 |
| Motorola's Lapdock were called Webtops |
The Lapdock is a device which is basically a dumb screen and keyboard terminal which mates to your smartphone to create a laptop. Motorola released Lapdocks for its Atrix phone in 2010. These Mototola devices were failures, mainly due to the absence of a proper desktop operating system and high cost of the Lapdock accessory. The Asus Padfone series converts you phone into a tablet, and from tablet it can morph into a laptop.
 |
| Asus Padfone |
Canonical had a similar concept in mind with its Ubuntu for Android initiative announced in 2012.
 |
Ubuntu for Android |
Tim Bajarin in his article, Will Your Smartphone Be Your Next PC thinks the lapdock may be the future of the PC. I think he is right.
I think Chrome for Android could be a viable Lapdock operating system. Basically, the concept would consist of:
- 11-inch to 13-inch display, mated to a keyboard.
- Battery to power the Lapdock and recharge the phone while attached.
- A docking station or cradle for the smartphone. Maybe the smartphone could even act as the trackpad.
Basically, an Android phone would be converted to a Google Chromebook.
As a counterpoint, Chromebook's are cheap, starting at US$199, and can sync with your Android phone and hence a lapdock may not be all that much cheaper.
There are advantages to the Lapdock. Chromebook's with 3G are a lot more expensive, starting at US$349. A l\Lapdock would use your phone 3G modem. The Lapdock would also serve as a phone charger. Useful on long trips.
What do you think? As Lapdocks viable next generation computing platforms.
No comments:
Post a Comment