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The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99

kickstarter.com

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Re: The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99

#101

Post by Zikes »

duderific wrote: post #90
0xmohit wrote: post #28

Seems grossly misleading to call it a laptop. 8 inch or so phones already exist which have a better resolution. Is there much point in having a bigger screen with lower resolution?

Yes, the keyboard.

http://www.walmart.com/c/kp/usb-otg-adapters

Honestly the resolution is the one thing stopping me from ordering a Superbook. 768p may "technically" be HD, but you can't honestly market it as "upgrades with every new phone" when the display is so far behind the phone that drives it. I realize it has a big impact on cost and battery, but for me it's simply 1080p or bust.

Re: The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99

#102

Post by mikestew »

dpark wrote: post #88
chaostheory wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not really sure why people keep thinking that you're supposed to lug this around. If I were to get this, I would only use it at home when a keyboard and bigger screen would be nice; or I would buy one for the office and the house. imo the whole point of this is so you wouldn't have to carry anything huge anymore.

Then why a laptop form factor? Laptops exist to be lugged around.

If I'm going to park one at home and at the office, it's going to have to be better than what $99 buys you. Hell, my desk keyboard alone costs more than that. So I compromise with that teensy eensy screen and (what I have to guess to be...) a mediocre-at-best keyboard so that I ... don't have to carry it around? Why not a docking station into which I can plug whatever screen and keyboard I desire?

I dunno, I don't care to come across as a hater, but this looks like one of those things that is cool at first glance with all kinds of possible use cases, but you buy it, reality kicks in, and it gathers dust after a month.

Re: The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99

#103

Post by mikestew »

mikejmoffitt wrote: post #92
maxxxxx wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, forgot the 27 inch screen, external mouse, keyboard and USB Hub. In short, my phone contains the OS and my data and it can be used on small screens or multi-monitor setups.

You've described using a phone as a mass storage device.

He just described iOS/MacOS/iCloud (s%/iCloud/Dropbox, or whatever you prefer for centralized storage). If I'm going to use the phone just for data, then I might as well open that presentation from iCloud from my MacBook that's plugged into my 27" monitor and Das Keyboard (insert your kb of choice). Because that I know works. Experience tells me kludgey rigmarole like the proposed or even the Superbook just don't work as well as you hoped when you POSTed your cc number.

Re: The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99

#104

Post by spraak »

The creator posted in here that they didn't want to post this on HN because it's not the target audience. Clearly it's not with so many comments about why you wouldn't use it.. but I think it's a great thing for its intended audience (especially given the price) which seems to be much more casual computer users, or maybe even moreso, people who don't have a computer but have a smart phone.

Re: The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99

#105

Post by jonknee »

jszymborski wrote: post #87
jonknee wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The problem I see with this is that, even if the phone is work property, it's still often used for play as well as work (because who carries around a work mobile as well as a personal). A lot of people carry around two phones, specifically the same type of people who have two laptops.

> A lot of people Well, I'll push back on the phrase "a lot", but point taken.

I guess it depends on your circles, but most professionals I know have multiple phones. It is not as common in tech circles I guess. Most attorneys I know have two. Ditto for finance people. If you've ever done e-discovery work you will want two devices!

Re: The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99

#106

Post by Artlav »

hyperpallium wrote: post #95
Artlav wrote: post #91

As cute as this is, it's missing the core issue - a phone lacks real OS and real software. It does not, usually, come with anything on it that is available on the regular desktop/laptop. This would take severe hacking to work around. Either (1) a software ecosystem should get evolved around the ARM/Android-like platform (that is, the project is a bit too early), or (2) there should be a virtual machine that is rather…

http://termux.com

Sure, Android is more or less Linux, so lots of the usual stuff would work. This is pretty much what i mean by (1).

Re: The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99

#107

Post by turtlebits »

The resolution is a huge showstopper. I feel like the creators know this because the actual resolution isn't listed anywhere (11.6" HD display is all over the place) but 768p is at the very end of the page.

And since the panel type isn't listed, I have a feeling its going to be a cheap TN panel.

Re: The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99

#108

Post by maxxxxx »

lrem wrote: post #93
maxxxxx wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, forgot the 27 inch screen, external mouse, keyboard and USB Hub. In short, my phone contains the OS and my data and it can be used on small screens or multi-monitor setups.

So, a live boot pen drive?

True. With a phone attached to it.

Re: The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99

#109

Post by larrik »

apendleton wrote: post #46
larrik wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there any way your hardware would support something like being the KVM for a headless server (or family member's computer that you are working on) or something?

Seems unlikely, given that it lacks any kind of networking (it relies on the phone for that). Of course, with a phone plugged into it you could use an android VNC app.

I meant physically plugging it in.

Re: The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99

#110

Post by jseliger »

turtlebits wrote: post #107

The resolution is a huge showstopper. I feel like the creators know this because the actual resolution isn't listed anywhere (11.6" HD display is all over the place) but 768p is at the very end of the page. And since the panel type isn't listed, I have a feeling its going to be a cheap TN panel.

And since the panel type isn't listed, I have a feeling its going to be a cheap TN panel.

Er... it is $100. Lots of things are going to be compromised to hit that price point. I'm reminded of the various $200 laptops out there, like the HP Stream 11: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/01/review-hp-improves-it.... They have many drawbacks. But their price is incredible.

I've put a lot of $200 laptops in Department of Education programs not because they don't have drawbacks but because they're functional and still allow incredible bang for buck.

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