Lapdocks

[ijsbeer]

If I make the frame of a laptop that can both accommodate a replaceable motherboard (for example the boards of pine6) and at the same time function as a phone dock "overloading" its usb ports, at the end I have a modular thing that in the face of the same cost (space and resources consumed) adapts to more situations.
If instead I make a frame that for whatever reason adapts and works only in the presence of a specific device, I have created e-waste.

So you are suggesting not making a dedicated lapdock, but 'just' adding alternate mode usb c input capability to the next pinebook/pinetab so they can function as a lapdock?



If this development is achieved with limited added cost it could be integrated in all similar devices, without the risk involved in launching a special device. What's there not to like? (Probably all of the development work :p )



Would the new Pine SOCs (Quartz64...) be able to e.g. connect all in-/output devices (screen, keyboard, ...) through a USB interface to make this work (swapping to an external usb host like Pinephone)? Does the concept have a lot of technical drawbacks / side effects regarding power consumption / performance / cost / component compatibility...?





Regarding putting a magnet in the screens top bezel to attach a phone: maybe it would make more sense to have some ferromagnetic metal in the top bezel and removably attach a flat magnet on the outside in between the bezel and the ferromagnetic plate glued to the phone's back.





Edit: EOMA 68 make a laptop shell that can accept either one of their open source computer cards (SBCs) or their Pass-through card, which makes it into a lapdock.

Edit: The Lenovo Yoga Pad 13 has entered the market as the first mainstream tablet with HDMI input (that I know of). It can be used as a portable monitor through its micro HDMI port. It has a built-in hinged metal stand. Maybe a similar stand could be used with attachment points in it for VESA, a keyboard,...

Also, Nexdock has released the portable monitor NexPad & the NexMonitor, incorporating magnets to attach a smartphone or laptop.

Still, there seems to be no portable monitor running Linux (or any other desktop OS). And the Yoga Pad 13 is in the 600 price range, so expensive as a small monitor. So I guess there's a market for a portable monitor with a light Linux computer inside. (I'd use it for coding/office/media playing on the go and as a 2nd/3rd display at home.)