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Jolla offer a first look at their Sailfish smartphone OS (The Verge)Jolla offer a first look at their Sailfish smartphone OS (The Verge)Posted Nov 25, 2012 2:12 UTC (Sun) by rsidd (subscriber, #2582)In reply to: Jolla offer a first look at their Sailfish smartphone OS (The Verge) by cmccabe Parent article: Jolla offer a first look at their Sailfish smartphone OS (The Verge)
I am posting this from my phone, as I often do. This is a Nokia E63, an oldish model that is in no way comparable to a computer. But there is no reason why a newer Linux-based phone can't come with a laptop dock (like the Asus Padfone) and be a perfectly useful laptop. Or, indeed, paired to a keyboard/mouse and hdmi monitor and be used as a desktop. It is even possible with android without too much trouble if it's rooted and you're ok with a chroot setup and vnc display.
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Jolla offer a first look at their Sailfish smartphone OS (The Verge) Posted Nov 25, 2012 20:59 UTC (Sun) by cmccabe (guest, #60281) [Link]
I have posted LWN comments in the past from my phone, but mostly very short ones. I was just curious if the original poster's comment was posted from a phone-- it is quite long, so I suspect not.
Combining an external keyboard with a mobile device is an interesting idea, but so far it doesn't seem to have taken off. The problem is, once you're lugging around a keyboard, you might as well lug around a laptop as well. Laptops have gotten really light-- mine is only 3.5 pounds. Maybe one day a good ultra-portable keyboard for tablets will be developed, but I wouldn't hold my breath. A lot of the newer "chiclet style" laptop keyboards are horrible-- if anything, keyboard design has regressed.
Microsoft seems to have placed a big bet on a combination tablet/keyboard with the Microsoft Surface. I guess we'll see how it all turns out. For every XBox, there are a few Zunes.
Jolla offer a first look at their Sailfish smartphone OS (The Verge) Posted Nov 26, 2012 11:01 UTC (Mon) by beagnach (guest, #32987) [Link]
"For every XBox, there are a few Zunes."
beautifully put :-)
smartphone as a laptop replacement Posted Nov 27, 2012 11:51 UTC (Tue) by pjm (subscriber, #2080) [Link]
> The problem is, once you're lugging around a keyboard, you might as well lug around a laptop as well.
Not entirely: a folding keyboard can fit in a pocket. It doesn't require a laptop bag over your shoulder, you can just put it in your pocket in the morning and forget about it until you use it.
> Maybe one day a good ultra-portable keyboard for tablets will be developed, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
I use a Stowaway folding keyboard from a few years ago (predating tablets as we now know them). It's not quite as good as a laptop keyboard (mainly in that Esc and F1..F12 need a modifier key rather than having a separate row), but it's much better for my use than a netbook keyboard. It's one of the larger portable keyboards, but it still fits in a pocket, even if not a shirt pocket.
> A lot of the newer "chiclet style" laptop keyboards are horrible-- if anything, keyboard design has regressed.
The Stowaway keyboard I'm referring to doesn't have the problem I think you're referring to: it feels much like a traditional laptop keyboard.
There are others that you might not like, such as the rubbery rollable keyboards, or projection keyboards.
smartphone as a laptop replacement Posted Nov 27, 2012 18:22 UTC (Tue) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
>> The problem is, once you're lugging around a keyboard, you might as well lug around a laptop as well.
> Not entirely: a folding keyboard can fit in a pocket. It doesn't require a laptop bag over your shoulder, you can just put it in your pocket in the morning and forget about it until you use it.
Besides this, in many places that you will be using the tablet for desktop type work, you may have a real keyboard sitting there (just like people do for their laptops in many cases)
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