[HN Gopher] The Lapdock Kit
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The Lapdock Kit
Author : marcodiego
Score : 51 points
Date : 2023-02-18 19:20 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (puri.sm)
(TXT) w3m dump (puri.sm)
| bitL wrote:
| It would be great if PineBook allowed internal display input not
| just external display output to function both as a laptop and
| lapdock.
| femiagbabiaka wrote:
| I'm still waiting on delivery of a Librem 5 I purchased in 2021.
| So while it's a cool product, that's about it.
| seba_dos1 wrote:
| Librem 5 was a crowdfunded project that started shipping
| backorders in 2020, which was also the year of great supply
| chain disruptions and in the end it's still going through the
| shipping queue. It has just reached mid-2019 orders, but things
| got better now and you should get yours in a matter of months:
| https://puri.sm/posts/where-is-my-librem-5-part-2/
| femiagbabiaka wrote:
| I'll believe it when I see it. :)
| steponlego wrote:
| I ordered mine in _2017_ and it 's still not here.
| ppseafield wrote:
| I have a NexDock 360, which I have primarily used with a Samsung
| S21 but also with a PinePhone.
|
| The NexDock 360 is an OK device. The battery life lasted me about
| 2-3 hours, which isn't long enough for me. On Android with DeX
| there is no palm rejection, so I ended up keeping the touchpad
| switched off most of the time. PureOS might handle this better.
| The screen has touch input, but it's a pretty poor display -
| colors are washed out, and it isn't terribly bright.
|
| It was nice to be able to take notes without carrying around a
| full laptop, and I think with a better screen and battery life it
| would be much more useful for traveling. It has a mini HDMI port,
| and I did use it as a third monitor for my laptop for a bit, but
| I eventually just got another desktop monitor with a better
| screen.
| pengaru wrote:
| Isn't the battery life going to be much less than those phones
| with a Librem 5?
| ppseafield wrote:
| I can't speak to the battery life of the Librem 5. You can
| choose to charge the phone or not charge the phone through
| the NextDock 360 pop-up menu, which can help it last a little
| longer.
| ryukafalz wrote:
| > On Android with DeX there is no palm rejection, so I ended up
| keeping the touchpad switched off most of the time.
|
| This has been my experience on Linux as well with my NexDock
| Touch. As best I can tell the touchpad is only presented to the
| OS as a mouse, so it can't do palm rejection in software (and
| you'll never get those fancy multitouch gestures in e.g.
| GNOME).
|
| The only lapdock I've ever used that did this right is the HP
| Elite X3's lapdock. It's thus my favorite of the ones that
| exist, but it can't seem to supply enough power over USB-C to
| charge a lot of devices during use including the Librem 5.
| Still holding out for one with both the touchpad (and keyboard)
| quality of the HP lapdock and the power output of the NexDock.
| (I suspect I'll be waiting a while though, it's a very niche
| product.)
| gavinray wrote:
| I didn't know something like this existed, thanks for a
| thorough review
|
| I want something like this for reading PDFs (in tablet mode)
| and possibly coding from my phone, that I can carry around in
| my backpack when I'd rather not bring my whole laptop too.
| ppseafield wrote:
| I found reading on this screen to be pretty mediocre, and it
| is quite large to be held like a tablet (but possible, if
| awkward).
|
| If you would like to code on your phone, you would most
| likely need something browser based, or something running
| Linux like the Librem 5 here. It's not as easy to set up a
| decent development environment using Android.
| gavinray wrote:
| Ah I hadn't considered it would be too large to be held
| like that, thanks for the heads up
| ppseafield wrote:
| Indeed, it is 13" and not as skinny as a tablet.
| singron wrote:
| Is scrolling broken on this page? On mobile it seems to jump
| around a little.
| paulhart wrote:
| Reminds me of this successful Kickstarter that failed to deliver
| (I was a backer):
| https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andromium/the-superbook...
| pram wrote:
| I had a Motorola Atrix a decade ago that did this. It still
| looks extremely modern.
|
| Shame "phone as a computer" hasn't really gone anywhere in all
| this time.
| ppseafield wrote:
| Indeed. Even before this the Nokia N900 could run a Debian
| desktop.
|
| I found Samsung DeX to be usable, if a bit awkward at times.
| By far the most annoying limitation was being limited to
| Android and not being able to install more powerful software.
| Termux is stuck on a version in the Google play store because
| apps may not longer be published using some features Termux
| requires.
|
| Years ago Microsoft did try the other way around - making
| Windows into a touch/mobile interface - but made both the
| desktop and mobile experiences a bit worse. Several linux-
| based projects are attempting to bridge the gap there, but
| they are often limited by compatible hardware and a lack of
| openness mobile device component manufacturers exhibit.
|
| Google and Apple have very little economic incentive to open
| up their ecosystems. It really shows comparing how open
| Android used to be in comparison to how it is now.
| wingmanjd wrote:
| I miss the Atrix. The desktop mode running Ubuntu was great
| at the time, and once jailbroken, could install normal
| packages, which turned it into a great remote access machine
| between Remmina and terminal.
| wingmanjd wrote:
| I think I was one of the few lucky ones. I think I was one of
| the last batches shipped. I also had the Gen 1 Motorola Atrix's
| as well. I so badly want a truly ubiquitous device, but the few
| iterations I've tried just don't quite make it there.
| haswell wrote:
| I owned the Motorola Atrix [0] way back when, which also offered
| a "Lapdock" accessory. It was way ahead of its time, and I always
| found it unfortunate that it never took off.
|
| Even though the phone is long dead/gone, the Motorola Lapdock
| turned out to be fairly hackable, and I was able to repurpose it
| to be a screen for a Raspberry Pi.
|
| It's cool to see some version of this tech return. Current phones
| are far more capable of delivering what the Atrix promised.
|
| - [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_Atrix_4G
| trynewideas wrote:
| This kit, as noted on the page, is just the NexDock,[1] which
| itself is essentially a DisplayPort-over-USB-C or mini-HDMI 13"
| 16:9 1080p touchscreen display on a fold-over hinge, keyboard,
| trackpad, speakers, micro SDXC reader, headphone jack, and 44Wh
| battery in a 1.2kg laptop shell.
|
| The NexDock is $299 and its desktop mode features are already
| compatible with several Samsung, Huawei, Motorola, and a few
| other Android phones with video output. Since it's basically just
| a display, it also works with any USB-C/HDMI device, including
| Raspberry Pis, Steam Decks and other PCs, Nintendo Switches, etc.
|
| Purism charges $40 more and adds a magnetic mount (if not this
| $15 mount on Amazon,[2] then one very similar to it) and USB-C
| cable.
|
| 1: https://nexdock.com/explore-nexdock/
|
| 2: https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Desktop-Monitor-Foldable-
| Por...
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(page generated 2023-02-18 23:00 UTC)