Motorola did this 5 years ago. Nobody cared. <a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/a-complete-guide-to-the-motorola-atrix-the-only-phone-laptop/" rel="nofollow">http://www.digitaltrends.com/buying-guides/a-complete-guide-...</a><p>I think the main problem is who wants to carry around a laptop that you have to plug your phone in to use? That's a pretty big "Accessory." I mean, if you already are carrying something around as big as a laptop, why cripple it with phone hardware?<p>I think a more compelling use-case would be a phone dock video and usb connections. But I don't know if even that is compelling enough to be successful.\<p>I've thought that a phone would make a great trackpad for a laptop. Maybe instead of the phone being the laptop, it just integrates nicely (app sync, etc...) and you socket in as a trackpad and secondary "info" display.
Oh hey guys, this is us. Thanks for posting!<p>I wasn't going to post our product in HN, since tech-specs wise this tends to be a high-end audience, but I wanted to share a little bit about what we're trying to accomplish and the reasoning behind the entry level specs.<p>The Superbook is the attempt to prove that the concept of device convergence and the benefits of continuum are exciting enough to 1) get most people to not need a laptop and 2) to provide mobile-first economies to have an affordable option to do work without switching OS or need to buy another device.<p>Is it going to replace the MBP in silicon valley? Not yet. Most of the time I require higher specs too. But for most of the world that uses their laptop primarily for browsing the internet, writing documents, and watching movies on a larger screen - it's enough. And it's also affordable enough that everyone can try the concept out. We're aiming to build both the hardware <i>and</i> software that makes this possible, with enough flexibility that you can run it on any Android phone and with no technical knowledge needed.<p>What's probably my favorite use case: having come from a non-profit background (YC S14, Bayes Impact) it's really awesome to see tech impact the world. We are really really excited to be working with the Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom Education Project to provide Superbooks to kids in South Africa so they can learn without restraints. Even having the basic keyboard, mouse, and display will provide a great opportunity to better take in content and engage.<p>Happy to pop back in [doing Kickstarter support for the next hour] and answer questions if folks on HN are curious. We're also in SF, so feel free to reach out and drop by to see the prototypes! (email in profile)
How many times do we have to watch this exact kickstarter project fail to deliver? There have been countless made for phones, raspberry pis, and tablets. Maybe they'll ship, but the ux is trash especially considering you can get a chromebook for $100 more.<p>What is the actual benefit of this device? Instead of toting around a chromebook, you tote around the shell of a chromebook? My laptop is never 'out of sync' that problem was fixed years ago. IF I wanted laptop productivity I'd... use a laptop?
Always when I see concepts like this I feel like it's a great idea but after few minutes I really can not think of a use-case for me.<p>First I would like to have a phone with x86 cpu so I could run the same software as on my desktop, without real desktop cpu it will be hard to use device like that as laptop replacement.<p>Secondly why would I like to carry something like that instead of normal laptop. I understand I can buy e.g. two devices one for work one for home but still why not just have a two laptops and sync stuff using cloud.<p>I think it's not a future, the future is folding device that could work as phone and unfolded as laptop. We are not there yet to combine everything in one device that would be useful for every use-case.
I'm confused by this stretch goal:<p>$1M - Option to upgrade to 1080p HD screen (w/ additional cost)<p>... which would suggest that the original screen spec is <i>actually lower</i> than "1080p" ?<p>Obligatory: <a href="https://xkcd.com/732/" rel="nofollow">https://xkcd.com/732/</a>
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.<p>This would take severe hacking to work around.<p>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 lightweight and transparent under Android to allow the PC software to run.<p>Seeing that this is ARM, i don't expect the (2) to be a real option. (1) might work if you constrain yourself to open-source Linux environment and is good at coding/admin, but as soon as your work would need anything proprietary or anything from Windows things would collapse.<p>TL;DR: The mobile and PC tech is converging, but we are not there yet.
This reminds me a lot of the Palm Foleo, a device I worked on ten years ago. It was mini-laptop sized, designed to be a phone companion, but it worked over Bluetooth and actually ran its own applications, just using the BT connection for continual data sync. This one has a much better chance of actually shipping, and the advance of computing power has made it a lot more viable. Good luck.
Kind of like webtop.<p><a href="http://www.geek.com/mobile/motorola-webtop-3-0-brings-ics-to-big-screens-1480457/" rel="nofollow">http://www.geek.com/mobile/motorola-webtop-3-0-brings-ics-to...</a><p>Not sure why the idea didn't pan out. Maybe lack of apps that translated to the bigger screen.
Can anyone comment on the likelihood of being able to create this for the amount they propose?<p>I have been burned by hardware devices on kickstarter, and I have heard my hardware friends say that it is much harder, and sometimes they can tell right away that they cannot deliver the product for the amount raised.<p>I don't know if that is true here or not. Just wondering if someone knows if this can be done.<p>(I know, keyboards and monitors already exist.)
You can get a cheap Chromebook (which, though inexpensive are actually quite nice quality wise), install crouton on the chromebook, install Lil'Debi on the phone and have an X-server connection over USB. It'd cost about the same and you'd get to have an extra usable device<p>The way I see it, the only way I think it can really take off (as a niche product) is if the screen and keyboard are amazing (like a Pixel) and it's ultra thin (thinner than a Mac Air). Then I'm sure there is a crowd that wants to have their whole lives on their $700 super flagship cellphone and will have this very slick interface for when they want to access it with a bit more screen and keyboard.<p>I didn't really read into the details, so maybe you guys are already doing this, but you could also have the whole setup work from any given computer with a keyboard and screen<p>If you have something like that.. you could charge a LOT more.<p>Very slick kickstarter btw. Wish you guys the best =)
I'm curious how much removing the cpu and graphics chip from a laptop shaves off the price. Chromebooks all already near this price range, and they work as standalone devices, which is nice.<p>I'm picturing myself at the airport awkwardly plugging my phone into my laptop, and trying to find a good place to sit it next to me.
I don't understand why these products are always pitched as a consumer product when this is an enterprise dream come true. People are fickle and refuse to change their personal habits, but using my phone as a thin client sounds a lot more appealing than having separate laptops for work & play.
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.
It would probably be a bit fiddly given how every phone is a little different, but it would be cooler if you could slot your phone into the case instead of having it dangle from a cable.<p>That said, I'm not sure there is much point to this when you could just carry around a netbook. The phone integration is almost guaranteed to be glitchy thanks to fragmentation on Android and trying to use apps outside of their expected environment.
The idea of using your phone as your main computer definitely seems like it could be the future. You can hook it up to something like this, or a USB-C monitor with a keyboard attached, or to a TV via MHL with a bluetooth keyboard, or whatever.<p>And tablet software is close, but doesn't quite feel right. This sort of thing just needs to get popular enough that software makers respond with the needed tweaks.<p>The problem is path to market.<p>Normally power users are the early adopters. They're willing to try new stuff, to put up with bleeding edge hassles to get their needs met. But this isn't for power users, phones and mobile apps aren't powerful enough.<p>Somebody just needs to find a willing early adopter and it should take off. Maybe an industry like logistics, maybe somewhere in the third world. Chromebooks had a similar problem, but they found a niche in education and now have sufficient volume to push into mainstream.
This is something I think Apple should focus on. Well maybe after the car they are building.<p>They already control both hardware and software aspects of their devices, so compared to other companies, they are in the best position to make it so that all their devices are basically the same device, only with a different interface and form factor.<p>This doesn't mean they shouldn't work separately - if I'm playing a game on my computer, I still want to be able to text using my phone. But if I just arrived home and I was in the middle of a conversation, while reading an article, I want to be able to put both on my computer screen in a flick of a finger.<p>It looked as though as it was going to happen a few years back, when several companies tried to do something like this (Asus, Motorola) but now it looks like the idea was abandoned.
I like the idea but the price seems to be $150, not $99. The price point seems critical. I paid $190 for an HP Stream 11 and it makes a great travelling Linux box. If the eventual price were < $80, and with the advantages of having your whole environment on your phone, then that sounds good.<p>I tried to get an adapter for my Samsung Note 4 would use an external HDMI monitor, but did not find much joy. If a few phone manufacturers would standardize on a docking standard so being able to walk up to a Kiosk or a docking station when visiting other companies, travelling, etc., then that would serve a real need.
I wish it could dock the phone behind the screen or something. I don't want to have my phone connected to this thing like some sort of tether through a USB cable.
MSFT has the "phone becomes a computer" with Continuum already: <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Continuum" rel="nofollow">https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Continuum</a> (but you need a Lumia... :| )<p>Having a laptop form factor is very interesting though - it brings in a lot of questions too. Is it a dumb peripheral? What does it need access to on the phone?
They really should have made this slightly thicker to let you store your phone in it when in use or travelling. Having a phone dangling off a short dongle all the time is incredibly inconvenient when using a laptop in most places. Forcing that tether to even use the laptop is even worse.
I like the idea of one core device to use for Mobile and desktop modes, but if you have to carry around a laptop anyway, why not just get a Chromebook that has full chrome browser and can run Android apps OR really any laptop...<p>I want my mobile device to have this experience when I connect a rollable or foldable screen, bluetooth foldable keyboard and mouse.
Statements like "incredibly powerful computer" describing a smart phone always ring false and bit silly to my ears. I'm not saying that phones haven't made great advances in the past years, but still that "incredibly powerful computer" is about as powerful as 10 year old PC.
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.<p>And since the panel type isn't listed, I have a feeling its going to be a cheap TN panel.
What is the advantage of this over something like a Chromebook? It seems like throwing a phone-grade CPU in it and giving it a little more capability would be more worthwhile than being completely dependent upon a tethered phone.
>. Any IDE built for Android can be accessed by your Superbook.<p>Is there any semi decent Android IDEs? I can't imagine there's a lot of people who are interested in coding on their phones.
Seems grossly misleading to call it a laptop.<p>8 inch or so phones already exist which have a better resolution. Is there much point in having a bigger screen with lower resolution?
Isn't this essentially just a Chromebook?<p>Why not just buy a chromebook, share your internet connection, charge from its USB port and use the same Google Drive (or Dropbox)?
I think this is the future. One device that works everywhere. Ubuntu tried it unsuccessfully. I doubt this one will succeed either. But eventually someone will.
I find this project quite interesting.<p>Do you think it could provide a good development environment?<p>I was thinking that with something like Eclipse che this could be useful when traveling