Apple gets Patent published today to Use Iphone with Macbook chassis as a computer

[Docturphil]

It's exactly what I'm suggesting, and it's entirely possible. Solid state drives are getting smaller, processing power is getting both faster and smaller (although we are reaching that current theoretical limit). Most laptops are the size they are because of keyboard and port requirements.

If the iPhone/Android were up to speed with processing power, ideally you could "plug" it into a port, that would have a keyboard/mouse/ports already attached, similar (in general) to a docking station for a laptop, and you would have a generic work station personalized by your phone.

OK, but you can't do that with iPhones because of iOS. There's a lot of shit you can't do on iOS. They would have to use a different operating system or drastically change iOS. Also if we're going this route it seems like a cloud desktop would be more practical. That way you wouldn't even have to carry around a device.

[cubby]

OK, but you can't do that with iPhones because of iOS. There's a lot of shit you can't do on iOS. They would have to use a different operating system or drastically change iOS. Also if we're going this route it seems like a cloud desktop would be more practical.

I couldn't disagree more, with both points.

iOS isn't even relevant because they'd have to upgrade the operating system to function as a computer rather than just a phone.

Cloud desktop is already in use, in some areas for some features, and the connectivity for everything already pisses people off. Will probably get better, however, and so might be a workable solution - but where you're wrong is . . .

That way you wouldn't even have to carry around a device.

People love carrying around a device. Love it. A model that moves away from that is almost unthinkable, much less untenable.

The solution, from what I've read, is to make your portable device something you can plug in "anywhere", but is also completely operable if you never plug in. Apple is publicly on the road to this, and I would be that a couple others are privately working on it as well (I would be shocked if Samsung isn't working on this). Make the phone plug into the computing device, and you're good to go.

[Deleted]

You sure showed me.

Can't say I disagree with him.

[sonololo]

Its just a patent that possibly won't even get followed on.

[Docturphil]

I couldn't disagree more, with both points.

iOS isn't even relevant because they'd have to upgrade the operating system to function as a computer rather than just a phone.

At which point you essentially have a smaller laptop with mobile network connectivity... Soooo you're bridging the gap between smart phone and laptop/PC/mac. A laptop will still be cheaper for the power you get. That's not going to change. There will still be a market for people who want a cheap phone and a laptop/PC. As computers become more powerful the software becomes more resource intensive. Assuming that trend continues most people will still want a computer and a phone.

People love carrying around a device. Love it. A model that moves away from that is almost unthinkable, much less untenable.

The solution, from what I've read, is to make your portable device something you can plug in "anywhere", but is also completely operable if you never plug in. Apple is publicly on the road to this, and I would be that a couple others are privately working on it as well (I would be shocked if Samsung isn't working on this). Make the phone plug into the computing device, and you're good to go.

OK, people can carry around their smaller device then and still use a desktop cloud service when they use a larger device. Why do you need to connect your smaller device?

[RobertMugabe]

As the title say, Apple got a patent published patent today that could change how we compute on the go. With the design they have submitted you would insert your iPhone into the area on a macbook chassis where the normal track pad it. The iPhone would then power the computer. This could be a game changer. for mobile computing.

here is a link to the patent from the US Patent office dated with todays date. It looks like it was filed in September.

http://pdfaiw.uspto.gov/.aiw?PageNum...%2F20170323%29

How's this game changing?

Other companies have done similar, but much better things than this

[cubby]

At which point you essentially have a smaller laptop with mobile network connectivity... Soooo you're bridging the gap between smart phone and laptop/PC/mac. A laptop will still be cheaper for the power you get. That's not going to change. There will still be a market for people who want a cheap phone and a laptop/PC. As computers become more powerful the software becomes more resource intensive. Assuming that trend continues most people will still want a computer and a phone.

Now you're just guessing at future marketing trends. Which is fine - but we're past the technical point now. Which is the point.

OK, people can carry around their smaller device then and still use a desktop cloud service when they use a larger device. Why do you need to connect your smaller device?

You're getting it backwards. You need the smaller device to connect to the larger capacity of the work station. This moves the operational model from two separate devices, as you pointed out above, to one primary device with unlimited connection capacity. The reasons are almost unlimited.

[cubby]

OK. I was going off of what was said in the OP, where it was called "a game changer."

Don't get pissy with me because nobody can explain why this is a big deal.

But you didn't read anything about it - if you had, you'd know why it was a game changer.

[cubby]

I mean, I don't have access to uninvented technology yet. Whereas the benefits of the internet were pretty obvious, this just seems like an everyday development in about the same way that branching out from smartphones to other smart devices was and not something to get too excited over.

/snort

Because bluetooth tech is "nothing to have been excited about". Admit it, you're just a contrarian that looks for an argument in anything. If this had been a post about the stupidness of this new development, you'd be pointing out the wonderful possibilities.

[Kujako]

The OP didn't exactly provide anything except the patent. There's not a lot to go off of there. I'm not going to go scrounge the internet for articles on something I'm not that interested in to make the OP's case for him. If he wants to argue that position, then he should make the case. If not, you can feel free to just not respond to me. It's an invitation to argue the case, nothing more, and if you don't feel like doing that, feel free not to bitch at me for posting in a public discussion forum.

Only thing I can think of that would make this a changer of the game would be that Apple would have OS X running on their in house CPUs. That would be fairly major, but it has been speculated on for awhile.

[RobertMugabe]

But Microsoft is doing that for more than year with Windows Phone. You can connect your phone with monitor, keyboard and mouse and then use it as a normal PC.

Yup, this year you will be even able to run "normal" Windows programs on ARM processors in 32-bit mode (ofc not very useful for phones, but when connecting to a monitor or having an arm based tablet/laptop definetly is)

[Mihalik]

Im sorry, many of the rest of us have moved on to Bluetooth headsets for calls long ago, maybe you should join us in the future?

BTW. Earpods say hi

You forget that most people that are in an apple ecosystem are "all in"

The Apple fanboism is mighty strong with you. Not just mighty strong but also quite toxic. Tone it down.

Also guess what...I too think it's a gimmick. It essentially turns your phone+some extremely expensive accessories into a MS Surface, with the downside of the accessories being largely useless on their own.

Will it sell? Probably. Will it sell well? Not much better than the Apple Watch. Will it finally turn Apple products into actual workstations? No.

[cubby]

The OP didn't exactly provide anything except the patent. There's not a lot to go off of there. I'm not going to go scrounge the internet for articles on something I'm not that interested in to make the OP's case for him. If he wants to argue that position, then he should make the case. If not, you can feel free to just not respond to me. It's an invitation to argue the case, nothing more, and if you don't feel like doing that, feel free not to bitch at me for posting in a public discussion forum.

Thanks for admitting I was right. That was all I was saying, you didn't bother to learn anything about it before deciding to poo-poo it.

[LilSaihah]

I think you're missing the point. Instead of paying for 5 different computing devices, you buy one main machine (phone) and a bunch of cheap shells for different uses. And not to mention everything is stored neatly in one place, in your pocket.

Seems somewhat impractical compared to remote/cloud computing.

[cubby]

I'm not sure why you're taking it so personally that I don't think this is the most wonderful news I've heard all day, but feel free to fuck right off.

Wow, holy angry batman. Nothing personal, I thought

It's an invitation to argue the case, nothing more, and if you don't feel like doing that, feel free not to bitch at me for posting in a public discussion forum.

Guess you can just start jumping in with the personal attacks.

Don't get angry at me for point out something you did, and then you confirming I'm right.

[Dadwen]

had a Dock for my Razr Maxx like that
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Motor...om-VZW_id27284

[analmoose]

Motorola and Asus have already done this, as well as a few others IIRC. Nothing special, and not nearly as useful as you might think

[Docturphil]

You're getting it backwards. You need the smaller device to connect to the larger capacity of the work station. This moves the operational model from two separate devices, as you pointed out above, to one primary device with unlimited connection capacity. The reasons are almost unlimited.

But by doing it this way you're limiting yourself to the power of your smaller device. That's the major disadvantage here. Even beyond the operating system, which would have to be completely overhauled, you're still going to have less powerful hardware than you would have with a larger device. Yes, computers are getting smaller, but you're always going to be able to put more power into a larger device and for a much cheaper price. That's never going to change.

All this really does is give you a larger screen, keyboard and mouse. That's it.

[cubby]

So you don't even know what a contrarian is.

I do. It's you. Not my fault you're you, and it has it's places - I've certainly worn that helm dozens of time, but you already admitted what you did, so there's nothing more really to talk about. Except the game changer that this idea will be.

[cubby]

But by doing it this way you're limiting yourself to the power of your smaller device. That's the major disadvantage here. Even beyond the operating system, which would have to be completely overhauled, you're still going to have less powerful hardware than you would have with a larger device. Yes, computers are getting smaller, but you're always going to be able to put more power into a larger device and for a much cheaper price. That's never going to change.

Ok, I see what you're saying. What I'm imaging is a device, call it a phone, that is YOURS. Personalized, perfect settings, blah blah. You take that device and plug it into ANY work station, and it automatically personalizes the work station for your settings, plus, it boosts your computing abilities across the board.

So, for instance, a graduate student at MIT, working on his PhD in engineering, carries around his phone for personal stuff - calls, texts, calendar, games, etc. Then he gets to his class, and he plugs into a work station, that includes a keyboard, mouse, monitor, and increased processing power and internet connectivity (better connection). Does his work, and it's all saved . . . .

Hmmmmm, this would almost have to work in conjunction with cloud computing because of data storage, wouldn't it?

- - - Updated - - -

What I admitted to wasn't being a contrarian, which you'd know if you knew what a contrarian was. Anyway, this is completely pointless and I'm not going to discuss it further with you.

There really isn't any further point, is there? You already admitted to my initial point, the rest, as you have said, is just bullshit.

Let's get back on topic. I think I was incorrect about a tech issue to boot. See above.