling the next-gen 64 bit chip after A15), and I'm hoping Android will be mature enough as an OS by then with a lot of productivity apps, that I can just use an Android machine (like a Transformer device) for everything. I'm also on the lookout for a Windows alternative in the future, as I'm not liking the direction Microsoft is taking with Metro at all. But Google needs to become a lot more serious about tablet (and desktop) apps by then. So far I've not seen that, but maybe things will change when they launch their own Android tablet at I/O, unless they will keep pretending phone apps are good enough for larger screens.

vignesh_vs_in 14y ago

omg even the site design screems apple :O

DeepDuh 14y ago
yep. "How close to an Apple keyboard can you really get" seems to be one of the questions they have asked themselves. About the idea - it's kinda neat but I think it's 2-3 years too early. Graphics, ram and networking are ok in today's smartphones and may be able to power a netbook - the CPU however isn't. As an example, HD flash videos is something today's users expect in an ultrabook sized device and this will disappoint them. And if this is thought to be an additional device to your notebook then I have to ask - why? You're still much better off with an ARM tablet and a keyboard dock.
- meric 14y ago
  I concur, also I wonder what the battery life would be. The clambook looks too thin to be holding a battery, does that mean it will rely on the smartphone's own power supply? A smart phone might last longer than a laptop but that's only because it doesn't have a big 13" screen... until now.
  - vidarh 14y ago
    According to the page: "With MHL® technology, your smartphone charges while it’s connected to ClamBook. Enjoy full length movies, edit documents, and browse the web without worrying about draining your battery." So clearly there's a battery in it.
- vidarh 14y ago
  > As an example, HD flash videos is something today's users expect in an ultrabook sized device and this will disappoint them. There are Android phones out there that can display video at 2160p to an external display, so I'm not sure why this should be a problem. But I really don't think people who want to play flash videos are the target market for this device today. Rather people like me for whom having a netbook for very basic stuff is very useful, but who really have no need for it to be an extra computer. I have everything I need in order to manage the servers I'm responsible for on my phone, for example, but I'm hampered by a small screen, no keyboard (ssh via on screen keyboard on my 4.3" phone is somewhat painful) and short battery life, so today I already carry around spare batteries and a large battery pack in my back, and really should have a keyboard with me too. That still leaves the screen. And cables. Getting it all in one sleek case would be great. > And if this is thought to be an additional device to your notebook then I have to ask - why? You're still much better off with an ARM tablet and a keyboard dock. My laptop is a 17.3" "desktop replacement" that never leaves the house. I don't usually need a laptop when I'm out and about, but as mentioned above there are cases where some limited capabilities beyond what my phone offers would be great. You're right that a tablet + keyboard could meet it, but I'd prefer a 7" tablet I can easily hold in one hand during commuting, while I'd prefer a larger screen if I need to have extra stuff to be able to do work anyway. There's room for a lot of different form factors and types of devices - people have different usage patterns.

andybak 14y ago

Even a ballpark indication of price would be helpful. I have a bad feeling that it will price itself too high to be useful (especially considering I'm in the UK and tech seems to use bizarro $1=£1 exchange rate).

coob 14y ago
Prices in the US don't include sales tax (VAT). In the UK they do. Take the new iPad for example. $499, add 20% UK VAT ~$599 which at today's rate is ~£385. The UK price for the same iPad is £399. Yes there is a discrepancy, but you're not being ripped off as much as you think you are. Unless you buy an Apple TV, that is.
- papalalu 14y ago
  thanks! this makes a lot more sense now..
- mibbitier 14y ago
  Could also be due to licensing regulations etc etc. There seem to be a million and one EU directives regarding different levies placed on tech. For example if something can record more than 30 seconds of video I believe it's classed in a separate category and carries with it hefty levies.
  - dan85 14y ago
    Also, if I remember right, in Europe, electronic devices must come with at least 2 year warranty, compared to 1 year in the US.
- goatforce5 14y ago
  Higher operating expenses too: staff, store rental, etc.
- juliano_q 14y ago
  It seems wonderful compared to Brazil, where $599 is "converted" to R$1.549,00 ($766), even if there is a Foxconn factory here now. It makes no sense at all.

alex1422 14y ago

It looks fake..

bbeaudoin 14y ago
I agree. Maybe a digital mockup for market testing purposes.
- linker3000 14y ago
  Probably - look at the shot of the racing game; the speed and timing on the ClamBook display do not match those on the phone. It's a nice idea and I could use it to replace most of my desktop functionality - but then I sometimes have to burn a few DVDs, run some in-house developed apps, read/write USB sticks and use a (USB) Yubikey (OTP generator) to access some of our systems so it would be very hard to switch 100% to a ClamBook, and there's no way I'd want to keep alternating between two sets of kit - kinda defeats the purpose - but some may be able to cope.

angerman 14y ago

Interesting, they just say "Smartphone", and have an iPhone (am I mistaken?!) lurking behind the Android device. Similarly, on the part where they had their marketing department create a "Gaming" sample, the device used as controller looks very much like an iPhone, even the connector does.

notatoad 14y ago
the page title is "Clambook iPhone and Android Laptop Dock". The whole page makes it seem very android-specific though, and i have a hard time understanding how anything like this would be even possible on iOS.
- angerman 14y ago
  Well, as of now, you can actually do connect your phone to the apple tv[1]. And you can connect a BT Keyboard as well. And I think I've also seen games utilizing the second screen for a different purpose then simply for mirroring. I'm not so sure about the touchpad though. Still I find that page a little bogus. [1]: http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/airplay.html http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/airplay.html
dan1234 14y ago
In the small print: "Some of the ClamBook features highlighted may use modified software. It is important to note, most manufacturers strongly caution against installing any software that modifies the original device software (this process is often referred to as “jailbreaking” or “rooting”)." There are iOS AirPlay APIs for video mirroring on later devices[1] (you can even have different content on the external screen and phone's screen), though I'm not sure how they'd manage to connect a keyboard or trackpad. This strikes me as more of a design mockup than a viable product. The company does have existing products[2] but they're not nearly as polished. [1]http://www.apple.com/airplay/ http://www.apple.com/airplay/ [2]http://clamcase.com/ipad-3-keyboard-case-black.html http://clamcase.com/ipad-3-keyboard-case-black.html
- angerman 14y ago

rex64 14y ago

"Don’t have your chestnuts roasting on an open fire" lol

quarterto 14y ago

This thing is just begging for Ubuntu for Android. http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

mtgx 14y ago
Not exactly the same solution. Ubuntu for Android lets you run Ubuntu on the desktop, and no Android apps I think. This seems to work more like Asus' Padfone, so when the phone is docked, you get ICS on the larger screen, and get to use all Android apps.
- danieldk 14y ago
  From what I heard, it's possible to run Android apps on Ubuntu for Android: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/02/ubuntu-for-android-announced http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2012/02/ubuntu-for-android-announ... The fact that they run in a special window suggests that the applications actually run in Android, but that they are composited in/on the Linux desktop.

bbeaudoin 14y ago

This won't do me any good until Samsung releases Ice Cream Sandwich for my Infuse.

franzus 14y ago

That's certainly a cool direction computing could take. Instead of having a PC and a smartphone you will only have one device.

m_for_monkey 14y ago
You still have two, only you don't have to synchronize your data between them.
- mbreese 14y ago
  Well, you have one smart device, and one or more headless devices that require you to dock your smart device. But, the big idea is that these dumb devices could be anywhere... the office, your home, your car, the coffee shop, etc... Many locations, one device - no syncing. With each dock conveniently adapted to it's locale. So, the desktop at work has a big screen and extra storage, the laptop at home is small with a larger battery, and the dock in your car simply charges the device as you drive. It's a great vision, if someone could just standardize on a docking mechanism.

mistircek 14y ago

It took me a while to understand what actually the product is. Is it just a dock? A MacBook Air like laptop? Only then I understood it was a laptop that "connects your phone to laptop" (I'm still not sure if I got it right, so correct me if I'm wrong). I'd probably won't buy it but good luck to them. It's funny that now every laptop is looking like Apple's MacBook Air.

sneak 14y ago
It's not a laptop, it's an all-in-one external display, keyboard, and battery for an Android phone. For 90%+ of computer users on Earth, it's way better than a laptop. This smells like the future.
- jasongullickson 14y ago
  Citation please.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - sneak 14y ago
    From TFA: > MHL Technology simultaneously delivers digital video to ClamBook and power to your Smartphone > Standard Laptops can run uncomfortably hot in your lap. ClamBook's processing happens on your Smartphone, so it runs cool as cucumber. > With MHL® technology, your smartphone charges while it’s connected to ClamBook. > ClamBook's slim and sleek aluminum design features a widescreen display, full-sized keyboard and multi-touch trackpad. Add style and functionality while transforming your Smartphone into the ultimate connected device. > Impossibly thin, Incredibly light Apparently it has speakers too.
    - jopt 14y ago
      Those are advantages of this product. The citation (I think) should look more like the source of that 90% figure.

MehdiEG 14y ago

No. Isn't it ironic how just a few hours after somebody posted the wikipedia article on Betteridge's Law of Headlines (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4092880 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4092880), two of such headlines make the top 2 of HN :) More on topic, this looks like Palm Foleo re-invented (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Foleo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Foleo). I always found the Foleo concept great so I wouldn't mind seeing another attempt. That said, the success of iPad and other tablets is going to make this device even more niche than the Foleo would have been. It'll be a tough sell.

acc00 14y ago
Foleo had great hardware design and wasn't trying to mimic a popular cheap consumer laptop.
- MehdiEG 14y ago
  To be honest, who cares about the hardware design here? This is very obviously a fake (or a cheap Chinese ripoff). Outside of China, nobody in their right mind would release something that's such an obviously MacBook Air clone. What's interesting here isn't the actual hardware (which either doesn't exist or is cheap crap), it's the concept.
Digit-Al 14y ago
>That said, the success of iPad and other tablets is going to make this device even more niche than the Foleo would have been. It'll be a tough sell. You are probably right - but not necessarily. This, after all, fills a different niche to a tablet. You can't put a tablet in your pocket and tablets are expensive because of having their own processor, memory, etc. This way you can use all the facilities of your highly portable phone on a laptop sized device that should, in theory, be a lot cheaper than a laptop or tablet.
- bryanlarsen 14y ago
  Tablets are expensive because of their screen, touch screen, battery and mechanicals. Everything else is cheap in comparison. http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/Pages/New-iPad-32-GB-4G-Carries-364-35-Bill-of-Materials.aspx http://www.isuppli.com/Teardowns/News/Pages/New-iPad-32-GB-4... Devices like this still have a screen and battery and mechanicals. Instead of $20 of CPU and $10 of RAM they have a $10 CPU that includes RAM. That's pretty much the only savings available. On the other hand, tablets sell in huge volumes; this is a niche market. So it's quite probable that tablets and/or notebooks without a CPU will be more expensive than ones with a CPU.

joelhaasnoot 14y ago

Wait, where have I heard this before? Oh wait it's Palm Foleo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Foleo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Foleo) all over again

vidarh 14y ago
Except the Palm Foleo contained a computer. This is a "dumb" box. It's much closer to the Motorola Atrix laptop dock.
bjornsteffanson 14y ago
True, but we weren't knee-deep in the cloud in 2007 like we are today. SSH, Vim, Google Documents on 1GHz machines? You could get some actual work done now with a dock.

parkrrr 14y ago

Considering Apple patented the clamshell design from the Macbook Air recently, I expect this design to shift radically.

chj 14y ago

Now it makes more sense for those quad core android phones.

mtgx 14y ago
And 2 GB of RAM. I'd prefer dual core 2 Ghz Cortex A15 CPU's vs quad core 1.5 Ghz Cortex A9, though.

jcromartie 14y ago

I see a lawsuit from Apple coming: http://lghttp.5654.nexcesscdn.net/8041F9/mage/skin/frontend/pro/cc/images/cbgallery/clambook_laptop_dock_02.jpg http://lghttp.5654.nexcesscdn.net/8041F9/mage/skin/frontend/...

swalsh 14y ago
It's more rectangular then it is wedge shaped.
- joeblau 14y ago
  I don't think that argument is really going to hold up against Apples legal team.

Casc 14y ago

Getting closer... I really think a smartphone docking into stations is the future. "Mannequin" Laptops, desktops etc that are activated once a smartphone is plugged in. You can now use a keyboard, external monitors, your OS slightly adapts... iOS becomes Snow Leopard (not exactly, you just have more functionality) Once docked, a smartphone can unlock additional cores that would otherwise consume too much power, activate a more powerful GPU, possibly one even housed in the docking station itself... I really think smart phones will become the magical little chip you place inside a cyborg to operate a larger, more powerful creature. Imagine working at home off your docked smartphone computer (fully functioning OS), undocking and using your simple apps on the train to work (mobile OS, not much different than current experience), getting to work, docking into your station and you're right back at it (full OS)... portability with a familiar ui/ux feel... seamless experience. Or gaming at home, undocking and going to a LAN party with your friends, not having to worry about whether or not the games / apps are installed, the docks are generic... plug and play. (Ignoring the whole home to work aspect and security issues / work policies, of course) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3902051 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3902051

cageface 14y ago
Apple's newfound fortune was built on the understanding that mobile computing is fundamentally different than desktop/laptop computing. That understanding is the reason they were able to break touch screen interfaces into the mainstream. Steve Jobs is laughing in his grave at stuff like this.
- alttab 14y ago
  Form factor is just the topping. Using web apps and cloud storage is so far the most accessible way to have a seamless computing environment (versus experience, which must be different like Jobs knew). Apple or anyone else could side step those entire industries by making powerful portable smart phones that acted as a driver or data storage for other operating environments.
  - Casc 14y ago

lohn 14y ago

Here's my question. What if you could purchase a small black cube that served as a micro-kernel with large computing capability and some type of wireless connectivity. From there, we could have multiple slave devices such as this laptop or a smart phone that then could turn connect to your computer box? That would be pretty cool?

glogla 14y ago

I love the power consumption charts with no numbers, not units and basically not information whatsoever. Gem of marketing, really. Also, I don't really think this is a good idea. Phones have different power and thermal envelopes, so even with Moore's Law, dedicated desktop is always going to be more powerful than laptop, and laptop is going to be more powerful than this. Same goes for storage, memory, graphics and everything. And one more thing, after playing one of the games in lastest Humble Bundle that was originally released for iOS, I am of the opinion that touch and mouse/trackpad interfaces are incompatible in both ways, that using mouse or trackpad with touch apps is as impractical as using touch interface with traditional desktop apps.

mtgx 14y ago
But eventually the new technology becomes "good enough", and that's what matters to most people. That's why laptops have already surpassed PC sales years ago, and that's why people are buying more and more tablets, while being satisfied with their performance. So the "X will always be better than Y" argument is almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, when it comes to the mass market.
neya 14y ago
Do you believe in statistics? Honestly, its not so difficult to make one. Lets appreciate them for not coming up with bogus stats, like many other do. Actually if you think about it, its not really a marketing gem, when compared to what Apple does for its technically inferior Mac book Air line-ups. (Hint: Google for Mac vs Pc on Youtube)
- rfrey 14y ago
  Do you believe in statistics? Yes. Statistics is the collection and analysis of numerical data. Science is nothing without statistics. Don't you believe in statistics? I know the HN community is diverse and getting more so, but this is a surprising question here nonetheless.
  - neya 14y ago

arturadib 14y ago

Interesting bet. While most are betting on having all your data and apps in the cloud so you can live device-agnostic (eg iCloud, GDrive, Chrome OS, etc), these folks are basically proposing a mobile-centered world. The only advantage I see of this model over the existing cloud model is possibly cost, as presumably the device is much cheaper than a laptop. But that comes with a UX price tag - as already pointed out here, app interfaces built for touch can be frustrating to operate with a mouse/trackpad cursor. If they can pull off an attractive price point AND an elegant solution to the UX problem, this could be a serious sales machine.

rbn 14y ago

I love how they are saying less processing power is better. If netbooks taught us anything is that sacrificing too much processing power for battery life ends up with frustrated users. Why not just use a Ultrabook? Everything is in the cloud already.

mtgx 14y ago
It's not the same thing. Netbooks were forced to use a 20 GB OS with much more bloated apps compared to the lean mobile alternatives, and on a single core processor. Use Office on a netbook, and then use an "Office" app on iPad. See which is faster. The thing about netbooks is that everything from the OS itself to the applications written for Windows were made with powerful processors in mind, and as processors became more powerful, those apps became more resource intensive as well. Then you took all that and crammed it into a very low-performance netbook. Mobile operating systems and apps were designed from the ground up to use very little resources and be lean so they don't use a lot of battery life, either. So yeah, the comparison is not the same. The most "advanced" app on a dual core tablet will probably feel just as fast as the "most advanced" program on a high-end PC, if not faster.
- rbn 14y ago
  mmm.. yes that is true. It will be interesting to see which paradigm wins or we might have all of them exist side by side. Apple is betting on separation of mobile and full size computers. Windows and Ubuntu are betting on the same OS on all screens.
  - mtgx 14y ago
    I think either Apple's method or going bottom-up with Android, but they have to fix the problem of making "mobile apps" work well in desktop environments, too. Plus, they probably need an improved Android UI for desktops as well, although the current tablet ICS one comes pretty close to a desktop interface. But they need to enable a more "desktop-like multi-tasking" and so on.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

pragmatic 14y ago

I can do this with my current phone with this device: http://www.motorola.com/us/consumers/Motorola-Lapdock-100/73945,en_US,pd.html http://www.motorola.com/us/consumers/Motorola-Lapdock-100/73... The clam case is much sexier. But, even at $250, I can't find a compelling reason to use my phone in laptop environment. The apps just aren't there. Also, $250 gets you a fully funtional (and more powerful) Windows/Linux laptop. Spend some more and you get a machine you can write code on and game with. I wish them all the best, but this is going to tank.

dave1010uk 14y ago
I bought a Motorola Lapdock for my Atrix for £50 (about $80) in a sale. It seems really cool but hardly gets any use as I have a real laptop with a proper desktop OS.

netcan 14y ago

Headline I'd like to see: "Google Turns Android Into A Computer" I almost suspect that the chromebook project is down Google's attempt to make a new kind of laptop.

phate 14y ago

Hasn't this already been done with the Redfly Mobile Companion (http://www.celiocorp.com/companion http://www.celiocorp.com/companion) and the Palm Foleo and failed miserably both times?

token78 14y ago
One glance at Redfly is enough to tell you why it wasn't embraced! And by your logic, the iPad was destined for failure too, no? I'm not sure if this will fly, but I suspect execution and design will be major factors.

smoyer 14y ago

No The reason to make HTML5 apps is that they'll run on anything with a modern browser. Some applications are related to the underlying device hardware and need to be written in the appropriate SDK, but many programs could be done just as well in HTML5 and would be inherently cross-platform.

metaedge 14y ago

The new Palm Foleo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Foleo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Foleo

chubbard 14y ago

Now it looks like producing apps that are tablet + phone capable is important for this to succeed. Think if you have an app running on your phone, and you dock it now you just got more space so you're app should change to tablet style interface. Android's architecture might shine because apps are capable of single binary with all of the goodies included for phone vs tablet. So plugging in your phone just causes the Android App to run onCreate() again on your activity and now you're in tablet layout vs. phone layout. iPhone is a universal binary, but it's two different executables in one package so you'd have to start the app over. The over arching point is form factors like this require app developers do certain things to make their apps behave well in these environments.

jopt 14y ago

To me this, if anything, looks like a trade dress infringement (MacBook line). Can someone help me understand why it isn't? I don't support IP whatsoever; I'm vehemently against all these laws. I'm just curious how they're planning to get away with it.

JackC 14y ago
I'm by no means an expert on trade dress, but look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dress http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dress , especially the law itself (which is pretty straightforward) and the section on distinctiveness. The key point is that to win a trade dress suit, you must prove that consumers are actually confused about who made the product. Now look at me. Now look at the clambook pictures. See how it prominently says "clambook" when it's open, and prominently shows the clambook logo on the back? I suspect that it would be hard to find a meaningful group of people who would answer the question "who made this" with "Apple." If you know enough to associate that design with Apple, you know it's not going to have a picture of a mollusk where the Apple logo's supposed to be. No customer confusion == no trade dress problem. (This isn't a hypothetical -- they literally do this kind of survey in trademark cases.) Incidentally, not all IP law is the same, and trademark/trade dress law in particular is a Good Thing. You don't want to buy a knockoff Apple power charger thinking you're getting the real thing. You don't want to pay French champagne prices for California bubbly, or Coke prices for store-brand soda. The basic question in trademark law is "how often does this product succeed in tricking someone into buying one thing when they meant to buy something else?" Obviously courts will get the answer wrong sometimes, and there might be areas where the line should be drawn a little differently, but for the most part this is an area of IP law you should vehemently support. I'm on a horse.

UTHorsey 14y ago

Interesting concept. I'm not sure it will totally catch on though, I use my smartphone when on the go. I have a PC at home that vastly outperforms any smartphone.

vidarh 14y ago
PC manufacturers other than Apple despair because people overwhelmingly opt for the low end, low margin devices, since most laptops are now "fast enough" for people to use them as their primary computers. It's not that long ago that using a laptop as your primary computer was inconceivable. And even shorter ago since the thought of using a phone as replacement for a laptop would've been considered science fiction. In other words: Your phone will catch up to where it is fast enough for enough uses for enough people that there will be a substantial market for taking advantage of the enhanced mobility and flexibility. Power users will still want more, but power users are a small niche.

matmann2001 14y ago

Motorola will be filing for patent infringement shortly....

ktizo 14y ago

Laptops are ergonomically horrible. If we have removed the technological restrictions that tied us to that form factor, are there not better ways to modularise this kind of functionality than to just make a dumb terminal in the shape of a laptop. For this kind of product, if the keyboard can't unclip from the screen, then you are doing it wrong.

MisterBastahrd 14y ago
Nothing says ergonomics like typing on a hard glass screen. Not that they're doing it right either. I don't want to have to carry around a dongle in addition to a fake laptop. Better to sync my data to the cloud securely and have my device of choice (for actual work) automatically pull down the relevant data.
- ktizo 14y ago
  Nothing says ergonomics like typing on a hard glass screen. I agree. Tablets are ergonomically stupid as well. Don't even get me started on the general problem of having your fingers blocking what you are trying to see, let alone the lack of any kind of nice tactile feedback. The current minimalist design principles for personal computing devices are mirroring the worst of the architectural ones. Clean, sleek, beautiful, refined, and fairly useless for most people. Today's computing devices are fragile toys that look the part, and do more things, but are functionally worse at doing the tasks of the objects they are supposed to replace. The fact is I am very close to binning my smart phone and finding an old nokia 3210, purely because I could use that without looking at it most of the time, it was much quicker to make a call, it crashed a lot less, booted up quicker and the batteries lasted longer.

reason 14y ago

Something about this just doesn't seem legitimate. Also, in the fine print at the bottom: "The images on this website are examples only. Actual products may not contain the same design or functionality as featured on this website. "

JVIDEL 14y ago

I'm getting a sort of deja-vu feeling, this thing reminds me of all those desktop docks for laptops that appeared during the '90s when I was a kid. I remember it seemed really cool, but in practice it was a pain in the ass.

hosh 14y ago

It would be far more interesting to see this technology on wallboards (TVs), car devices (de-coupling of interface devices with processing devices such as GPSs), and supplemental processing units.

mark_l_watson 14y ago

I read "Dive into HTMZl 5" 18 months ago when we were in Japan an China. I was pretty much convinced that this was the future but when I got home other stuff required attention. Today I bought 2 more HTML 5 books, and I am trying to take breaks from consulting to master HTML 5 based apps. Something is wrong in the world if HTML 5 apps don't replace a majority of platform specific apps because in is in just about everyone's interest to have a portable UI platform across devices.

jmitcheson 14y ago

Client side form factor detection: nightmare mode