Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by thomasruns on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @12:17AM
(#12252595)
It's kickstarter which means it won't actually ship until at least a year after it claims. And there's no way they're going to provide a decent keyboard, touchpad and screen for $99 and still make a profit.
It'll ship late and be probably 2x that cost at which point you should just get a chromebook. Or, ya know, use the laptop you already have.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by ajiang on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @07:25AM
(#12253796)
Anyone who is in SF is welcome to come by our office and play with the Superbook. A bunch of our SF buddies and old batch mates have already done so - but always glad to turn skeptics into at least slightly less negative individuals ;)
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by Mithaldu on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @12:03PM
(#12255526)
Don't invite people on the internet to make a trip to your office. You know perfectly well that the vast majority of people reading here aren't even anywhere close to you.
Show video of a person actually using it. Unedited, continuous shot. Right now it looks like you're just plugging a phone into a macbook and then have the macbook fake up some stuff in the video.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by chadfurman on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @01:01AM
(#12252712)
There have been some crappy kickstarters, but I must say I've gotten some great deals on Kickstarter and they were delivered. Some projects do fail, and some projects rock.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by Uptrenda on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @12:48AM
(#12252674)
True, but sadly he's right. I still get emails from projects I funded YEARS ago that have still yet to ship a single product and they're still trying to make promises.
I'd argue that these platforms create a perverse incentive for people to exaggerate their experience and/or product to appeal to the clueless masses but I guess that's the same with most kinds of marketing ...
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by api on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @12:51AM
(#12252678)
The same perverse incentive underlies all marketing. If you tell the truth and make sane claims you lose to flash, grandiosity, and viral gimmicks. Over time the whole system runs over a cliff. It's sort of a game theory meltdown thing.
It is eventually self correcting, but that usually involves a market crash and a Game of Thrones style winter where the junk is purged.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by cstejerean on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @12:49AM
(#12252675)
But not very surprising. Projects promising the impossible raise impossibly large sums of money and attention, attracting more people trying to do the same. Since these are the projects that get most of the attention, they end up driving the reputation of the platform. Projects trying to accomplish reasonable things for a reasonable amount of money can barely raise enough money and when they do they fly under the radar.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by pkaye on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @11:10AM
(#12255047)
No previous experience developing hardware. Lots of previous kickstarters failed because of unanticipated costs along the development process. For example they didn't anticipate the tooling costs associated with the mold for the product case.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by Animats on Monday August 08, 2016 @11:59PM
(#12252533)
Chromebooks start at $149. This is just a Kickstarter price claim, not a real price. It will probably increase after launch, after which it will no longer be competitive.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by pawadu on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @06:39AM
(#12253664)
I am also wondering how this can compete with something like the Asus FlipBook Chromebook that not only nativly supports Android but also has a 11" touch screen and a unibody aluminium design.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by em3rgent0rdr on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @12:53AM
(#12252685)
I would say that Motorola was simply ahead of it's time. The cpu on my Atrix was honestly just a bit too slow to smoothly browse the web and do stuff. Motorola should be acknowledged for their innovation & proof-of-concept.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by devindotcom on Monday August 08, 2016 @11:57PM
(#12252523)
There's been a few all right. I remember the Celio Redfly for one. None of them worked so well.
That said, tablets didn't work so well when Microsoft tried them out 15 years ago, but they blew up later. Same with a number of other techs that weren't ready. Is this the time for smartphone computers? Nah, but keep an open mind!
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by mkaziz on Monday August 08, 2016 @11:59PM
(#12252534)
I currently carry around a bluetooth keyboard and have to awkwardly use it on the train etc, with my phone at awkward angles. I would absolutely get this if it were production ready.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by onion2k on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @02:03AM
(#12252878)
Android has a cursor. If you connect a mouse using a USB On-The-Go cable (essentially a micro to full-size USB adapter) you'll see it appear. Keyboards and game pads work too.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by sporkwitch on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @02:08AM
(#12252891)
Can use bluetooth as well. I've helped mates replace their windows laptops with android tablets for (non-STEM) uni coursework. Pick up a cheap bluetooth keyboard and mouse, a tablet, and you're good to go. The keyboard and mouse will last you a decade, easy, and buying US$100 tablets every 2-3 years, you're looking at nearly a decade before it would cost the same as a laptop.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by beagle3 on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @01:00AM
(#12252705)
Shouldn't - to be infringing it has to be in the same industry (check), and substantially similar in sound, graphic design or spelling to the point that it would confuse the proverbial "average person". Is "Andromium" and more confusing than "Andromeda" to someone who wants to buy an Android phone?
It does reminds me of the el-cheapo Panashiba stereo I had as a student, though.
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by JustSomeNobody on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @12:35AM
(#12252630)
Middle of the page, there's an image below the caption, "Multi-Touch Trackpad & Keyboard - With Android Navigation Keys". What is the mechanical pencil shown in that picture?
Re:The Superbook: Turn your smartphone into a laptop for $99
by Mithaldu on Tuesday August 09, 2016 @12:02PM
(#12255511)
Don't invite people on the internet to make a trip to your office. You know perfectly well that the vast majority of people reading here aren't even anywhere close to you.
Show video of a person actually using it. Unedited, continuous shot. Right now it looks like you're just plugging a phone into a macbook and then have the macbook fake up some stuff in the video.
It'll ship late and be probably 2x that cost at which point you should just get a chromebook. Or, ya know, use the laptop you already have.
Show video of a person actually using it. Unedited, continuous shot. Right now it looks like you're just plugging a phone into a macbook and then have the macbook fake up some stuff in the video.
I'd argue that these platforms create a perverse incentive for people to exaggerate their experience and/or product to appeal to the clueless masses but I guess that's the same with most kinds of marketing ...
It is eventually self correcting, but that usually involves a market crash and a Game of Thrones style winter where the junk is purged.
That said, tablets didn't work so well when Microsoft tried them out 15 years ago, but they blew up later. Same with a number of other techs that weren't ready. Is this the time for smartphone computers? Nah, but keep an open mind!
Or when Eo/GO tried it 10 years before that!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EO_Personal_Communicator
If I recall correctly Ubuntu wanted to try that, as did Microsoft. Too early to market perhaps.
It does reminds me of the el-cheapo Panashiba stereo I had as a student, though.
And I mentioned my Panashiba stereo because it was an obvious mix of Panasonic and Toshiba, but was not a trademark infringement of either.
Show video of a person actually using it. Unedited, continuous shot. Right now it looks like you're just plugging a phone into a macbook and then have the macbook fake up some stuff in the video.
If you have a MBP 16gb or a Surface Pro 4 (or.. next year.. a SP5?) then this probably isn't going to be your every-day-carry.
Does the Superbook require MHL? Nope. The Superbook doesn’t use MHL technology--instead, it uses Displaylink technology
Check out http://displaylink.com/downloads/android for more info!
I haven't personally tried a Displaylink device yet but It looks like it works well with USB 2.0.
Crazy that Ubuntu needed $32m, while this kickstarter has only asked $50k.